If you’ve been around leadership development, you’ve probably heard a phrase that goes something like this “you must know yourself before you can lead.”
And I’m guessing you’ve worked hard to understand who you are as a person and as a leader.
You
–go to courses
–take assessments
– read books and listen to podcasts
And you struggle.
You struggle
–to communicate effectively
–to “read” people
–to get others to commit to your projects, to your ideas, to your process.
And your productivity, relationships, and your bottom line suffer.
Your projects, people and company don’t advance. You don’t advance. So, you go back to looking for ways to improve yourself.
This cycle is slowly crushing leaders like you today.
It isn’t a lack of self-knowledge, desire, ability or natural talent that keeps you from progressing. In fact, I’d argue that you’re oversaturated with self-knowledge.
You know
–who you are
-where you want to go
-your strengths and your weaknesses
You don’t need one more self-assessment, one more book, podcast, article, etc. to figure out more about you.
You’ve got a Ph.D. in you.
You need to look beyond yourself.
Look, you’re a leader that cares. You want to know, serve and love the people you’re leading.
It’s time to work on understanding your people. Because leading isn’t about you, it’s about the people that you serve.
You want people following you because they want to, not because they have to.
Where do you start?
Start by asking your people about themselves, and then listen.