Do you find yourself asking why your team won’t make decisions without checking in with you?
Would you like them to be more accountable so you can trust that key work will get done when it should be?
Are you telling them that they are empowered to act but they don’t seem to be taking this on board?
There may be a number of reasons for this, including their own confidence and capability …and it also may be that there is more YOU could do.
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Image by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi from Pixabay
Twas the night after Christmas
And I felt so grateful
For family and friendship and eating a plate-full
For freedom to choose
A career that I love
For clients and peers and for interesting stuff
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Are you a female leader in your mid 40s to mid 50s? The likelihood is you may be experiencing symptoms of the menopause. While menopause is getting more press lately, organisational support and leadership understanding is in its early stages. While 50% of the workforce will experience the menopause, it is still not widely talked about. In this blog I’m sharing some thoughts on how to navigate your own journey.
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If you’ve opened up this blog to read more we are off to a good start – hopefully that in itself is an indicator that your curiosity got the better of you and you wanted to find out more!
Recently I’ve been a coach/mentor/trainer for a number of managers and it made me realise that I talk about being curious whether they are enacting their management responsibilities or their leadership responsibilities. Why is curiosity so important?
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Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay
When did you last take a risk at work? Were you even aware you were taking a risk? Or perhaps you were aware that you didn’t take a course of action because of the risks?
A recent study explored some factors that influence our attitudes towards risk and it got me thinking about how that might be useful to be aware of as leaders. It also got me thinking about times in my career when I had taken risks and what the outcomes had been. I share below some reflections for leaders related to being aware of their own risk appetite but also of those that work for them in their teams.
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
As a leader, you and your team work IN your business each and every day; how often do you work ON your business?
By that I mean, how often do you, and your team, reflect on and seek feedback on whether you are adding value to all of your stakeholders? And doing so in a way which equally engages your team members so that there is nowhere else they’d rather be than in your team?
Recently, I’ve been approached by two senior leaders of large extended teams to support their team development. Interestingly, they had initially compartmentalised this as about improving how the team works together and building capability; they had kept their purpose, strategy, objectives, processes etc. separate. I’ve found from experience that it is better to start from the outside in to understand what your stakeholders need from you, and hence what your purpose is, and then really enable your team to perform AND develop your team in line with this – below I share more about why, and what this means.
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Are you in the first 5 years of your career? Are you already focused on moving into a leadership role in the future? Have you considered the best development focus to give you a greater chance of success in the longer term?
I must admit, in my early career, while I quickly worked out I wanted to help other people thrive, I didn’t know what would help me be successful in my career in the longer term – it’s not something you get taught at school, college or university. If either you are thinking of how to best shape your career development or you have early career stagers in your own team that you could share this with, read on for tips.
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Image credit: nicoletaionescu Stock Image and Video Portfolio – iStock (istockphoto.com)
You know that feeling when a valued team member asks for a meeting with you and starts by letting you know they are handing in their notice? That’s a feeling you don’t want to repeat too often. What can you do in the way that you lead your team and shape it’s micro-climate to avoid it? I’ll share some tips below.
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Image by Joshua Woroniecki from Pixabay
Do you have a good sense of your leadership purpose? If you are not sure what I mean and want to see your leadership career progress, there is a good reason to read on. According to Korn Ferry, leaders with a clear purpose not only reach more challenging roles but also achieve greater leadership tenure (average being 18 years). Below I share other benefits of being clear about your leadership purpose, provide an example with my own purposes, and also provide a step by step guide to help you determine yours.
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Credit: Oliver Le Moal
If so, having a deliberate approach to supporting career development for your leaders can help, and while you may not be able to ensure this for the whole organisation, there are things you can do within your team or area of the organisation.
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