10 Principles of Effective Leaders

As we head towards the mid-way point of Q3 and look ahead I wanted to share some habits you could adopt to upgrade yourself and become more effective. These ideas are more granular and actionable than your usual ideas for what makes a great leader. Like anything, you won’t see results if you only apply these for a few days, but if you can apply them consistently and make them habitual you’ll see big gains.

If you haven’t already, you know what to do:

1) Eat The Frog - high-performing leaders don’t put off challenging work, they face it and get it done. They start each day with uncomfortable items. They don’t shy away from having difficult conversations or handling sensitive situations. They recognise that challenging work is important and a preventive measure to set them up for success.

2) Goals - without a target or destination you are shooting for, you are just going through the motions. High performers set weekly, monthly and annual goals, and review them regularly. How are we doing? What’s the area of focus this week? Are we on track?

3) Learning - the landscape is continuously changing, there is always something new to learn. Leaders adopt a beginner’s mindset and approach things with an open mind. They’re humble, they see it as a journey that doesn’t have a destination. They also know that learning experiences don’t always come as they would expect, sometimes they arrive in unusual packages.

4) Ownership - it’s not about who is right or wrong, it’s about getting it right. Leaders take ownership of their team and create learning opportunities out of failures and misses. Where did we go wrong? What did we learn? What steps will we take to ensure we win next time?

5) Preparation - pre-season training and practice behind closed doors is where the game is won, hitting the public stage becomes a formality.

2 super helpful tips to prepare better:

1. Plan tomorrow today. What are your 3 MITs (Most Important Tasks) and what are your next steps for tomorrow? Lining these up the day before means you hit the ground running and start fast, rather than hitting your desk tomorrow at 9 am and wondering what you should work on today, plan your day now.

2. Map out a 3-6 month plan. Schedule an hour of thinking time for yourself and write down each month of the year on a document. Under each month brainstorm key areas or objectives that need to be tackled for that month. Once you have those ideas you can schedule time into your calendar to work on them or facilitate a session with your team.Pro tip: Give your team visibility on what’s to come next month and what areas you’ll be focusing on.

6) Kaizen - focus on continuous improvement, make it your team’s philosophy. Engrain it. Leaders who live and breathe Kaizen are diving into mistakes and evaluating performance. How can we be better? What can we improve on today? Constantly searching.

7) Belief - no one is immune to negative thoughts or self-doubt but effective leaders eject them immediately, ask themselves better questions and turn their fear into action and any nerves into excitement. Action cures fear and builds momentum.

8) Progress over Perfection - making consistent decisions and moving things forward, is better than trying to make everything perfect or sitting on the fence. When you’re trying to get better at something, focus on volume and grabbing as many opportunities as possible, the quicker you fail and self-reflect, the quicker you come back stronger and better. Perfection is a growth staller and productivity drain. If you never put yourself in difficult situations or stretch yourself you will never grow. Your decision-making, your confidence, and you're public speaking all improve with volume. We are guilty of seeing other people who are perfect and attempting to get to that level straight away. The reality is they’re very good at what they do because they have been working on their craft a lot longer than you.

9) Self Investment - invest now for future gains. Investing in yourself right now by sharpening your skills, learning, getting uncomfortable, reading books, working hard, and partnering with mentors and positive people will pay you at least 4 times back in 5 years time. What you’re doing today will compound significantly over the next few years.

10) Mind - Effective Leaders take good care of their minds. You cannot be running at an optimal level and do your best work if you mind is overwhelmed or busy.

How do you get yourself into an optimal state? It’s different for everyone, but these are the 3 key ingredients that work well for me.

• Exercise - running 3x times per week. De-stress, stay fit and feel good.

• Sleep - getting a good night’s rest. Reset, recover and start fresh.

• Breaks - holidays or breaks during the day. Gain clarity, reboot and quiet time.

By adopting some of these principles you will upgrade your skills and elevate yourself to an unrecognisable level. It’s about consistency and applying yourself in every situation and continuously looking for ways to win.

All the best

David

Resources Of The Week

• YouTube Video - Simon Sinek - How Great Leaders Inspire Action. This is a classic speech from Simon on how leaders inspire action by starting with Why.

• YouTube Video - William McRaven - Make Your Bed Everyday. William McRaven is a retired Navy Seal and talks about why the little things in life matter. If you cannot do the little things right, how can you get the big things right?

• Organisation - Toastmasters - Toastmasters is a global education company promoting communication, public speaking and leadership. There are clubs you can join all over the world. Great place to start if you’re looking to improve your public speaking skills.

Quote of the Week

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