Next Level Leadership
In my adventures through the corridors of leadership and personal development, I’ve been privileged to walk alongside many extraordinary leaders. Moving to California 7 months ago has given me the change that enables a great deal of reflection. One theme I keep returning to is this:
The essence of sustainable high performance and meaningful growth lies not in tirelessly correcting our flaws but in embracing and cultivating our strengths.
You may well roll your eyes. Perhaps it sounds flaky or like a soft approach. When working with leaders it often takes a surprising level of cajoling to get them to think about how their strengths can be the key to taking their leadership to another level. We’re conditioned to think about what we can fix or what gaps we have rather than learning how to use our gifts to propel us forward. And do so in a way that’s far more enjoyable.
Rather than striving endlessly to become good at the things you can’t do, don’t enjoy or struggle with, focus on what you can do and take it further.
Sarah, the CEO of a retail company, leant into her knack for making people feel valued in order to improve her leadership skills. Instead of spending time trying to get better at crunching numbers – something she always found challenging – she doubled down on her ability to boost team morale. She worked hard to use this to create a positive work environment where her employees felt appreciated and motivated. This focus not only made her company a market leader, but also helped Sarah grow into a more confident and inspirational leader.
We still need discomfort
Yet, the human experience is beautifully complex. Embracing our strengths doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to our challenges, stop pushing our boundaries or ignoring the areas where we’re less adept. Sarah for example couldn’t just disregard her tussle with numbers. She needed to recognise and ensure that she was still trying to grow in this area, continually building a toolkit for how, and knowing when to leverage others’ skills to fill her gaps.
It’s not an excuse
A strengths focus is not an excuse for our less helpful behaviors. Take Tim for example, a founder and leader known for his boundless creativity and ability to inspire with visionary ideas. While these strengths sparked innovation, when I met him this was not balanced by an awareness of the impact his strength had on others. Being a founder meant that until his company was bought by a Private Equity firm, he had no one to answer to, no reason to be assessed and no awareness of a need to ask for feedback. He often used his creativity as an excuse for not planning and frequently changing direction saying ‘I’m a creative thinker – it’s just what comes with the territory, without it we wouldn’t be where we are today’. Once he had feedback from his reports and we explored this in more depth he began to understand that this behaviour really wasn’t optimal either for him or for his organisation. But instead of forcing Tim into a mold that didn’t fit, we worked on how he could learn to appreciate the value of structure for others. He began to look at ways of integrating planning to support his team’s needs in a way that didn’t stifle his own creative essence. He leant on a direct report whose strengths complemented his, who could help him to translate his visionary ideas into actionable plans that the team could rally behind while feeling a greater sense of security. And he remained aware of needing to watch the impact of his behaviour on those around him.
Behaviour change or fine tuning?
As people get more senior the need for behaviour change decreases but does not disappear. It decreases because typically they will have had multiple opportunities for feedback and development over the course of their career. But there are still times when even a ‘good’ leader needs to change. For example, take someone who transitions to a role as the CEO role with a highly skilled and cohesive top team. They may have to dramatically step back their evolvement acting more as a facilitator than they are used to, which will mean overriding many years of operating differently.
Leaders typically know their blindspots, but a good leader will also understand the need to make sure they remain aware of these, that they continue to fine tune how they behaviour and ensure open communication with those they are impacting. That is of course is where mentors, coaches and trusted allies can be invaluable.
Understanding the delicate dance between pushing for growth and recognizing our limits is an art refined over time. It demands deep self-awareness, an honest assessment of our capabilities, and a willingness to listen to our inner voice and to invite the voices of those around us too. This balance is where exceptional leadership occurs, allowing leaders to grow and flourish in a way that’s positive and helpful, role-modelling others on their path to discovering and leveraging their strengths also.
