3 Secrets of Impactful Leadership
As you are leading and impacting others, are you getting the results we want? If yes, do you know what you are doing to get those results so you can keep getting them again and again? And if no, do we know what you are doing that is disempowering others, so that you can change your approach to achieve your desired results and empower others in the process?
So, what does it take to be an impactful leader? Being a leader is not about your title, the power of your position, or how many followers you have. It comes down to three critical steps.
1. Know where you are coming from – Know what you believe in and what your values are so that you can make decisions and lead your team in the direction that supports your vision.
2. Adopt a leadership mindset that positively affects your behaviors, your outcomes and therefore your impact. When you have a leadership mindset, you take responsibility for your team and your results.
3. Empower your team members to be their best. Identify the strengths and talents of your team so you can empower them to achieve the desired goal.
After all, isn’t that what we’re all after? Reaching a common goal while making a positive impact?
As a leader, you are not only influencing others, you are impacting them – for better or worse. In his book, The Majesty of Calmness (1898), William George Jordan, American editor and essayist said that we cannot circumvent this responsibility by saying it is unconscious, because “every moment of life [we are] changing…the whole world.” We all have the ability to uplift or dishearten others. By adopting a leadership mindset, we can ensure that to the best of our ability and intentions, we impacting others in a positive way.
Your impact stems directly from your mindset as a leader, because your mindset affects your behaviors, which then affects your results. So what is your mindset?
The term “mindset” means a mental attitude or inclination. Our attitude determines our behavior, and our behavior produces specific results. If you are getting effective results from those you are leading, you are having a positive impact on them, and therefore yourself. And vice versa.
Are we getting the results or having the impact we want, or are we experiencing unwanted results and outcomes? By looking at the relationship between our mindset, our behavior, and our impact, we can integrate all three components to generate the results we really want.
Your behavior is representative of your mindset. As a leader, you want to maintain a leadership mindset. If your perspective is filled with negativity or limiting beliefs, then you have a mindset that will negatively affect others, and will not give you the results you desire. If your mindset however, is on abundance, strengths and positivity, which are qualities of a leadership mindset, then you will positively influence others and achieve your desired results.
We often engage in behaviors without considering that we have a choice in whether or not to engage in them. If our circumstances are not going the way we desire, we may feel and act like a victim. If you make different choices about your behavior and change your actions, your results will change. You can stop being a victim of your circumstances.
It is important to note that changing your behavior is not sustainable unless you change your negative mindset to a leadership mindset. A great example of this is what happens when people do assessments. If they just change their behaviors but they do not change their mindset around their natural styles, qualities and skills, they rebound to old ways of doing things because they haven’t changed the underlying problem – they haven’t changed the mindset that drives them towards results they do not want.
Changing your behavior without changing your mindset is not sustainable. Changing your mindset, however, creates sustainable behavioral change.
Observe your impact on others, observe your actions as you carry them out, and observe your mindset as it fills your thoughts and shapes your attitudes. When you notice negative, limiting thoughts, make a choice and shift your perspective to an abundant leadership mindset.
Reminder: Your mindset/Belief Systems drives your thoughts, your thoughts drive your emotions, your emotions drive your behaviors and your behaviors drive your results.. You “GET” to start with your mindset..
To your success and happiness,
Corinne McElroy CPCC ORSC
Leadership Coach