Ten Days to Extraordinary Leadership

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Diane Allen, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Ten Steps to Extraordinary Leadership
By Diane Allen

Are leaders born or made? This age-old question is still debated, but one thing holds true. Everyone is born with talent. You can uncover and nurture your talent. Leadership skills can be cultivated through a willingness to succeed, desire to learn, and openness to coaching.

It takes time, experience, and wisdom to lead successfully. However, one can begin the journey to developing extraordinary leadership skills by focusing on a ten-day starter program. Of course, these ten tenets of extraordinary leadership must be reinforced daily. Follow these strategies to gain insight and make changes effectively.

The road to achievement is built on small successes. Track your progress by keeping a daily journal. Record each leadership principle on a page and allow enough space to record information for 30 days. Conventional wisdom states that it takes at least 30 days to develop a habit.

One – Explore the Leadership Definition. Leadership Defined: “Leadership is the ability to see into the future, set a goal, devise an effective course of action and inspire others to enthusiastically contribute to reaching that goal.”

This is your opportunity to determine that you do have leadership abilities. Identify situations in which you have demonstrated sound leadership in a professional or personal situation. Don’t over-look leadership roles in your family. Families form the basis of our earliest experience with leadership. What worked? What was comfortable? What was challenging? By answering these questions honestly, you will begin to determine your leadership ability. Regardless of where you are on the continuum, there is room for growth. Brainstorm at least five ways in which you can overcome your challenges and make yourself more comfortable in the leadership role.

Two – Determine your assumptions about people. Define specific situations in which you acted as a leader, and answer the following questions:

• Do I believe others want to be led?
• If yes, what do they expect of me?
• How should I treat them?
• How can I help them?

Your answers form the basis of your assumptions. Now the true test of your assumptions — Ask at least three other people to answer these questions. Make sure they are people you respect for their effective leadership abilities. How do your answers match theirs? Is there room to refine your assumptions? We all act in ways that validate our own assumptions. For example, if you think people are inherently good, hard working, and ambitious, you will treat them in a manner that elicits that type of behavior. Conversely, if you believe that people are lazy and need to be closely directed and controlled, you will find that their behavior parallels those beliefs. We are all capable of self-fulfilling prophecies. The key is to fulfill productive prophecies.

For each of your 30 days of reflection, it is important that you identify what assumptions you make each day. Your patterns will not lie. This information is extremely valuable in helping you become self-aware. The best leaders are extremely self-aware. This insight enables them to understand the context of their actions and adjust their behavior accordingly.

Three – Utilize team-building techniques. Effective leaders build cohesive teams. Great teams are inspired by a common purpose, mutual support, and open communications. The leader sets the pace.

Do at least one thing daily to further your team building agenda. Praise when praise is due. Ask how you can help. Bring a group together and solicit their input about an idea or problem. Be aware of your eye contact, tone of voice, and body language. We portray our beliefs whether we mean to or not.

Four – Practice Assertiveness. Although many people mistake it for aggressiveness, assertiveness in a leadership context is the ability to form partnerships with followers in order to advance the vision through a system of open communications, diplomacy, and positive tenacity. Identify those people issues you may be avoiding, and develop a plan to assertively address them. Explain your position, and remain open to feedback and suggestions.

Five – Develop five different ideas about five different topics. Regardless of whether these topics are related to your professional or work life, or your personal life, the ability to generate ideas is an absolute requirement of leadership. Ideas lead to all sorts of possibilities. Possibilities lead to vision. Vision drives change. And, change fosters growth and fulfillment. Nothing stays the same. You are either moving forward or backward. Add your ideas to your list for each of the following 30 days.

Be mindful of your surroundings to generate ideas. Is it a quiet place? Only you can determine what works best. Strolling through a museum and taking an hour to reflect on your topics may open the door to creativity. Listening to music has a proven effect of stimulating the creative center of the brain. Listen to different types of music and let your imagination wander. Record all thoughts and ideas. This can be a rewarding exercise.

Six – Identify ways in which you have balanced chaotic situations. Instilling stability and calm in crises are key leadership traits. When troublesome times arise, do you instill action through fear and intimidation? Or, do you assertively inspire confidence and clear thinking in yourself and others? Identify ways in which you can examine your behavior under pressure situations. Critique yourself. What can you do to be the balancer in times of unrest?

Seven – Take appropriate risks. What is your history of risk taking? There is quite a difference between taking appropriate risks and being reckless. How do you assess risk? On a daily basis, record your attitude about risk. It will tell you a lot about your decision-making skills and your ability to evaluate risk. There are specific strategies one can employ to take appropriate risks. Evaluate risks you took in the past. Determine risks that were low, moderate, and high. What type of feelings did you have about taking those risks. This will enable you to determine your own propensity for taking risk.

Eight – Get organized. This isn’t organization in an administrative sense. It is the ability to clearly organize your thought patterns and direction in a way that to inspire others. Develop an understanding of how you organize yourself. Great organizational skills lead to great time management, which leads to getting things done.

Nine – Define your personal vision. Start with two or three sentences about what you want your life to be. Each day add something new. Personal visions lead to healthy, balanced, effective lives. By knowing your personal vision, you will find that it becomes easier to develop a vision for your professional or work life.

Ten – Set stretch goals. Goals add meaning to life. What do you want to achieve in both the short and long term? Begin by reflecting on what you have already achieved. Develop a life cycle chart by identifying major changes in your life. How many major changes were the result of setting goals? Are you in control of your life, or is some outside force controlling you? Be mindful that luck is a combination of hard work and strong goal setting.

Begin goal setting by identifying one short-term goal and one long-term goal. A short-term goal is something you want to achieve within six months. A longer-term goal can be anything beyond that period. Goal setting is the most important aspect of becoming a great leader. Without goals, one does not have a defined future. Without goals, there is little reason to lead. Without goals, one will not make the most of life.

As you embark on this journey to extraordinary leadership, believe in yourself, practice a little at a time, be consistent, and have fun. Your sincere desire to role model extraordinary leadership will attract followers. They will find their own leadership qualities with your inspiration. There is nothing more fulfilling than making a difference in others’ lives. Bright roads of success lie ahead. All you have to do is envision the beacon at the top of the hill.

Diane Allen, PCC is the Managing Principal of Diane Allen Coaching Solutions LLC. She is a professional business and executive coach, and organizational development consultant. She has over twenty years’ experience coaching leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs to enhance their business, professional, and personal life skills. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration and a M.S. in Training and Organization Development from St. Joseph’s University. She serves on the Boards of Directors of a national corporation, and teaches at the undergraduate and graduate level at several colleges and universities. Diane is a contributing author to two books: Ready, Aim, Excel, and Living an Extraordinary Life. She can be reached at: 609-206-0990 or through email: diane@dianeallencoaching.com. For more information, please visit: www.dianeallencoaching.com
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