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The one thing that consistently contributes to the success of a company and its growth is leadership. Mastery of the one scalable and results-proven leadership model is still being sought and coveted.
The good news is that it means you haven’t missed out on “THE leadership approach” to be using for your work. The bad news is that we all need to keep working on leadership.
Navigating leadership
Leadership is a well-used word, yet it has so many definitions. It’s a word and an action that drives one very important business result: financial performance. The start through to the end of your leadership impact has many elements to it, and a lot of unpredictable changes in the middle.
I’ve begun to liken leadership to a navigation console. This leadership navigator has many levers. Your role as the leader is to determine which levers need to be applied, at what level or intensity, and then what adjustments, or changes, need to be made along the way. At its core, leadership has several important foundations. The ones that need to be accurate are: vision, plans, culture, people, business model, customer, money, management and technology. The common theme interwoven in each of these elements is leadership. Leadership is always implemented by an individual; there is no automation or robotics to leading people. Human behaviours and relationships are integral to leadership and cannot be automated.
I’ve shared before that I believe business success is realized from the inside out. Success starts with the individual leader. One of the most important aspects of leadership is the individuality of the person. A leader needs to know who they are, how they show up and how they optimize themselves in the application of their leadership style.
Here is Pivotal Coaching’s definition of leadership:
The only person you know is you.
My bias is starting with the leader. Starting with you. Three areas for you to focus on are:
Personality tests
Self-awareness
Feedback
Many of my clients have high energy and are fueled to perform. They are performers who have been successful and have a clear vision of what’s next for them. Success has gotten them where they are; yet their success may get in the way of their future goals. With experience comes habits. Our habits are the way we work, interact and think. We get into our groove. We get our momentum. We keep going. What if our momentum is getting in the way of seeing things as they really are or as they may be in the future? What if you could be even better?
My clients will tell you that the self-assessment we do with TAIS, an intrapersonal and interpersonal assessment, is powerful. This step of Pivotal Coaching’s Leadership Profile is very important – actually, it’s pivotal. This is where we find your strengths to leverage, your differentiators to make you competitive and impactful and the areas that need versatility.
Sometimes we find habits that need changing. The TAIS report and self-assessment facilitated by an executive coach is for those intentional on their best performance and success. To do your best work, you need to know who you are and how you show up, especially in stressful situations. Even those who have done every other assessment say that the combination of the TAIS tool and Pivotal Coaching’s methodology is impactful. This investment in self-assessment dramatically shapes your leadership.
A leader of growth
I’d like to offer you a couple thoughts for assessing yourself as a leader:
1.What’s your most used concentration style
Knowing what’s going on around you?
Knowing how to figure things out and finding the answer?
Getting things/tasks done?
2. What happens to your leadership when the pressure is on?
3. Are you a risk taker or a perfectionist?
4. How does your social style align with your leadership and those you work with?
5. How do you like to express yourself? Ideas, critic or supporter?
6. Are you leading proactively or reactively?
7. Which describes you best: a doer or a delegator?
8. To get your results, are you telling or asking?
9. Do you listen or hear?
Each of these factors is one of the levers on that leadership console. Each one of them is distinctive to the individual. All are needed for successful leadership and results - they are drivers that contribute to growth. Leadership is a growth mechanism. When leadership is intentional, it can be a competitive advantage.
Your competitive advantage: You
When was the last time you paused to look at yourself and your leadership with intention and with a plan? I’d encourage you to invest in leadership. As I said at the beginning, leadership still hasn’t been mastered, so there is opportunity for you to do it as yourself, with your unique approach and with success. Take time to self-assess, define your leadership profile and set goals for yourself and your work.
Leadership is important to growth. Research reflects this fact. Unfortunately, it’s hard work and takes strategy, planning, development, change, discomfort and discipline. Starting with you is a good place to begin. Business growth from the inside out. Business growth that’s lead by you.
Lisa W. Haydon is the President and Founder of Pivotal Coaching Inc. She left her comfortable corporate career several years ago to follow her passion of helping people realize their potential and companies to realize high performance. Lisa is a growth focused entrepreneur, leadership development consultant and certified executive coach. To her clients, she brings business experience with prestigious corporations and continuous education. Lisa’s work in business operations and B to B sales expertise allowed her to create a differentiated coaching model and client experience. Lisa and Pivotal Coaching are known for 1:1 and cohort Programs in leadership development and sales effectiveness.
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