The launch of a new decade invites time for reflection on 2019 and vision for 2020. Three topics come to mind for me: leadership, tribes and self-discovery. Here are some new perspectives on traditional topics.
Become More Coach-Like in Your Leadership
According to a recent article in Harvard Business Review, companies are moving toward a model in which managers give support and guidance rather than instructions, and employees learn how to adapt to constantly changing environments in ways that unleash fresh energy, innovation, and commitment.
What does this mean for leadership? We need to act less like bosses and more like coaches– helping employees discover the answers on their own. It means we need to do less telling and more asking.
Here’s a typical leader-employee example: When leaders ask how things are going but don’t like the answers, they convince the employee of their own conclusion, citing their own ideas and solutions. In this new model, we must help them find their own solution. A leader might ask: How do you think you could change your situation? How does that make you feel? How is the job different than you thought? How could you do one thing every week to improve that issue?
In this way, we are grooming your staff to think for themselves, problem-solve and come to you for help. We are treating employees like humans instead of taskmasters. They will notice the difference–and respect you more.
Choose and Change your Tribe Wisely
I’ve seen a lot of executives leave the corporate world for consultancy and fall apart that first year. Alone and isolated, they lack the corporate support they’d come to rely on and their corporate colleagues don’t understand their decisions or financial model.
The answer? Start building a tribe around you instead of your company.
Jobs are temporary and companies fall apart. So find vendors, partners and mentors that speak to your perspective and skill set, independent of your company. Build new bridges and new tribes on your terms. And as Oprah recently advised, consider burning (or perhaps gently dismantling) a few bridges that no longer serve you.
Possess Less, Do More
We all know that feeling when we purchase a shiny new thing–a sweater, an I-phone, a car. It’s exciting. Novel. It becomes part of our “stuff”. It’s a new possession. And then in a couple weeks, we find something else to covet and that It item is no longer shiny.
Now think about the tests we take: Enneagram. Meyers Briggs. DISC. These tests have become resume builders. They are labels we like to collect, and a handy way to categorize our personality. We get knowledge, satisfaction and self-awareness– all good stuff. But what if we could do more than just collect? What if we could act? What if we studied our personalities from a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset? For example, if we know we tend to get FOMO, how can eliminate it? If we’re a wee bit emotional with decision making, what steps could we take to think more clearly in those situations?
With a new look at leadership, a strategic tribe and more action, what could you tackle in 2020?
