The American Leadership Forum once asked some of the world’s most prominent leadership experts if there was one thing that characterized the main weakness that American leaders possess.
Their reply? Lack of self-awareness.
That’s right, according to these leadership experts, most leaders don’t understand themselves sufficiently. Consequently these leaders can’t even begin to understand the effect they have on others. So while a leader’s main task is to influence others to head in the direction that supports their vision and strategy, not knowing the effect they have on others is like driving in the dark with no headlights. It’s no wonder that, according to other experts, over 70% of strategic plans fail.
Some leaders attempt to understand themselves and the effect they are having by conducting leadership 360 assessments. Many however fail to act on the results, which is worse than not asking for feedback in the first place! It takes courage to ask for feedback and then take thoughtful and disciplined action on the results. Asking for feedback is the easy part, taking action on the results is a different story.
So if you, or someone you know is having difficulty in taking thoughtful and disciplined action, here are seven tips to help you…
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Make a firm commitment to take thoughtful and disciplined action on the results of any feedback you receive, before you ask for the feedback
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Make your commitment public
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Become better at listening by talking less…the less you talk, the more you learn
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Seek to understand your personality and its associated natural behaviors…while you can’t change your personality, you can change your behaviors
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Target one, and only one behavior to change or improve at a time
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Give yourself 30 days of daily practice to master a new behavior or improve upon an existing one
- Have someone in your corner to encourage you and to hold you accountable
Changing just one behavior can have a radiating effect on you and those around you. Why not get started today?