Instantly Become A More Effective Leader By Redefining Two Things...
Stephen Bates
Unblocking Leaders & Entrepreneurs | Practical Leadership Skills | Imposter Syndrome Specialist | Passionate Tango Dancer
A leader stuck in the lower level tasks that should be handled by someone else is not an effective leader.
Leaders should be focussing on strategy and growth and should not be down in the weeds of lower level tasks and problems.
Not only is this extremely stressful and frustrating it is also very damaging to the business or project.
We hear variations of these statements all of the time.
?? “I shouldn't have to get involved with this; that's why I have a team!”
??“I never get the time to do what I need to do.”
??“I need to look X months ahead, but I don't have the space to think.”
There are too many reasons why this situation happens for me to dive into here, but instead, I want to give you two practical things to break this frustrating loop.
Most people would tell you to start delegating more, which you will need to do, but work on these first.
??Let's look at identity first.??
Do you consider yourself the leader of the company, division, project or team?
Are you totally confident to say “I'm the boss”?
Many people who are in leadership positions often have doubts about their right or skills to be the leader.
This is where things like Imposter Syndrome cause trouble.
Many leaders may have the title but don't feel like they are or should be the leader.
This even applies to leaders who own their own companies; we have seen that many times.
Do you have a little voice in the back of your head that whispers doubt about how the hell you ever got to this point?
Many people do, but very few want to admit that publicly.
After this has been solved, they are okay to speak more openly about it, but not when they are stuck in it.
(If you run a larger organisation, many of your managers will have this problem too, but they won't tell you)
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Being totally comfortable with the leader's identity is the crucial first step.
If you are not, finding out why and dealing with it is a must.
??Now your definition of work??
Many leaders (and aspiring leaders) haven't redefined their definition of work.
They bring their old way of working, thinking and creating value with them into their higher position.
Their role has changed, but they haven't.
(Be brutally honest with the answer to this question.
?? Do you trust people?
?? Do you struggle to delegate?
?? Do you fear losing control?
?? Do you feel more valuable and confident working on topics you know well?)
Redefining your definition of work is essential because it makes you focus on tasks that only you can do and immediately show you what needs delegating.
Please don't skip the definition of identity part because you think it is unnecessary or mindset BS.
Being completely comfortable with this will help you understand your true value, and updating your definition of work will be far easier.
If you realise you want and need to get this done quickly and more easily, we can help.
These two actions will make a world of difference to how you operate and your team's productivity.
Book a call if you need to get this dealt with quickly.
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1 年Very good points Stephen - when a software developer reaches newer heights and gets promoted to a leadership role, there is a lot to meditate on - A good starting point is to consider "Which leaders have helped me to get me to his position? How? and Why?".