Outside the Comfort Zone – I want to be a better leader

I was in a meeting recently and asked to weigh in on a topic but then my perspective was completely shot down. It didn’t feel great. And then I thought about how I’ve done that to other people’s ideas which felt even worse.

I’ve been thinking about why this happens. I’m genuinely curious and want to understand other people’s perspectives. But there are times when I don’t demonstrate that. I can have a strong point of view on topics and be decisive but sometimes this goes haywire, and I miss seeing the other person and how they think about things. It’s never intentional because the people I work with are amazing and super smart. It’s usually when I’m in a time crunch, email/text/IM/DM all going off at once, or I was disappointed by something and needed to move on to the next thing. In those moments I don’t always choose my words well and forget that the other person should feel valued. ?

Our executive team was talking the other day about how to lead with both your head and your heart. It was refreshing to hear other people talking about when they’ve had missteps as well. One leader said that he looks at his schedule every morning and thinks about the kind of leader he wants to be in each meeting. I started doing that and then reflecting on how I did at the end of day so I’m routinely thinking about how I need to show up as a leader. I try not to beat myself up when I make mistakes, but my goal is to work every day to be a better leader, admit my faults, and to keep making progress.

To the team members who I haven’t always demonstrated how much I value them – you are awesome, I value your ideas, and I can’t wait to hear your next one.