3 creative practices to become a better leader.
Ali Merchant
| Executive coach | Leadership advisor | Former Head of L&D | Founder of All-In Manager
Reading this newsletter won't magically make you a better leader. The only thing that will make you a better leader is practicing leadership behaviors consistently.
Today, I’m sharing three leadership behaviors I want you to practice. I’m also sharing three low-risk (and fun) ways to start practicing these behaviors in your life
? Practice becoming assertive.
Asserting yourself at work is challenging. Most of us lack the skill to do this well, especially if we’ve never done it before. Here’s a fun, low-stakes experiment that will help you build this skill:
Next time you’re at a restaurant and you don’t like where you’re seated. Say something. Try requesting your server for a better table. Don't settle. What’s the worse that could happen? Worse case, you get rejected. Best case, you get what you want.
The trick is to take small, calculated risks in a low-stakes environment and slowly build up the courage to experiment at work.
? Practice learning to listen
Most of us are weak listeners. The good news is we can improve our listening skills. The bad news is no amount of blog posts will help if we don’t practice. Here’s one of my favorite listening drills:
Find a friend or someone in your family whom you typically disagree with. Your task is to listen to them for one entire minute without saying anything back or showing your disagreement. This sounds easy in theory, it's not.
This exercise will elevate your listening skills. If you can learn to listen to people you disagree with, you’re going to supercharge your listening muscle. (Remember: Listening does not imply agreeing)
? Practice asking follow-up questions
Curiosity is a leadership superpower. One way to cultivate your curiosity is by asking questions before jumping and giving your two cents. Here’s a fun exercise for you:
Next time your friend/roommate/spouse shares what’s bothering them, don’t jump in and share your solution right away. Instead, ask them follow-up questions.
???? “Tell me more”
???? “What happened next?”
???? “What else did they say?”
???? "How did that make you feel?”
If you’re dying to give advice, try this instead:
- “Would you like to hear what I think?”
- “Would you like a suggestion?”
When you ask questions before jumping in, two things happen:
- You make the other person feel heard.
- Your advice lands better because now you have a better understanding of what they’re going through.
Practicing leadership behaviors isn’t just confined to work. If you look around, you’ll see opportunities to practice everywhere. The world is your leadership lab. All you need is the courage to experiment.
Keep leading.
Ali
Bookkeeper ??? Helping Small Business Owners & Coaches Focus on What They Do Best ??? Message the Word "Books" to Learn More ??? Dad joke aficionado
2 年All the knowledge in the world won't do us any good unless we apply it.
Best-selling author. Marketer. Dad.
2 年Some really great practices to implement, cheers for sharing the article ??
?? Helping Executives (Current and Aspiring) Trim Years Off The Journey To The Top Of Their Game. Executive and Team Coach / Founder @ One Mountain Leadership.
2 年Great article! Love the tips! All are important as a leader but listening to others is important to be a good leader and a better person!
I facilitate sustainable change experiences.
2 年Great point Ali about the need to practice. That is why I have intentionally called myself a practitioner - my leadership practice and change practice are always work in progress as I practice my behaviours, skills and ways of working there's always changes and improvements to a practice.
Director Of Product @ Databox | Need business performance benchmarks? We have them.
2 年Ali Merchant This is golden! I got the advice about "not just reading about it but also applying it" years ago and I must admit it was mind blowing, although it's simple :) Today I joke that our workplace is sort of a Petri dish or a playground for experimenting with different approaches, negotiation skills, and modern leadership techniques to empower teams and give them more autonomy and decision power to name but a few. Golden!