From a young age we’re taught that to get anywhere in life we have to achieve – at academics, sport, the arts, or whatever your thing is.
And that’s a good thing, as long as we’re striving in a healthy and sustainable way. It also helps to have some sort of vision, goals and well-rooted motivational source that keeps us focused and engaged.
As a leader, particularly a senior leader, you’ll know that what you’re there to achieve in your company is not the same as when you were in a more junior role.
You aren’t involved in the nitty gritty detail of day to day activities anymore, and if you still are, it’s time to figure out how you let go and trust others.
Your role is to keep the long term vision of the organisation in focus, and to deliver, through your people, in a way that aligns with its purpose, values and strategy.
This means your ability to think strategically, be creative, to communicate and share the vision and strategy in a clear way that your team finds compelling and motivating, is key.
You need to have clear goals, particularly in the short to mid term, supported with plans, yet remain flexible and adaptable if something in your dynamic environment requires a sudden change in direction or prioritisation.
If you’re bogged down in uncertainty and indecision this will hold back your ability to achieve. One thing is certain – there will always be some degree of uncertainty, so it’s important to embrace uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
Decisions have to be made in a timely manner, often on the back of input from multiple perspectives and consideration of dissenting views, while always maintaining a willingness to change your mind, admit you’re wrong about something or need help.
Leadership isn’t for the faint-hearted. Neither is building your skills and expanding your self-awareness. It can be hard work, challenging, at times confronting, and sometimes thankless. It often needs courage, determination and resilience.
And yet we all remember the leader who had a great and lasting impact on us: the one who listened, who saw our potential, who supported us, encouraged us, challenged us, who celebrated failure and pushed us to keep going, who cared about us when life threw lemons at us, who authentically lived their values, who would be candidly honest with us but not at the expense of caring, who supported us to achieve our best work.
Is this your impact as a leader? How do you know?
If you’re keen to find out, get in touch.
With the support of the Leadership Circle Profile™️ 360° Assessment, we can explore your leadership effectiveness in your current context, as well as your thought patterns and beliefs that underpin your behaviours, so that you can expand your self-awareness, awaken your potential, maximise your effectiveness, and be the inspiring, creative leader others choose to follow.
