Here's how you can learn the most important lessons in your executive career.

I would also add that with a growth mindset, every situation has an opportunity to learn and grow. Yes some things fail and seemingly miserably, and that’s life. The difference that in a growth mindset the recovery from those “epic fails” is fast. You look for the gold, adjust then move forward. Do this in every situation and soon you will stop categorizing things as good and bad.

Know this... EVERY successful person has failed. The most successful people have failed a LOT. There is no success without failure. What makes these individuals different is their interpretation of what that failure means. Successful individuals view failure as a necessary and valuable part of a feedback loop. "I tried something, it didn't work as expected, I will adjust, try something different and re-evaluate". Fear of failure can often be mitigated by breaking down the large goal into smaller manageable chunks that one can envision themselves accomplishing. This gives you momentum, reducing fear, and making things "feel" less daunting and more achievable. Failure is never actually failure, but a necessary step towards success.

One of the quickest ways to achieve knowledge and confidence is to align yourself with mentors that have done what you are looking to accomplish. It's natural to feel like you are imposing on someone when you are seeking their advice as a mentor. You will often find, that these mentors are more than happy, and in fact, enjoy sharing their insight and knowledge with others that are eager to learn. You will have many mentors come in and out of your life. Make sure you show them an abundance of appreciation for their insights they share with you. This knowledge is worth it's weight in gold.

I also think that continuous learning can at times lead to not feeling good enough. I am a coach with certifications up the wazoo. What I’ve learned is that there needs to be a balance. Whilst I was “educating myself”, I told myself that I would have more to support my clients. At some point I started to believe I didn’t know enough for leaders to hire me. I have since shifted that belief knowing I know enough and am good enough. In the meantime I can help my clients in a multitude of areas like, communication, mindset, balance, routine to name a few. Reach out if you need help.

Being an effective leader at any level, including as an executive, is not just about driving execution. A big part of effectively leading at an executive level is to be willing to listen and receive input across all levels of the organization. Some input will be more valuable than others, however, by showing your willingness to listen and entertain input from all, you demonstrate to your organization and team members that they are valued and their contributions matter. Your willingness to listen and solicit diverse perspectives from others will also provide you with more tangible data points that you may not have previously considered that will lead to better decisions on your part.

Decision making needs to come from below the neck a great of the time. The best times are when you are stuck in indecision. It may sound counter productive and I felt so too. Collecting data, talking it out with others or putting things into pro & cons seems important. When I gut befuddled with decision making, I stop, breathe and get some answers from my gut and heart. They too are brains, the gut-brain and the heart-brain. They run all kinds of things with no thought at all. Learn to trust your inner wisdom. The data is all there for you to decide. Allow it to happen. Change your mind and do something else for a while & know that the answer will become clear. Practice with inconsequential things & see what happens!