Coaching Tip: 3 Secrets of Impactful Leadership

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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

 

What does it take to be a Leader?

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What does It take to Be a Leader?

Leadership is one of those words that carry a wide range of connotations. By “leadership,” most people picture someone who holds a formal title in a corporate, organization, government, church, educational or military setting – titles such as a president, director, department manager, provost, team leader, minister, project manager, pope, and so on. Is leadership confined to these contexts?  No, it is so much more.

In reality, leadership occurs everywhere. If there is life, leadership is taking place. Everyone is a leader. That’s because leadership is really a mindset much more than a title. In fact, a title does not guarantee true leadership even though those with powerful titles often have an enormous impact on the world (regardless of whether the impact is desirable or destructive).

The mindset at the heart of leadership involves two dynamics – impact and responsibility. Impact is the effect that each person has on other people – their families, communities, the environment, and the world. When people are aware of their impact on others, and work toward having a positive influence on others, they are engaging in positive or desirable leadership. When people ignore their impact, work toward getting their objectives accomplished regardless of the impact on others, or are interested only in being self-serving, they are engaging in negative or destructive leadership.

Responsibility is a leader’s willingness to notice the impact they have and to respond in a way that is conscientious and appropriate. Even though everyone is responsible for their impact, not everyone takes responsibility for it. People commonly deny responsibility by denying their impact or by blaming others. It is much easier to deny or blame, than it is to take responsibility.

Imagine a world where everyone consistently pays attention to their impact, takes responsibility for it, and chooses a response that is conscientious and appropriate. That alone would change the world. It would exponentially reduce destruction and death. It would counteract conflict. It would alleviate unnecessary pain.

Imagine a world in which you consistently pay attention to your impact, take responsibility for it, and choose a response that is conscientious and appropriate. What difference would this make in your life and the lives of the people you influence? Yes – you are a leader.

So, what does it take to be a leader? Being a leader is not about your title, the power of your position, or how many followers you have. It comes down to two dynamics: impact and responsibility. Be a leader that values desirable outcomes.

Questions to ask yourself each day:

What positive impact did I have today on the people that crossed my path? At my job? For the environment (great leaders are also great stewards) and for my community?

Did I help anyone identify and achieve their vision today- even in a small way?

To your success and happiness,
Corinne McElroy CPCC, ORSC
Leadership Performance Coach

The Impact of Assumptions on Leadership

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The Impact of Assumptions on Leadership

We all make assumptions. We naturally fill in gaps in what we think and perceive so that we can make sense out of our world and our experiences.

Sometimes the assumptions we make are accurate; sometimes they are inaccurate. Sometimes assumptions are productive; sometimes they are counter-productive. Sometimes assumptions build community; sometimes they destroy. Sometimes they save us time; sometimes they waste time. The assumptions you make can build bridges or destroy them. They can make peace or start a war.

Picture someone whom you know pretty well. What is one assumption you make about that person? Where does your assumption come from? Why do you have that assumption? How does that assumption influence your behavior toward this person? Have you ever asked the person to confirm or refute your assumption? What would happen if you shared your assumption with this person?

As a leader, you have an obligation to notice you are making assumptions and then to check them out, particularly when you make an assumption that is negative in nature. Negative assumptions are particularly risky to hold on to. They create resistance and resentment. They fuel blame and anger. They get in the way of productivity and positivity.

The first step is to notice the presence of an assumption. Once you notice that you are making an assumption, consider communicating it. The purpose of communicating it is to have it confirmed or denied. This creates open communication, honesty, and an opportunity to clear the air or rectify a misunderstanding.

There are different ways to communicate an assumption. One way, perhaps the simplest, is to say it directly – tell the other person that you are carrying an assumption, and that you want to share it with him or her to determine if it is accurate or not. It may sound risky – and sometimes it is – and an unspoken negative assumption is much more dangerous than one that is spoken. When an assumption is brought out, an opportunity for healing, growth, productivity, and relationship-building is created.

If you are carrying a positive assumption, you have more latitude to decide if you want it to be unspoken, even unspoken positive assumptions can sometimes get in the way.

Whenever you make assumptions, you have an impact on your experience and the experience of others. Generally, it is best to notice your assumptions and communicate them to others.

To your success and happiness,
Corinne McElroy CPCC, ORSC
Edge Of Change

 

Leadership: It’s all in your mind

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Do you think of yourself as a leader?  Do you enjoy leading?  As you were growing up, did people tell you that you had natural leadership qualities?

