Effective leadership is simply that. Being 100% effective in your leadership.
I recall many years ago training for my first Ironman event in New Zealand. I found a coach Barb Kramer who I connected with and together we lay out a plan that would take us through the year leading up to the race day. Each day I had a specific task to complete be it a swim, bike, run, gym or rest it was laid out in a way that I could relate to and together we monitored and measured my progress. Some days were very light others were full on but each day was ‘effective’. As I look back during my recovery of yet another knee surgery I picked up my journal books and gasped at just how disciplined and focused I had been. Completing an Ironman race or any activity to that point takes focus and effective use of your time. You have got to want to do it, to put in the hard yards, cry on those long bike rides and look deep in the mirror to really realise that you are good enough and you can do it.
the race day was fun, the hard work had been put in. we had an effective plan that worked!
Effective leadership has very similar cross overs to that year of dedication and preparation in the lead up to Ironman New Zealand. Once the hard work has been ‘started’ and consistency built into your every day only then can you really start to notice and see the small subtle improvements.
Effective leadership can be taught and that is why on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of June I will be running a 2.5 day retreat on that very topic. Effecive Leadership.
Many leaders work with me on ensuring they are making the very most from their day. They don’t work with me to learn how to run a billion dollar business (they are already successful in doing that) and that is their job. They work with me on their own leadership, how they perceive themselves, how others service them as leaders, what is their fundamental core purpose and how when we bring that all together will their individual leadership development plan narrowly focus in on 4 key areas that they must address, strengthen and improve to then be the leader that they want to be.
We all have 24 hours in our day and all need to eat, sleep, to be with family and to work. So what and how do the most effective leaders focus in on! In our 2.5 day retreat together we will explore 5 leadership areas that leaders consistently work on.
Effective leadership is not about trying to fill up your diary with as many things as possible to do. It’s not about buying the candle at both ends of the day just to survive. It’s not about squeezing in just one more meeting in order to show you are working hard. It’s about being effective not only in your choices but also how you communicate that to your leadership teams and staff.
When I first started coaching CEO’s, executives and future leaders my clients would share stories of how they made the very most from their time be it time on their own or time with their people. How they spent time building meaningful relationships with people, ensuring quality time was appropriately given to thier vision, identifying the outcomes they need to achieve.
All successful leaders do less!
They are polite in saying no to the things or areas that they should not be involved with and they are 100% focused on making small incremental steps forwards that will make a bigger impact.
Exercise One!
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What are my 2 or 3 greatest leadership strengths?
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What are my 2 or 3 leadership development areas?
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“The difference between a manager and a leader is this – a leader helps others to be brilliant”
Effective Leadership might not often be spoken about or seen by those on the outside. Oragnisations around the world are vying right now to build capable leaders, attracting the very best talent that they can find and developing those leaders into exceptional leaders. When balancing your ROI on leadership development it’s important to have clear metrics that focus the leader. Here are some relevant areas; could be
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elimination of time-wasting meetings
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communication (simple, clearly and constiently)
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accountability (you, your reports and your indirect reports)
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what – why – when
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maintaining positive stakeholder relationships (measure these often)
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create clear lines of authority that deliver results quickly and efficiently
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improve teams and indivudals engagement (measure these often)
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lead with a clear vision, mission and purpose (be consistent in your conversations)
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maintain honest, open and respectful lines of communication (nail these down in the good times so that when it gets hard people know where each other is coming from)
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results focused – short, medium and long-term
When I am coaching a CEO we spend time ensuring they are being effective be it with their board, shareholders/investors and most importantly with their people. We get under the hood to find out what is actually driving them towards ___________(what) and how are they actually showing up each and every day. My coaching work uncovers things that the CEO didn’t; t even realise he/she was or is actually doing (good or bad), we look at their time those 24hours of the day and are they focused on the most important things!
CEO’s have risen to the top because they are good at what they do, they may have a specific job to do that will progress the organisation forwards. Those CEO’s who I coach develop the areas to be an effective leader and ensure lasting behaviour change is maintained. Sometimes you have to get out of the way, other times you need to be holding onto the steering wheel with both hands, other times you need to step up and others step back.
Being an effective leader does require you to be vary aware, and requires an enormous amount of effort put into yourself. The development of an effective leader will last with you for many many years to come.
NO one size will ever fit all so its important to understand one-self and identify what works best for you, the learning process can and does take time. The key thing is to start just like going out for a run, the hardest part is sometimes simply putting on your trainers and stepping out of the door!
I’d love to welcome you onto our 2.5 day Effective Leadership retreat. Book your discovery call below and together let’s bring effective leadership to your every day
Nick Roud was awarded Best Executive Coaching Consultancy at the 2022 Global Business Awards and is hired by CEO’s, executives and future leaders to work on their leadership!
