Episode 03: The Fundamentals of Leadership (According to Me)
It’s a Game-Changer!
In this episode, I share what I believe the most fundamental skills and behaviors every leader should focus on first to create real connection.
Enjoy!
Listen Here:
(The notes below are only a brief summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
There are plenty of opinions and leadership models available that list what skills, behaviors and characteristics successful leaders should have. Your organization might have their own set of leadership characteristics that they expect their leaders to emulate.
And it’s not a bad thing that there are so many available. Our brains like structure and direction on what we should be working toward.
I have my own thoughts on what skills and behaviors are a game-changer for every leader. They are my opinion only - I realize that you may agree or disagree and I may be missing some things. My thoughts are based on my experience, which includes:
30+ years of being in the workforce – working for and working with different people
Almost 30 years of being in a supervisory / management role
20 years of working in Human Resources – working with/coaching people at every level
Being an entrepreneur
Doing a lot of self-awareness work
I have organized the fundamentals into three categories: Inward (Self) / Outward (Others) / Both (Self + Others):
SELF / INWARD
prioritizes personal development
is authentic
embraces vulnerability
embraces failure
OTHERS / OUTWARD
creates a vision
influences
inspires
focuses on helping others to develop
cultivates environments that honors and leverages differences
BOTH
is curious
is compassionate
These fundamentals – these ways of being - are in service of connection to self and to others. They act as a springboard to the rest of the important leadership skills and behaviors.
And it is unique to each person.
This is where self-awareness comes in.
I believe that any human can ‘be a leader’, if they want to be. Often times it takes elevating self-awareness – understanding innate strengths and preferences – learning where natural blockers might be and training or retraining the brain.
Another topic of consideration is that of leadership styles. Your leadership style is the way in which you influence and motivate others to reach a goal.
Understanding the different types of leadership styles can help make you a better leader. Different leadership styles produce different results, and certain people are suited to different styles of leadership. Once you understand what type of leader you are, you will have a better sense of your strengths, weaknesses, and the type of communication that can result in the most effective leadership possible.
Your leadership style is developed based on several things, including:
psychological preferences
life experiences
learnings from leaders you’ve worked for
influence from organizational training and leadership frameworks
There are pros and cons to each leadership style – it very much can depend on the situation, the project, the role and the employees / teams you are working with. A leaders’ job is to not only know their own - but know when to adapt and show flexibility as needed.
Here are some ways that you can explore what your leadership style is:
Online Quizzes
Look at performance reviews
Think back to feedback + situations that felt awesome and ones that didn’t feel great
Ask others
Complete a personality profile, like Insights
Questions you ask yourself as it pertains to this episode:
Am I showing up authentically?
What works and what doesn’t work? And in what situations?
What would I change and why?
What does my organization look for? Does that align with me and/or my values?
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