Research has shown that successful leaders have the ability to reflect on their own behaviour, are self-aware and continuously work towards personal development. So, what is going on inside their minds? What are the most important questions they ask themselves?
1. What impact do I have?
One definition of impact is the influence you have on others and on life, your legacy. Likely, most of us are not aware of the impact we have. Tim Elmore says: ‘sociologists tell us the most introverted of people will influence 10,000 others in an average lifetime’[1]. First of all, as leaders, we should become more aware of the way we show up each time we interact with other people. Once we are more aware, we can choose to have a positive impact on others or not and accept that each action will cause a ripple effect. Taking responsibility for how you show in life and the kind of impact you choose to have, defines how successful you will be as a leader.
2. Am I helping others do better or holding them back?
As a leader, your primary role is to help other people be successful. Their success is your success. Therefore, you want to decide when to lead in the front, when to sit on the side-lines and when to lead from behind. Nelson Mandela put it this way: “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
3. What did I learn about myself today?
Self-knowledge and self-awareness are considered critical traits for successful leaders. But what are ways to learn about yourself?
One option is to ask for genuine feedback from the people with whom you work closely in the organisation. Create a safe environment, take them out for a coffee outside the office or some place where people feel they can be honest with you.
Another way to learn about yourself is to pay attention to your emotions. Both positive and negative emotions are great indicators of who you are, what your values are and what your beliefs are. When your buttons are pushed, step back and analyse what it was, that caused you to respond emotionally? What does this tell you?
4. How do I inspire my organisation?
This is not an easy question to answer and often external communication specialists are hired to make sure the company’s vision, strategy and values are communicated well through all levels of the organisation.
But ultimately it is an important task of the leader to bring the message across in a compelling way. Leaders should ask themselves how they want to be seen by others, but still remain authentic when presenting. Do they want to be the analytical professor, who knows all the facts and is able to answer any questions? Or do you want to be the powerful visionary, the Martin Luther King, who takes people on a journey. Possibly, you may want to be seen as the Closer, cutting right to the chase and be very clear and direct about what needs to be done. Or maybe you would like to take a softer approach by showing empathy, promoting collaboration and building a strong connection to the people in the organisation. One thing is clear, if employees feel inspired by the company’s vision, have confidence in their leader and are clear about their role, they will care more about working for the organisation and will experience greater satisfaction in their daily jobs contributing to the overall goals.
5. If someone replaced me right now, what would they do differently?
Often you will hear leaders say: “If I only knew then what I know now!” indicating the value of their experiences and all what they have learned from their mistakes and achievements. But instead of looking what they already know, a great exercise for leaders would be to take a look at what other people would do, if they were to step in their shoes right now? These other people might be successful executives in a different company, their successors-to-be, members of their leadership team or people from other parts of the organisation with a different set of skills and experience). Again, this change of perspective can lead to new insights about what they might be missing to see or create opportunities they have not explored yet.
6. What is the level of trust in my team?
This question might come up for leaders when they are triggered by incidents that indicate that there could be ‘lack of trust’ or ‘fear’ in the team; when one or more persons are afraid to speak out, are not willing to take any risk, are looking for personal gains, if there is no commitment to the larger interest of the company, etc.
Randy Conley says that: ‘Trust is the magic ingredients of organisations; It is simultaneously the glue that holds everything together, while also being the lube that allows all the parts to work together smoothly.’[2]
All the more important for leaders to keep asking this question and, when necessary, take appropriate steps to re-build an environment of trust.
7. What is holding me back?
How often do we hold back instead of going after something that we really really really want? This could be a secret large goal; starting a new life somewhere else in the world or working on that great idea that has been on your mind for so long, but that you have not dared to actually explore yet as it might turn your world upside down. Or these could be smaller goals; feeling anxious about asking a particular person for help (as someone in a leadership position does not need help, right?) or fear of failure when you are about to try something new or different?
Leaders are quite visible and might therefore feel vulnerable as well. It is worthwhile looking at what ‘holding back’ is really costing you? What stories are you telling about yourself that are holding you back? What beliefs do you hold that are limiting you from taking action?
Above questions are not always easy to answer. Also, business leaders might not necessarily have people around them who give them objective feedback. A professional coach may be able to help; someone who is non-judgmental, who is not afraid to give honest feedback and who can help leaders see things from a different perspective, like Wayne Dyer said: ‘Once you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change’.
[1] https://theleadersheart.com/2018/03/27/is-everyone-a-leader/POSTED MARCH 27, 2018
[2] https://leadingwithtrust.com/2018/04/08/4-pillars-of-high-trust-teams/ RandyConley
