In the dynamic world of leadership, achieving excellence requires a deliberate approach. So if you’re looking to enhance your leadership abilities and drive better results, you’re in the right place. This article unveils the three steps to elevate leadership that can help you gain a higher vantage point, make strategic and tactical moves, and accomplish your primary goals. Join us on this journey as we delve into the essential principles that set good leaders apart from the best, guiding you toward effective leadership that yields success.
So.. what does it mean to elevate your leadership and how is it done?
Elevate: To elevate your leadership is to increase your ability to drive results. It is to create a higher vantage point and therefore to see the most strategic and tactical moves toward winning. Winning is about accomplishing your chief aim – your one major goal. Kids learn how to dribble a soccer ball or basketball as they look down and concentrate on the task. Elevated players are able to dribble the ball with their head up and therefore see the field or the court and make the plays that improve the team’s ability to score and win. In other words, any activity that requires you to look down or away from the field of play for any significant period of time is the wrong activity for an effective executive.
How?: Carve out one hour of time on a regular basis to ask and answer three perennial questions. Then act upon your answers. This is what effective leaders do. Essentially, you are asking the most important leadership question, “What needs to be done?” by breaking it down into three smaller questions.
Three Elevating Questions:
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What am I doing right and need to continue to do to move us closer to the goal?
You are often tempted to leave these activities behind to put out fires (dribbling), to do things that are easier, or to do things you like doing (caused by lack of experience, discipline, or burnout). Executive discipline requires a keen understanding of the most important activities and doing them first and often. These activities must be protected on your calendar and by your team. This is your stubborn strategy.
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What am I doing that I need to stop doing?
For you and your team to scale your leadership and your capacity, there are things you must stop doing. Some things simply do not NEED to be done. Some have worn out their usefulness, they are outdated, and a waste of time. And some things need to be delegated appropriately with a deep understanding of the how and why. Sometimes you hold on to things because you do them well. Sometimes they are the things that got you promoted. If you think holding on to what you are good at is relevant to expanding your organization, you are wrong. To have an elevated perspective, you must give EVERYTHING away that you can so that you can be available to lead others, to support others, to be available to others. That’s what leadership is all about.
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What do I need to start doing?
The answer is Quadrant 2 activity. Quadrant 1 activity is known as IMPORTANT AND URGENT. Obviously, Q1 is real and a constant challenge. Effectiveness happens the more time you are able to invest in Q2 activity known as IMPORTANT AND NON-URGENT. This is the space where you invest in your health, your mind, your strategic thinking and planning, deeper relationships and coaching, business development, talent acquisition, and deep dives into differentiating you and your team from the competition.
FINAL THOUGHTS
These questions are not easy to answer and rarely easy to act upon. That’s why they separate good from best. Another challenge is how each of us approach the activity differently based on our temperaments. If you are not familiar with temperament psychology, you are at a disadvantage. As humans, we share many attributes but what makes us unique from one another is the secret sauce for success. Understanding these differences and leveraging them makes all the difference.
Explore More Content
As you embark on your leadership journey, don’t miss out on other valuable insights to help you master the three steps to elevate leadership. Explore these related resources:
- Scattered – Building Personal and Professional Playbooks
- Clear Outcome
- Episode 5: Influence Pt. 2 – Important Aspects of Gaining Influence
- Episode 56: The Horror of Hiring
These resources along with the others on our blogs and podcast pages will further empower you on your quest to elevate your leadership skills and drive meaningful results. So make sure to chek them out!
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