Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 is the year that you resolve to dedicate yourself to ongoing excellence as a leader. But what is the standard for excellence? In an earlier article, Tamara used the metaphor of the unfinished pyramid. You obviously have skill and talent, or you would not be where you are today. However, excellence demands more. For starters, it requires a realisation that your evolution as a leader is never finished and that there are always new ways to become better at what you do. In this article, I would like to help you on your way with three proven steps that, when taken together, will help you move from good intentions to skilful mastery of whatever aspects of your leadership you wish to improve.
- Developmental Goals
- Disciplined Action
- Reflection & Refinement
Developmental Goals
Set between one and three key developmental goals for yourself. I cannot overstate the importance of goals. Research shows that people who set goals are more likely to make habitual changes in their behaviour and are more successful in general. However, so much is written about goal-setting that it is easy to miss the forest for the trees. Therefore, I will focus on just two pieces of critical advice. First, keep your goals simple. Forget so-called SMART goals in favour of a more basic formula: I want to + a description of what you would like to see in the future (e.g., I want to be a more caring leader or I want to be an inspirational leader or I want to be better at nurturing a cohesive team). Second, find ways to keep your goals in the forefront of your mind. Goals that sit in filing cabinets or in the deep recesses of memory will not help you make changes in your day-to-day behaviour. One way to do this is to create little prompts within your existing daily routine, such as creating a computer password that reminds you of your goals.
Disciplined Action
Take a range of disciplined action. The difference between a life filled with good intentions and one filled with success lies in the actions you choose to take and those you choose to forgo. I suggest that you take a range of different actions all focused on your goals. One of the first steps can be to read a few reputable books on the topic. You can even access book summaries and article collections. The Australian Leadership Development Centre has compiled a list of leadership resources organised by topic that you could use to get you started. Of course, reading about leadership is often easier than mastering the underlying skills. I therefore suggest that you also invest in yourself and take one or two short courses focused explicitly on your goals. If you haven’t already, make sure you are signed up to receive updates on upcoming courses in your area.
A third form of action involves making time and space for regular practice sessions in much the same way that you would if you were learning to play the violin or working on your golf game. Some of these sessions may involve working with an executive coach, but you can also practice a lot by yourself. Try creating a weekly to-do list of 3–6 things that require you to practice goal-related behaviours. This also helps you keep your goals in the forefront of your mind, and you will be amazed at how unplanned opportunities will also present themselves. Finally, find a role model to observe, talk to and emulate. This doesn’t have to the “perfect leader”, or even someone that is senior to you. Rather, it needs to be someone who excels in the specific areas you want to improve.
Reflect & Refine
Reflect on progress, and refine your actions accordingly. No matter how clear you are about what you want to achieve, your actions will not always bring you the results that you desire. This is called being human. However, we often keep doing the same things hoping in vain that they will bring us different results—a tendency that Einstein describes as the essence of insanity. The solution takes just a few minutes each day. Purchase a journal (any nice notebook will do) and write your goals on the front page. This will help to keep them at the forefront of your mind. Then, take a few minutes after lunch each day to answer questions such as: Did I stick to my goal-related behaviours today? What worked well? What didn’t? Did I fall back into any familiar habits when I should have used my goal behaviour? Why? What can I do about this next time? How will I use my goal-related behaviours in the next 24 hours? There may also be times, such as immediately following a major event, when you will want to make additional entries focused solely on your behaviours during that event.
Good luck and best wishes!
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Very good article. Thank you.