Jumpstart Your Leadership

We’re past the halfway point with 2017 and now might be a good time to do a quick evaluation. Among things to reconsider are your organization’s leadership processes and whether or not a boost is needed.

Business environments are full of challenges. In order to stay competitive, these obstacles must be faced with a sense of urgency, which will empower your people to grow into their leadership responsibilities and stay ahead of the curve. Here’s how:

1. Set The Pace

Understanding the ever-changing world we live in is essential if we wish to benefit from it. Real change doesn’t happen from the top down, it happens from within. As a leader, it’s crucial that you set the pace in providing an example for your team to follow. Reciprocally, it is of equal importance to accommodate and facilitate the changes that your team naturally undergoes.

Jumpstart your leadership by cultivating changes from within. Personally demonstrate the vision and values you’re aiming for your team to embrace. Dynamic forward motion of any organization starts with the employees, and your ability to enact change through your actions, behaviors, and communication will set the pace. It’s extremely valuable to have self-starters on your team – be the living example by going first and showing the way.

2. Get Aligned

Having a complete understanding of how to lead change successfully is imperative if you’re going to compete well (See Dr. John Kotter’s 8-step Change Process). Direction and vision play critical roles in moving organizations forward. Good leaders steer their teams toward a better future by extolling the benefits of what is possible and why.

If your goal is to unlock the potential of your team, you’ll need to align the vision of your core team members. This is a future that can be seen by all, is accessible to all, makes sense to the brain, and also compels the heart.

But just as motion without direction is useless, so too is direction without communication. Good leaders share their vision openly, frequently, and allow others to take part in the dialogue of possibilities. When team members have the opportunity to weigh in and openly share their thoughts in a safe environment – they will buy in, even if the ultimate vision is different from their own. This is important. Leaders should not be the only ones with access to the game plan.

Share your vision for the future with your team members, and share it often. You’ll be on the same page, and decisions will be made based on a correct, and collective understanding.

3. Love Your Team

Love and trust go hand-in-hand. If you’ve clearly defined your vision of the future for your team, it’s also important that you trust their ability to execute it. Empower them, encourage them, motivate them, and hold them accountable for those decisions.

Loving your team isn’t about coddling them or holding anyone’s hand – it’s about understanding their full potential and caring enough to nurture it – for their personal benefit and that of the team.

As a leadership keynote speaker, it’s my job to equip organizations with the tools they need to be successful in a quickly moving world. 2017 shows no signs of slowing down, and you need to make sure you’ve got the methodology in place to lead your team to success.

If you’re interested in any of the ways I can help your organization succeed in 2017 and beyond, don’t hesitate to get in touch.