I suppose at some point, we all get an opportunity to lead in one way or another. Whether it be with your family or friends, serving on a board, heading up a group of volunteers… or you have just been promoted to a new role with direct reports or perhaps you are the CEO of any size company…all of us need to continuously be open to improving our leadership skills. At any given time, we have no idea who is watching, listening and learning from any leaders behaviors, actions and wisdom.
So why not lead by example for those who need more than “words”? Add a few of these to your life and it might help boost your leadership skills:
- Read books by reputable authors who have lived and experienced what they are writing about…not just someone who knows how to write well
- Find someone you respect that is in a leadership role and ask them to meet with you on a consistent basis to provide insight and wisdom to you. Come prepared to those get-togethers with questions for them to answer or subject matter to discuss.
- Ask 3 to 5 people in your circle to give you a performance review. If this is business, choose one of your direct reports, one of your supervisors, one of your clients, one of your colleagues and one of your friends.
- Clear your head daily by taking a walk
- Journal ideas and concepts
- Bring others in on discussions/brainstorming so there are varied ideas being presented
- Train others. By training people, you will see what is valuable, what works and what doesn’t in the process.
- Step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Learn a language, travel outside your sphere of influence, take a tour of someone else’s company or industry to see how they do things differently, join a CEO/Leadership round table group
- Listen actively to direct reports and provide feedback
- Pay attention to the market (past trends, current circumstances and future assessments)
- Stay on top of technology
- Empower others
For a few of my preferred leadership books or podcasts suggestions, drop me an email at stacey@infuzemarketing.com and I will gladly send those over.
Until then…
Welcome to 2022.
The Boomer