If you want to grow leadership skills that inspire action, then leave the ego behind. Here are 3 ways to grow your leadership skills and confidence while avoiding the career pitfalls of an inflated ego.
"The biggest obstacle that stalls leaders' growth is the human ego. When leaders start to think they know it all, they stop growing."
Ken Blanchard
I spent over 20 years of my professional career developing managers and leaders for growth and advancement in their careers. Along the way, I discovered mindset patterns and behavioural habits that are reliable indicators of who will likely succeed as an effective leader and who will not.
The consistent mindset traits of managers and leaders who grow and advance in their careers are curiosity, drive, self-awareness and self-motivation. Their leadership behaviour is based on values and principles like humility, integrity, trust and fairness.
Growth mindset leaders like these are invigorating to work with. They don't rest on past successes and recognize that future success requires continual learning and growth. They look for self-development opportunities and work from an abundance mindset of win-win, understanding that their team's success leads to their success.
The one consistent thing that gets in the way of leadership development and effectiveness is ego. Some managers and leaders who start to experience success and advance in their careers can become preoccupied with the feeling of success, recognition and getting more of it.
These ego-driven leaders are challenging to work with because they are not looking for leadership skill growth, they are looking for leadership status growth. When they start to chase after recognition and status, they behave with a scarcity mindset that is competitive and limiting.
While it's one thing to have confidence in your experience and skills, it's another to be conceited with a desire for recognition and praise.
Here are 3 ways to grow your leadership skills and confidence while avoiding the career pitfalls of an inflated ego.
1. Look for the Next Steps to Elevate Leadership Skills
It's easy to start coasting on your past experience and successes as you develop in your career. Doing what you already know is easier than learning something new, but it is not necessarily safer for your career advancement.
In a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world where business demands, practices and skills can become obsolete overnight, it's important to make sure your leadership mindset and skills don't go extinct.
As you advance in your career, it's important to take stock of the differences between your previous roles to your new role. Most likely, your new job scope has broadened and the team you lead is more elevated in their experience and careers too. This means that your way of connecting, executing and leading needs to adapt.
Example: Promotion from manager to director of a corporate team.
As a manager, you lead more junior and entry-level employees who needed more direction and hands-on coaching.
As a director, the team you lead will now include more experienced managers and seasoned employees who have areas of expertise and specialized skill sets.
You will need to adapt the way you communicate and connect to be more collaborative. vs directive.
You will need to focus on new leadership skills that help you to support your team and learn more about how to achieve the new objectives as a director.
“The higher up you go in the organization, the more you need to make other people winners and not make it about winning yourself.”
Marshall Goldsmith
One of my favourite leadership authors Marshall Goldsmith explains it best in his book,
When people start to be recognized and gain success in their careers, they often don't think there is a need to modify their mindset or skill set because they are successful. Just like the cell phones of the past that have gone extinct with the advancements of today's smartphones, we need to elevate our leadership skills to meet future demands.
2. Be Self-Aware and Open-Minded to Grow
Successful leaders meet company objectives and goals. If you want to achieve your objectives as a leader, you need to meet the objectives that your team looks for in their leader.
Your success as a leader is not only based on what the boss thinks of your performance. In fact, your success as a leader is just as dependent on what your employees think of your leadership performance.
“As human beings, we almost always suffer from a disconnect between the self we think we are and the self that the rest of the world sees in us.”
Marshall Goldsmith
As a leader, you need to be aware of your customer service ratings. Your customers are your team. What is their customer experience as an employee under your leadership?
It's a good practice to have regular feedback sessions with your employees that feed upward with information on what your team needs to be successful. The higher you advance as a leader, the more you need to serve your employees well so that they can and will be able to do their jobs well.
This doesn't mean that you cater to every whimsy or desire of your team. This means having open and honest conversations about what's working and not working in your collaboration with your team members.
When you build trust and create a safe environment for your employees to voice their feedback, you learn and grow your ability to lead them better. The reward is that they will be better able to help you achieve your objectives. Everyone wins.
To learn more about being a more self-aware and open-minded leader, I recommend the book by Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley, Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust.
3. Lead With Purpose and Principles
Your intent as a leader is evident in your words and actions. People see and feel where you are coming from. People sense your motives.
Getting clear on your leadership purpose and principles will give you the compass and the map to guide your leadership actions.
“There are only two ways to influence human behaviour: you can manipulate it, or you can inspire it.”
Simon Sinek
Here is a comparison of what leading with purpose and principles looks like vs. leading with ego. Which team do you want to belong to?
LEADING WITH PURPOSE & PRINCIPLES | LEADING WITH EGO |
|
|
“Great leaders...inspire people to act...Those who truly lead...create a following of people who act not because they were swayed, but because they were inspired.”
Simon Sinek
So while congratulations are always in order as you achieve and grow in your leadership success, remember that your success as a leader is built on the success of those who choose to follow you.
Leading with purposes and principles that inspire will enable you to grow your career as you help others to grow.
Lead Like Gandhi
“The more a leader is honoured, respected, and genuinely regarded by others, the more legitimate power he will have with others”
Dr. Stephen R. Covey
You don't need an impressive title or fancy business card to be a successful and impactful leader. Acknowledge your achievements and be confident in your skills as you advance in your career. But curb your ego and understand that being a leader is really about serving those you lead to succeed.
So remember to...
Look for the Next Steps to Elevate Leadership Skills
Be Self-Aware and Open-Minded to Grow
Lead With Purpose and Principles
“Be confident, but also be humble. If you’ve become successful, it’s only because a lot of other people helped you all along the way.”
John C Maxwell
Books I recommend for growing your leadership skills:
The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential - by John C Maxwell
Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust - by Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley
I would love to hear your comments!
Have you ever worked for an ego-driven leader? How did it feel?
Have you ever worked for a purpose and principle-driven leader? How did it feel?
What leadership traits and behaviours inspire you to action?
Thank you for spending time on AYCLimitless.com
Please share and subscribe if you enjoyed your time on the site.
Comments