Elevate Your Leadership

Working with leaders across many different organizations and industries allows us to work with some really outstanding leaders of this time. One leader that I am thinking of, in particular, defines leadership as a matter of how to be, not how to do. Consider that “we spend half of our lives learning how to do, and teaching other people how to do. But we know in the end it is the quality and character of the leader that determines the performance—the results.” Because it’s January, it’s an appropriate time to consider the ways in which you might elevate your leadership, with the emphasis on who you need to “BE” in order to achieve these simple but often neglected DO’s.”

1. Master your Thinking
We human beings think over 60,000 thoughts every day and over 70 percent of those thoughts are either repetitive or negative. When you think negatively and focus on what’s not working, you create new neurons for the purpose of negativity. To master your thinking requires the will to be a source of positive energy.

2. Build Trust
In order to build trust you must be trustworthy. This requires a habit of doing what you say you will do. You keep your word. You don’t say, “Let me get back to you” lightly. You speak truth kindly. You are careful not to give undeserved praise just to make someone feel good nor do you use honesty as an excuse to express your anger. Building trust takes a high degree of awareness and intention, as well as action.

3. Use Powerful Language
As a leader your language either weakens you and others, or it strengthens you and others. What do you talk about more: what’s working or what’s not working? What’s possible or what’s impossible. What you want or what you don’t want? Using powerful language requires practicing new habits of talking, and builds on the essential requirement above, ways of thinking masterfully.

4. Declare Your Values
Sometimes a leader’s personal values clash with corporate values. Knowing in advance what you hold dear will help you in times of change to be courageous and take a stand.

5. Set Appropriate Boundaries
One of the four reasons for relationship drama, whether at home or at work, is due to the inability to set appropriate boundaries. The key to setting appropriate boundaries is to let go of the need to please others and pay attention to your emotions. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or resentful, chances are you have a boundaries issue, and you are sacrificing your own productivity and needs to please others.

6. Connect and Communicate
Leaders who connect know that it’s impossible to multi-task and listen to someone’s concerns. You have to listen. You have to pay attention. You have to have a dialogue. You have to carve out the time. The benefit is that connecting actually saves you time in the long run because you build trust, you get it right the first time, and you build loyalty.

7. Promote Empowerment
You don’t have to have all the answers, but you do need to ask good questions. Leaders who promote empowerment are willing to trust their people and mirror back to them that they are smart; they have answers, they are resourceful, and they are capable. When you find your choice you find your power. Leaders who promote empowerment stop solving the problems of others, and instead, help others find their choices.

8. See the Broader Picture
The broader picture is different from the big picture. The broader picture includes all the parts and pieces, and all stakeholders (shareholders, employees, vendors, and customers). The shareholders want to get to the island, the leaders want everyone to row harder and faster, and the rowers (employees) want a bigger seat cushion on the boat. And the vendors? They are there to sell you a part or a piece that may make the journey more pleasant. When you understand all viewpoints, you see the broader picture.

9. Invest in Yourself
Leaders who invest in themselves don’t wait for the company to pay for it. They read. They listen to podcasts. They attend seminars or webinars and invest in coaching even if the payment comes out of their own pocket. Investing in yourself requires an attitude of personal responsibility rather than an attitude of entitlement.

10. Increase Certainty
Turning the volume up on certainty keeps everyone calm and productive. A leader can dial up the certainty factor through constant communication and keeping everyone updated on progress and anticipated change. Too much uncertainty breeds gossip and the tendency to protect one’s turf. Leaders who want productive employees keep them updated on a regular basis.

11. See More for Others
Leaders who see more for others also expect more from others. Leaders who see more for others are careful not to keep people in a box, for example, he is just a coordinator, she just works in admin. Speak to the vision of what is possible and inspire the employee to desire reaching his or her potential.

12. Model Course-Correction
Course-correction is as simple as acknowledging a past mistake, or owning the part you played in whatever problem is being experienced. Role-modeling course-correction allows your employees to fully embrace personal responsibility and a growth (learning) mindset. The outcome is employees who are willing to accept responsibility and become accountable without fear of judgment.

13. Avoid Gaming
Leaders waste a lot of productive time getting distracted by arguments, innuendos, and assumptions. Games of “Yes you did; No I did not,” why something is not fair, or who is to blame is nothing short of a game of ping-pong with no real winner. Enlightened leaders know how to re-direct the energy to speak about the desired end result, while cleaning up any misunderstandings or past errors.

14. Eliminate Defense Mechanisms
We human beings are either in growth mode or protective mode. When in the protective mode our behaviour is often observable as a defense mechanism. Defense mechanisms include passive-aggressive behaviors such as avoidance, re-direction, the use of sarcasm to make a point, and giving the silent treatment. Course-correct your own defense mechanisms first, set an expectation toward the desired change, and then question those who exhibit these same behaviors.

15. Cultivate a Learning Environment
When people feel the freedom to learn they are more likely to take full responsibility and actually seek accountability. When perfection is valued over learning and course-correction, employees eventually learn how to beat the accountability system to ensure job security, as a trade off against making a mistake or not getting it absolutely right.

16. Be the Change
Give what you want to receive. If you want more peace, be peaceful. If you want more respect, be respectful. If you want to be acknowledged, acknowledge others. Your way of being will inspire the changes you seek.