Leading Self

Being a leader is challenging.

You are expected to excel in many areas with limited support. From driving sustainable business growth to fostering a purposeful vision, building a flourishing team, and ensuring work-life balance, the responsibilities are numerous.

In the next three editions of Breakthrough Leadership, I will share twelve high-impact concepts that can transform how leaders manage themselves, their teams, and their organisations. Each concept provides a systematic approach to a leadership area and can be used individually or in combination.

In today's episode, I will discuss four areas related to "Leading Self."

Leading Self

Leadership starts with oneself.

To successfully lead others, it is crucial to be fully aware of who you are, where you are going, and how you show up. Think about the great leaders who have the ability to inspire positive action. This edition will focus on four concepts related to "Leading Self," helping you understand how you present yourself as a leader and how it impacts your performance and that of your teams.

(1) Energy Leadership?? ? ?

Have you ever wondered how you show up as a leader in different situations and the impact it has on yourself and those around you? Work situations often involve pressure and stressors that can trigger negative reactions and poor outcomes. Conversely, there are moments when a team achieves a "flow state," resulting in highly energetic behaviours and positive outcomes. How can you understand these situations from an energetic perspective?

The Energy Leadership Index by iPEC allows master practitioners to profile leaders using a scientifically validated assessment. It measures a leader's "Energetic" profile (how they show up on a good day) and their "Stress Reaction" profile (how they show up under pressure or stress). This assessment provides valuable insights into energy levels and how they impact thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Leaders are often surprised by the significant differences between their two profiles and the impact this has on their performance and engagement with others. The debrief reveals thinking traps and stress reactions that hold back leaders with negative energy. Simultaneously, it enables them to find solutions and shift to more positive energy levels that serve them better.

Understanding the key influencers of your energy is also possible. These influencers help you build your potential while minimizing energy-draining distractions. Here are six major influencers:

• ?? Spirit: How well connected are you to your purpose, values, beliefs, and strengths?
• ?? Mental: How much brainpower do you have available when you need to perform?
• ?? Emotional: What emotions do you experience, and how can you control them to boost your energy?
• ?? Physical: How well do you look after your physical well-being, and what impact does it have?
• ?? Connection: What support networks give you energy, and how do you avoid energy sappers?
• ?? Environment: How does the environment you work or perform in impact your team's energy?

To learn more about the Energy Leadership Index or the major energy influencers, visit: https://www.headsupandfreer.com/energy-leadership.

(2) Thinking & Behavioural Preferences (Emergenetics) ?? ??

Effective team engagement and communication can be challenging due to different thinking and behaviour preferences. Understanding these differences within your team can lead to substantial improvements in work ethic, innovation, productivity, and communication.?

Emergenetics is a scientifically validated psychometric tool that profiles teams' thinking (Analytical, Structural, Social & Conceptual) and behavioural (Expressiveness, Assertiveness & Flexibility) preferences.

A qualified associate can provide professional debriefs and workshops, enabling team members to raise awareness of their own preferences and those of their colleagues. This knowledge helps identify better ways to engage and communicate based on these attributes.

Consider the following tips for getting the best from your team in meetings based on different thinking and behavioural preferences:

• Analytical Thinkers??: Share meeting purpose and intended outcomes.
• Structural Thinkers ??: Provide an agenda and finish each topic before moving on.
• Social Thinkers ??: Identify meeting stakeholders and establish rapport through check-ins.
• Conceptual Thinkers ??: Share the vision and seek ideas from everyone.
• Expressiveness ??: Share pre-work and the agenda, allowing for discussion opportunities.
• Assertiveness ??: Work towards consensus, allowing respectful debate.
• Flexibility ??: Ensure decisions and next steps are defined, while remaining open to adjustments.

To learn more about Emergenetics, the brain science behind it, or to profile yourself and your teams, please contact: [email protected]

(3) Purpose (The Why)?? ?? ??

Clarity about your purpose, values, and beliefs is essential for optimal performance. Without knowing your "Why," it's impossible to function at your best. Understanding the direction you want to go, why you want to go there, and what motivates you helps define your purpose—a shining beacon that provides energy, builds resilience, and enables you to persevere toward your goals.

Defining purpose or life ambitions can be challenging. One way to gain greater clarity in this area is by working on values, beliefs, and strengths. By doing so, critical factors influencing purpose and motivators can be explored and defined. As a coach, I use several tools to support leaders in gaining clarity, including:

• Wheel of Life: Focuses on the most important aspects of a person's life from their viewpoint.
• Values Assessment: Provides clarity on various values and identifies those most resonant to the individual.
• Ideal Image Tool: Helps leaders envision an ideal situation in different aspects of their life and explore pathways to it.
• Signature Strengths: A positive psychology profiling tool that identifies key strengths and explores their future use.
• Beliefs: Through coaching, we explore beliefs that support being at one's best and those that hold back progress.

A coach can support leaders in gaining clarity on their why, motivators, and purpose. If you're interested in how a leadership coach can transform performance and wellbeing for you and your team, please contact me directly: [email protected].

Communicating with Impact ?? ?? ??

In today's digital age, personal and organisational brands carry significant importance. The impact and influence your brand has can extend to your employees, customers, and society at large.

One technique to understand your personal brand is to ask yourself:

• "What do people say about you when you're not in the room?"
• "What would you like people to say about you?"
• "What is the gap, and what action can you take to change your personal brand?"

This simple technique, when facilitated well, helps leaders move forward. Recently, I used it with a group of 15-16-year-old teenagers to help them understand their impact as future young leaders in their school. It made them consider their influence as role models for younger students and reflect on their current impact.

Your brand is significantly influenced by your communication skills. Developing these skills can transform your impact by ensuring clarity in your message and resonating with your audience.

?????? Consider the following questions:

• Do you understand your audience well enough to communicate in an engaging way? Preparation is key.
• Did the intent of your message land with the desired impact? Often, there's a gap between intent and impact. Reflect on ways to bridge that gap.
• How can storytelling engage your audience and deliver a message with more impact? Think of inspiring leaders who captivate their audience through storytelling, increasing impact and recall.

Next time you're with your team or in a senior leadership meeting, observe communication styles and techniques. Who effectively delivers their message? Why did it resonate? What can you learn from them? How can you adapt your communication to have an even greater impact?

In the next edition of Breakthrough Leadership, I will explore four concepts related to Leading Teams: Leadership Disciplines, High Performance Routines, Coaching and Commercial Skills.

Following that, I will delve into four concepts related to Leading Organizations: Culture, Leading Change, Inclusive Leadership and Strategic Thinking

If you have any points or topics you'd like covered or discussed in the upcoming editions, please let us know. Your insights and experiences are valuable.

If you found any of the topics on Leading Self useful, please share this newsletter with your contacts. Thank you for being the best leader you can be.

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