To grow into a leader who can lead other leaders, you have to get rid of some old leadership assumptions. Kicking these assumptions may be tough, but the rewards are worth it. In this article, we will explore some of the key changes that are important for you to make.
The first step is to get rid of the assumption that leadership is the same in every job. Successful leadership approaches are as varied as each individual in each unique context.
You also need to delete the assumption that what got you to where you are is what will continue to give you success. Just because something worked in the past, doesn’t mean it will work now.
As a leader of leaders, it’s important for you to be constantly learning and growing. This means being open to new ideas and trying out different strategies.
The key is to be constantly learning and growing so that you can continue leading others in the right direction.
Are you ready to grow into a successful leader of leaders?
Kick old practices: You need to find new ways of working and let go of your old strategies for success. What worked in the past may not work now. Today is a new game with new rules. You have a new job and need a new way of working. Some of the knowledge, skills and practices that served well as a team leader may still be useful as you lead other leaders, but it’s important to identify which ones to keep and which ones to ditch.
Be open to new ideas: Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what helps your leaders achieve success. You’re not in this game alone; your leadership team can be an invaluable source for ideas on how to improve practices, job processes and team flow. Don’t forget to also be open to ideas from your HR team, boss and other leader of leaders within your organisation. Inspiration for new ideas can come from many different places; you just need to be open to them.
Try out different strategies and use the ones that work: As a leader of leaders, it’s important that you find the right strategies that will help your leaders succeed. It’s likely that if you’re reading this article, then some (or maybe all) your current strategies are not working for you. To grow successful leaders, you must try different strategies to see what works. Not every leadership strategy works for every leader. Some leaders need more direction from their boss, and others work better with more freedom and authority of their own. Finding the right balance and strategies that work well for your leaders will take time, but trying out different strategies will guarantee you find the ones that work.
Constantly learn and grow: Becoming a leader of leaders means being committed to learning and growing constantly. Especially if you work in a fast-paced industry (most industries these days), you’ll want to constantly be learning about the latest trends, practices, technologies and news to improve your services, products and team productivity.
Take, for example, the printing press. This fundamental machine has been integral to newspapers, book publishers, politicians, companies, and basically any organisation that creates products. Knowing how to print materials used to be key to successful sales and business growth. Now, social media and digital publishing have taken over as the major influencer of success for many of these industries. Those who hopped onboard have survived and thrived through this transition. Those who haven’t? They’ve become obsolete. If you stay up to date on the leading edge of your business, you’re guaranteed to succeed.
Now that you’ve learned the top notes on how to let go of old leadership habits and why it’s important, you’ll want to learn more about how to apply those practices.
Being Leaders delivers a leadership development program, working with people who are navigating their leader-of-leaders role. Based on the concepts in the Amazon best-seller, Becoming a Leader of Leaders, the program provides practical tools and resources to help people transform from overworked to incredibly impactful.
Contact Being Leaders to find out more.
