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If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams
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It’s a new year and many of us are looking at ways to get more fit and healthy. Some questions to consider:
- How are you doing with your leadership fitness?
- Have you taken stock of your leadership habits?
- Have you reflected on how your actions impact your team and your organization?
- Do you have the leadership muscle you need to plow through challenges and engage your team in the work that you need them to do?
I often find that organizational leaders rarely take the time to answer these questions. Their leadership muscle is often so weak that their team members tend to suffer year in and year out due to their lack of awareness.
Here are 3 signs that your leadership muscle is atrophying:
- The turnover on your team is unrelenting and you feel clueless about what to do to stop it.
- Your team members appear lifeless and not motivated to go over and above for your customers.
- Your team feels disconnected from your organization’s mission, vision and strategic objectives.
If you nodded your head to any of these signs, you should probably start putting together a leadership plan for yourself and your team that runs in parallel to that new physical fitness regime.
Here are a few ways to begin to build your leadership strength this year:
Do a 360
If you really want to build-up more leadership muscle in the new year, ask your direct reports, your manager and your colleagues what they think about you. Initiating a 360 review is a perfect way to do this, because you can access confidential and honest feedback from many of your co-workers. While some of this feedback may be tough to take, it will help you grow and improve. This will make a huge difference for everyone with whom you work!
Seek development
Many leaders fail to seek out development opportunities for fear of appearing weak. What they don’t know is that seeking to level-up one’s leadership muscle is the strongest sign of leadership excellence!
Inquire with your human resources department about available leadership development classes or programs available to you. If you are in human resources, make sure to consistently and publicly advertise development opportunities and have a transparent process in place for participant selection.
Don’t forget to do your own self-assessments even if your organization doesn’t provide a formal means to do so.
Hire a coach
I remember hiring my first coach when I was 24 years old and very wet behind the ears. It was a great experience. I hired her, because I was looking for someone to help me think outside the box and outside of myself. I needed her for guidance, problem-solving and brainstorming. It was worth every penny.
This year, the best thing you can do for yourself as a leader is to invest in you. You have lofty goals this year, right? Make sure you have someone in your corner who is far away from the minutiae to help you see the big picture. You will not regret it.
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In an effort to help organizations and the leaders they employ gain some leadership muscle in the new year, I created the Employee Loyalty Leader Boot camp, modeled after my best-selling book, The 7 Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty.
If you think you and your organizational leaders (supervisors all the way to the C-Suite) could use some leadership fitness, schedule time to chat with me to see if this corporate boot camp is right for your organization. It’s a great way to start the year with a leadership development focus!
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I certainly hope you found this article helpful. Professional development is the cornerstone to great leadership. Please Share this message with those whom you think might benefit. As always, I would love to read any comments or insights you might have.
Make this year your best year ever!
Cheers to Loyalty!