Great wisdom comes when you reach out to your network and ask two simple questions:
- What were the opportunities you had that supported your career growth?
- What were the challenges and how did you manage them?
I started on a journey to curate the best insights from industry leaders and bring them forward to you so you don’t have to struggle. Both leaders of today and tomorrow have the same challenges; just at different levels of evolution. To my surprise, connecting professionals has had a significant impact for me on many fronts. 1) It gives me the opportunity to stay current on the issues facing leaders of today and tomorrow. 2) It also allows me to build relationships with people I sincerely care about. I am pleased to share the insights I’ve gained from a corporate leader who I recently spoke to.
Why do you lead and what is the value you provide to people in your care?
Leadership, if one chooses, is a pursuit that continually evolves with a positive attitude and a thirst for knowledge. Whether through being a lifelong learner, having a mentor or investing a mastermind, we always need to develop these skills to have the best impact on the people we serve and lead on our journey. The first step is to check yourself and ask if you want to lead and what type of leader you want to be.
I find this step is the first in determining Who you are, Who you serve, How you will serve and what problems you can solve. This simple exercise getting crystal clear on your “elevator pitch” is the key to practicing and then coming forth as this leader. After all, being a leader is about marketing a vision and inspiring others to follow and elevate their capability to achieve. Learning marketing as part of your toolkit is a key step in messaging who you are. If you can say it and see it, then you become it!
Evolve your value in an environment that cultivates your passion and skills.
Find a job you are passionate about, consider a rapidly growing / changing company and one with opportunities to interface with customers. When you love the work you’re doing and throw in a fast paced environment, learning is at its highest level both the good and bad. You learn from this process and iterate rapidly to hone your technical and leadership skills. I found when I work in startup companies, you wear a lot of hats, you have broad responsibilities and you see the impact of your work much faster.
“Pursue excellence in everything you do and give up on perfection.”
Once you’ve honed your value and expertise, you must be able to apply your skills with speed and agility. People need to see your value and also be brought along in the process. We must have grace when it’s not perfect and acknowledge our humanity. With leadership comes the responsibility to have an impact, but also be mindful of any risk of not doing things right. Leadership is about gaining respect of the people in your care and when they understand this style of leadership, they will follow and have your back.
Be a student of people – this is how you connect and have greater impact.
When you take your technical knowledge and add the art of reading & engaging with people, you perfect your impact. You need to read their body language, their engagement and how they look at people. I might also add you should focus on what is said, but more importantly what is not said. Sometimes the silence speaks volumes and a wise leader will study this deeply.
Invest in learning vs training.
Leaders need to assure that the training of their people achieves a greater outcome by coaching the skills needed until competency is achieved. Through an iterative process of asking questions about their training and how they apply it to what they do and how they think, we transcend the spectrum to a learning environment. Companies that simply check the box of training as a matter of compliance miss an opportunity to communicate a message that they care. By showing people you care about them as humans vs. a transaction we build trust in your leadership and might I say, your brand.
Always ask for feedback.
Great companies engage with people as part of consumer insights and market research to ensure the products and services provided meet their needs. Leaders that recognize that while we are in service to the needs of external customers, investing in the feedback of your internal customers provides you insight into what people are thinking. Create a culture of always asking for feedback. If you know me, I teach a workshop in providing a positive framework for soliciting feedback: What should I continue, what should I start doing and what should I change. All constructive and actionable for which leaders leverage these insights and make interactive improvements. People respect this action and continue to solidify your position as a leader worth following.
Learn what you will do and not do.
Great wisdom can be gained by modeling the behavior of leaders you admire and have succeeded. Even more powerful is knowing what you will not do as a result of a leader you have worked for. Taking the time to qualify your values and ways of working also add to your marketability as a leader. Yes, I am inserting the concept of marketability, because after all, people are loyal to great brands or great leaders. Being consistent in the leader you want to be and leading with your values will resonate with the people who are attracted to you and will support you.
Embrace the 70 / 30 Rule: be the leaders you want to be and it will happen.
We are required to deliver results and our employees, the business and our customers depend on us to execute consistently. However, you must continue to invest in yourself and evolve your impact by seeing and acting at the next level. This is the key to being seen and recognized for the next level. This wise leader shared that the formula is to be 70% in your current role and 30% performing at the next level. Take some time to look over the work content you do on a daily basis. Pick areas where you can improve your skill. One example I had was in the way I did presentations. Most leaders at my level did powerpoints in bullet form and spoke to their talking points. At the next level of leadership presentations, visuals and pictures were used to communicate messages and only supplemented by a few talking points. The presentation moves from a place of disseminating information to one that communicates powerful messages for influence.
What does all this mean?
In a Center for Creative Leadership Article, self promotion can be an asset to both yourself and your team. Leadership comes down to your value and marketing of who you are and how you will lead. When we establish our core values, be clear and consistent on our ways of working along with continually learning and evolving to the future needs of the market (your people, the business and customers), we evolve into the leader we want to be. We don’t often think about marketing ourselves as it can be seen as “showy”. However, we need to own how we show up in the market and become a person worthy of loyalty and followers; that’s marketing plain and simple.
Many thanks to the leader who inspired this article. I’m forever grateful to know this person and to share their insights with you.
If this insight was helpful, share this article with others. If you have a unique challenge and wish to have a complementary conversation, please reach out to me. I love helping C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow reach their career goals.
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