5 Signs Your Leadership Edge May Be Dulling

Are you losing your edge as a leader?

How would you even know?

I’ve asked myself these questions, and if you are a reflective practitioner leading systems and people, I’m not alone.

I have a theory that isn’t wildly popular.?

To avoid organizational stagnation, everyone should be required to renew their leadership credibility every 7-10 years.?

Why is that?

If you (and I) don’t renew yourself, you rely on what you know and stagnate. The world of work isn’t changing. It has changed, and the motivational core of the people you lead today also has.

Rebooting is vital to keeping your leadership edge.?

My observations lead me to believe that far too many humans hold the title of leader long after they’ve genuinely stopped leading. That’s not good for anyone, including the leader, because everyone deserves to live in a community served by legit leaders and teams.?

So how do you know if you’re starting to stagnate and dulling your edge?

Here are the five signs that your edge may be dulling as a leader.

1. You have cul-de-sac meeting conversations

I get that leadership is complex and that some decisions take time, but too often, I’ve observed leaders who look to solve a critical problem in February while still looking at that problem square in the face in September.

Pick your issue: launching a new remote work policy, starting a program partnership, letting someone go, or taking a well-deserved vacation with your spouse…if you’re talking about it for months and doing nothing about it, nobody wins.

Ineffective leaders use talk as an alternative to action. Talking about it is never a substitute for doing it.

And if you’re waiting for certitude, you’ll wait forever.

Want to break the cycle?

Easy. Do something. Even if all you do today is cross something off your list.

You have enough information to clear far more off your list than you think.

Stop talking. Start doing.

2. You dilly-dally to make most choices

I understand that some things should take time before you act.

But just because some things should take time and consideration doesn’t mean everything should take a long time to get done.

One sure sign that you and your organization are on a path toward decline is that things get done slowly. The timeline keeps getting protracted. Longer, and longer, and longer.

Think back to when you started your leadership journey and measure the distance between the locus of idea and the locus of execution.?

Compare that to your current pace.

I’m always amazed at how quickly things get done when my team and I have confident synergy around the clarity of our work. The “game-on” switch is activated.?

If you measure action in months or years, it’s a sign you’re losing your edge.

You can use size or complexity as an excuse, but that’s still an excuse. Just because some decisions take a long time doesn’t mean every decision should take a long time.

I recently had a vital HPG team member leave (to return to school). It was a challenging position filled with a highly qualified person in two weeks.

We’re also developing a new virtual workshop series from design to development to launch in 8 weeks.?

Sure, only some projects are that fast or should be that fast. The question that I want you to consider when you waffle is this:?

Is it that you can’t move quickly or won’t move quickly?

· What other information do you need?

· Why are you delaying?

· How will things be different if you wait another week or month?

If you can’t come up with compelling answers to those questions, then act.

At the top of their game, leaders are agile, nimble, and responsive.

Diminished agility is diminished ability.

I invite you to finish this blog article and share any questions or insights HERE.

??? Friends!

https://www.higherperformancegroup.com/5-signs-your-edge-may-be-dulling-as-a-leader

P.S. Here are the two best ways I can help you sharpen your leadership advantage today:

1?? Check out our suite of leader and team resources: https://www.higherperformancegroup.com/resources

2?? Set up a call to explore next steps: https://www.higherperformancegroup.com/schedule