Leader, Are You Your Worst Enemy?
It is easy to point at all the things around us that impose barriers to our success, but how often do we look to see if there is an enemy within that is stopping us and our business from delivering results?
When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot harm you." -
-Winston Churchill.
Ineffective leaders present lists of external factors that are responsible for their less-than-optimal results. Effective leaders know for a fact that they have the greatest role to play in their own results, positive or negative.
Whether you sense you have been your worst enemy, or are simply curious about any blind spots you may have, follow the three exercises below to improve your leadership effectiveness for greater personal, team, organizational, and market results.
1. Define Your Motivations
Give serious thought and consideration to your motivations in purpose, vision, values, and value add.
Ask yourself:
Why am I here?
What do I want to achieve?
What do I stand for?
How do I show up as a business leader?
You might be fully aligned between your personal motivations and pursuits, or you may discover that you are making decisions from your personal motivations that undermine your aspirations as a business leader.
If there is a misalignment, it is time to align your motivations with your pursuits.
2. Identify Your Limiting Beliefs
What lies about you, your employees, customers, business, or market have you believed that are holding you back from being an effective leader?
Caution: You may not think of them as lies; you may instead hold them as "common knowledge."
Ask yourself:
What assumptions do I make about myself, employees, customers, business, and the market?
Where did I get them from?
How do they hold me back?
What can I do about them to stack the odds in my favor?
"Beware of assumptions! Whatever you assume to be possible or impossible will have a tendency to become real for you."
Do you sense that you are limiting your leadership, career, team, and organizational effectiveness?
Once you identify any limiting beliefs you may hold, it is time for action.
3. Increase Your Leadership Effectiveness
Knowing your motivations and limitations will not increase your leadership effectiveness.
To know where to start to increase your leadership effectiveness, ask your manager, reporters, peers, family, and friends for a 360-degree leadership assessment, then use the results to develop a personal leadership development plan you can action to get out of your way by increasing your leadership effectiveness.
To learn more about 4-Week Executive Coaching Program and start your journey to increasing your leadership effectiveness, email operations@modestamahiga.com .