If you do not see yourself as a leader, know that you are leading and probably not even knowing it.  Why?  Because we are all leaders simply because of our influence.  Whatever you believe, think, value, feel, or say influences your behavior.  These are all the result of your mindset and your mindset affects the impact you have.

This attitude determines much of our behavior, and our behavior produces specific results.  If we are the leaders of our lives, in our work, and in our relationships, the results we get matter very much.  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 in an effective and satisfying way.  We can incorporate leadership qualities and engage in leadership behaviors that generate the results we really want.

Your impact may be subtle or it may be profound; it may be small or it may be big; it may be obvious or not so obvious; it may be positive, neutral, or negative.

Observe your impact as it’s reflected back to you, observe your actions as you carry them out, and observe your mindset as it fills your thoughts and shapes your attitudes.  With this model you have an ever-ready tool to use any time that you are not getting results you desire.

That’s a tool worth keeping in your toolbox, wouldn’t you say?

To your success and happiness,
Corinne McElroy

Letting Go Of The Expert

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When I first encountered this concept of letting go of the expert, I thought: That is crazy, I’ve educated myself and worked hard to become an expert, why would I let it go?!

Perhaps the most understandable way to start this discussion is to discover what is an expert. Webster’s defines an expert as: A person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular area. Some synonyms: master, proficient, and whiz. The suggestion is that you have arrived, and your work is done. OK, that sounds pretty good, so why do I want to let go of that?

Let’s also look at the reverse of expert as in a learner and a discoverer. Learner: again Webster’s definitions: To gain knowledge or mastery of by study. Discoverer: to obtain knowledge or awareness of something not known before, as through observation, study listening.

So why let go? Because letting go could lighten your workload, reduce your stress and responsibilities and open the door to incredible discoveries and personal and professional growth for yourself and your team.  Are you interested?

Here are some ideas that have been shared with me. After all, I am not the expert. I, too, am in the learning process. Review the concepts and choose what works for you. There is no right answer only exploration into possibility.

Consider these options:
When we present ourselves in the world as an expert, whether it be at home: as a parent or spouse, or at work: as a manager, we are opening a communication channel, one that most often is one way. It is up to us the expert: to distribute the information in a way it can be heard and understood, weigh the consequences, to make the decisions, get cooperation or accomplish the tasks ourselves, set a timeline, determine what is success and take the credit for success and or the failure. Whew! Granted, we are basing our efforts on time-tested expertise, this is a good thing, and there are times that this is the best method, as well as the best use of our time, energy and resources. There is little room for growth for the expert or the team in this situation as the task is to disseminate expertise in an effort to create the outcome upon which we have decided.

When we present ourselves as a learner or discoverer we also open the channel for communication, and in this instance, the communication is more likely to be two-way. We listen, ask questions and receive input from various sources. We have the chance to make changes based upon the input we have encountered. We may discover a better method or process through this discovery. We will probably get a more thorough buy-in by our team if they have some input to the process and outcome. We are not necessarily alone in determining what is considered success, neither are we totally responsible for the tasks at hand or the outcome. The result can be a workload spread over several more willing members, less stress, and an excellent opportunity for both personal and professional growth. As a learner we can add to our pool of knowledge, and potentially grow through the experience of collaboration.

True, you no longer have total control of what the actual outcome may look like, and it could possibly be even better than you could imagine. And the trade off may be worth it: If you gain time to work on other projects, what if your team is more motivated with their role of contribution and accomplishes more, if the atmosphere in the office improves with their added input, almost anything is possible. Your team is also given the opportunity for personal and professional growth so they can potentially contribute even more in the future.

Here is a simple example of how I learned to let go of being the expert and the effect on my quality of life.

I dislike doing dishes; as a matter of fact other than eating brussel sprouts it is my least favorite task in life. My husband promised that if I did the cooking, which I love, he would do the dishes. Wow! He continued to explain that his Mom taught him how to do dishes and that she always said he was terrific at it! Double WOW! So the bargain was made. I cooked and he did the dishes.

What I immediately discovered is that if I stand at my place of expert and review his work, he doesn’t do it the way I would do it myself. I began to approach Michael on this subject of his expertise. Then I stopped myself and thought: If I get to be the expert here, I also get to do the dishes. If I become the discoverer and encourager, I get to have half an hour of quiet time for myself after the dinner hour.

The next time I visited with my Mother-in- Law, I mentioned what a great dishwasher Michael is and thanked her for teaching him so well. She winked at me and I realized she had always had that half hour of quiet time. We chatted and smiled while Michael did the dishes.

Coaching Challenge:

Look at your world and ask yourself if there are times when being the expert is holding you or your team back? Pick a situation and become the discoverer and learner and smile!