Leadership is a journey that is constantly changing. It’s not a static discipline, but dynamic. New research and information is available regularly. Realizing this fact is the key to becoming a better leader. Leadership growth takes a lifetime commitment. A leader must constantly be considering how they lead and how they can be a better leader. Here are some suggested resolutions for you to improve your leadership in 2020:
- Learn more about yourself and your leadership abilities. The better you know who you are as a person and as a leader, the more effective leader you will be. You can accomplish this with some self-evaluation, but the better choice would be to use some independent tools to provide an unbiased view of your abilities.
- Create and document your leadership vision or strategy. When I’ve interviewed senior executives, the best leaders can articulate and their leadership vision without hesitation. Having a documented vision provides the leader something to guide them during challenging times. It’s like a leader’s rudder that keeps them on track as they lead.
- Master a new leadership tool. Most leaders rely on communication and motivation to execute their leadership strategy, but there are so many more tools to utilize, such as storytelling and social leadership. Leaders who use these tools effectively are more likely to have more engaged constituents.
- Commit to a regular reflection plan. Reflection is one of the most neglected areas of leadership growth despite the evidence that indicates that leaders who regularly engage in self-reflection, know themselves and their priorities much better than those who don’t. Regular reflection is at a minimum weekly, but optimally daily.
- Find or renew a coaching or mentoring relationship. Just like reflection provides the leader a form of internal feedback, coaching/mentoring provides that external feedback from someone more experienced that enables the leader to grow. Without this sounding board, a leader may only hear the echo of their own internal voice.
- Commit to a leadership continuous-improvement program. Leadership is dynamic, not static, so new research, information and perspectives are available almost daily. Set aside some time to catch up on the latest leadership journals and articles. Even better, share any pertinent information with the rest of your team. The more they grow, the stronger the overall team will be.
The Professional Leadership Academy can help you meet these goals for 2020. You can earn your Certificate of Professional Leadership in 12 months in a program that includes all of the goals mentioned above based on the proprietary 5-step Professional Leadership Process™. It is personalized and adaptable with measurable leadership improvement results. Scholarships and subscription plans are available to help you with the cost. Check out the program overview to learn more.
If you are not ready to make the 12-month commitment, then:
- Learn something about your potential and practice of leadership by taking the Leadership Impact Assessment where you’ll receive a 10+ page report of you personalized results, with insights on how you can improve.
- Master a new leadership tool by enrolling in one of the upcoming leadership master classes on storytelling, social leadership or reflection. These master classes take a deeper dive into the subjects normally introduced in the full program.
- Engage with one of the Academy’s coaches to discuss any leadership challenges you could be facing. The coaches are leadership experts who have decades of experience mentoring leaders from a variety of industries and organization levels.
- Subscribe to the Leadership Resource Library where some of the best leadership articles, videos and podcasts from around the world are regularly curated for you. Just like leadership, the Library is dynamic, so content is added and removed regularly.
Thank you for your time and here’s to happy holidays and a leadership-filled new year.
