Stop struggling to achieve leadership status. Leadership is not a destination to which you finally arrive. It’s a journey that takes a lifetime to adjust, improve, and optimize. The difference between a GOOD leader and a less than stellar one is simple. A good leader has the desire to continue developing and knowing how to surround yourself with other leaders.
In this blog post
I want to take a look at why some are struggling to achieve leader status and to offer a few suggestions for leveraging your personal brand to finally get there.
First, let’s look at the Qualities Of A Less Than Stellar Leader
To do this, I think it’s important to revisit my concept of a personal framework. I believe constructing the walls of your personal framework (i.e. Strengths, Limitations, Desires, and Non-negotiables) help you create circumstances for optimal success in life and business. It’s when you find yourself operating OUTSIDE of your personal framework that you begin to struggle with a lack of clarity, balance, and an increased amount of overwhelm. This is when those less than stellar leadership habits rear their ugly heads.
Habits like:
Trying to lead without having a sense of direction: According to John Maxwell, one of the leading authorities on leadership, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”. You can’t be an effective leader if you struggle with your own discernment. Limiting beliefs and low self esteem are REAL, and they prevent us from being confident in our value. A lack of confidence means a lack of certainty and it’s difficult to exude strength and credibility when you appear lost yourself.
Another bad habit that could result in being a LESS THAN STELLAR LEADER, is Not Adjusting A Mindset: I have the perfect example for this. Prior to Covid-19 I felt like Chicken Little. I constantly found myself screaming from the rooftop (to anyone and everyone) about the importance of having a digital footprint. Unfortunately, it seemed like it fell on deaf ears. People were on a hamster wheel of in-person networking and referral based lead generation. They didn’t want to change their mindset. I knew that in order to be leaders in their space, they had to start posting, tweeting and/or podcasting. Fast forward to 2020 and my phone wouldn’t stop ringing. If you are unwilling to adjust your mindset, it’s quite possible you will be left behind but more importantly you won’t be the person people follow.
Finally, the last bad habit I’ll talk about is quite possibly the one that frustrates me the most: Trying To Do Business Like Someone Else: I think this is the biggest reason people give up and walk away from their business. The truth is, we are the product of our influence, experiences and passions. It’s the equivalent of a fingerprint. You are the only one who has the specific combination of the three. The sooner this idea is adopted, the easier the leadership journey will be. Confidently approaching situations can only happen when we do what I mentioned in the very first paragraph of this post: “Construct the walls of your personal framework”.
Ask yourself… Am I suffering from being a less than stellar leader? Could this be the reason I’m not seeing the fruits of my entrepreneurial labor? Regardless of your answer, I think being an effective leader is something that requires more than book sense. Watch this video for tips to leverage your personal brand to be an effective leader.
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