Interview: How Robert Golob Leads With Strengths
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About the Leader
Robert Golob
Prime Minister of Slovenia
- Maximizer®
- Strategic®
- Achiever®
- Learner®
- Activator®
“The biggest revelation to me was how much more frictionless we could communicate with each other [using CliftonStrengths] and how much more productive we became afterwards. We knew each other's strengths and blind spots as well. That really was insightful -- something that I didn't expect but it happened.”
Golob believes people need to have a mixture of goals. "We need to have a set of small goals and at least one of them is achieved every day. We need that because that's how we have fuel to get going. On the other hand, we are also very ambitious when it comes to long-term goals, so I'm always doing both." Without the long-term goals, Golob wouldn't have direction, and without the short-term goals, he would be unhappy on the longer journey and wouldn't be able to finish it, so he balances both.
For Activators like himself, Golob recommends learning patience and how to get the timing right. But he also says, "Once you know that the timing is right, just do it."
Golob uses Strategic to find and evaluate multiple pathways to reach his goals. He stresses the importance of being willing to shift routes to avoid obstacles, instead of trying to go through them.
But even while looking well into the future, Golob plans concrete steps primarily for the short term. He finds that, using this approach, he achieves much more than he would have had he focused solely on the distant future.
Unless you can unleash the potential of others, you cannot really achieve big things. Golob uses this as a personal leadership philosophy to maximize the development and results of his team. He understands that as a leader, he's only as good as his team is.