SUCCESSFUL LEADERS ARE MASTERS OF SELF-REFLECTION (here are 3 simple questions) – but taking the time to learn AND think takes time, and the few who give themselves this gift of a few minutes at the end of each day are generally the most successful. This can be very challenging the more senior the leadership role, and yet, is a key leadership capability.
GET OFF THE DANCE FLOOR & STEP INTO THE DJ’S BOOTH – a powerful leadership practice in the midst of all the action.
#4 of 4 BRAIN-BASED LEADERSHIP SECRETS – The 4th leadership secret is: PERSONAL POWER.
Leaders who make the biggest difference in people’s lives, and critically, create more leaders, are those who master their Personal Power to make people FEEL good, valued, and important about themselves.
Maya Angelou remains, for me, the person who best captures this sentiment … “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Leadership is about the capacity for getting others to follow & collaborate, and people will only follow & collaborate when the there is a simple vision. Complex and disorganised strategies are the enemy!
Perhaps one of the most iconic & powerful visions was when John F. Kennedy SIMPLY said, “We choose to go to the moon …”.
Simple visions target the prefrontal cortex – The Executive Brain – it is in this part of the brain where the world of possibility and hope lies, and also higher trust levels!
When it is clear in their words and actions that leaders do not feel superior to those whom they lead, the people see themselves in their leaders and never tire of them.” – Lao-tzu
Command and control, and rule by fear leadership is counterproductive and outdated. In today’s world, strong leadership egos create barriers; the antidote is to humbly demonstrate a deep respect for the human spirit. How?
When a team knows that you care about them, then they’ll listen and engage. When your team (and others) feel that you are part of the ‘tribe’ with them, and not apart from the ‘tribe’, then the team can move mountains.
“Evolved leaders win the trust and support of the people through their complete identification with them. The interests of the people are naturally promoted because they become the interests of the leader as well.” – Lao-tzu
Given that many people have asked me what I’m working on this year, I thought I’d share it more widely. My 2024 personal leadership theme is: Teach Myself Ignorance … this all about unwiring my worldview, to then rewire it differently, with the aim of achieving new outcomes, and become future fit (i.e. stay relevant as a leader)! What do you think?
Our capacity to unlearn and empty our minds, and then refill our minds with fresh insights is as vital, if not more, as our ability to learn. The path to success isn’t just about accumulation; it’s all about letting go.
“Knowledge is learning something everyday.
Wisdom is letting go of something everyday.”
– Lao Tzu
What your leadership theme for 2024?
As we move into 2024 and many of us decide to continue to evolve and change in some way, I’m reminded of a coaching joke: “How many coaches does it take to change a lightbulb? Just one, and the lightbulb needs to want to change.” It’s not that we resist change, we simply resist being changed.
A client shared this image and it’s brilliant! Fundamentally, humans are storytellers and our brains get automatically ‘triggered’ into imagining stories about ourselves (and others) without much thought, and often erroneously. To make the invisible visible and see a more ‘real’ story, here are 4 simple & powerful questions to ask yourself (borrowed from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).
Well, it all depends on who you ask; it depends on your perspective. And our perspectives or worldviews are shaped by much – life experiences, values, assumptions, deeply head beliefs and more – all of which impact our leadership ability to interpret (new) information, and find meaningful solutions.
As Albert Einstein famously said “In order to understand ourselves, others, and the world around us, we need to be able to change and adapt our perspectives.” In my view there are 3 critical leadership capabilities to ‘see’ different perspectives & become successful … (1) the ability to suspend your agenda, (2) the ability to get deeply curious, and (3) the willingness to be influenced by others (i.e. build your wisdom).