We discussed two topics under "Principles of People development" this week:

• It takes time
• People skills are essential for success

We focused mostly on some of the characteristics of great leaders including: they admit mistakes, they are able to get along with a wide variety of people, and they possess sensitivity & tact.

We dwelled in great detail on one specific area - "being able to get along with a wide variety of people".  We agreed that this skill is a necessary evil, especially in the workplace if one wants to grow in a leadership role.  We talked about some mutual friends who adamantly resist socializing with new people (or even with people from their existing social networks) because many people they come across do not share the same values or interests as their own.  This is a genuine and understandable concern.  We wavered for a long time whether the same justification holds good in a workplace as well?  We never came to a definitive conclusion but agreed that everyone, especially "leaders" have to make some compromises/sacrifices for the greater good and getting along with a variety of people is one of them (even though not everyone might share the same values, principles, interests etc.)

For more details about this chapter, please review the mindmap at: Chapter 7: People