Source: RSS Newsfeed Forbes.com
Sometimes life is so busy that leaders can struggle to find time for their professional and personal development. For senior leaders, in particular, who are typically juggling multiple responsibilities, agendas and teams, it can be especially hard to find that precious time. So, how can leaders overcome everyday pressures to take their careers to new heights next year?
To stand out in the workplace, and simultaneously accelerate their careers in the new year, leaders need to raise leaders faster than their competition, according to John Roussot, award-winning business coach, entrepreneur, leadership trainer and author of Liberate Your Greatness,
“Great leaders develop, raise and lead leaders,” says Roussot. “They give people vision and hope for a better future. Then they empower them to take bold, courageous action: to test, learn and fail forward in an ongoing quest to become better leaders.”
Roussot argues that when leaders add value to people by investing in their personal and professional development – through leading, teaching, challenging and role modeling the way for them – they amplify their impact in the world. “Create an environment that encourages leaders to develop themselves and their people,” he says.
Becoming a better leader involves recognizing your own limitations and knowing when to look beyond yourself for inspiration or help, argues Iris Clermont, author of Team Rhythm. “Teams often face challenges that leaders can’t solve with a continuation of the status quo,” she explains.
Clermont suggests that when it comes to inspiration, it can be helpful to look beyond the business world. She encourages leaders to reference creative pursuits, such as music and rhythm exercises, to develop the kind of team improvement, inspiration and collaboration that leaders can’t facilitate on their own.
“Exploring different ways to synchronize, co-create, work together and highlight individual skills will help teams become more efficient, empower them to make positive change and lead to improved outcomes,” she says. “This can all be done using various practical rhythm and beat exercises, making team improvement fun and effective while also helping leaders to expand their roster of leadership skills.”
“It’s important to be relevant to the biggest challenges and opportunities your business or industry is encountering today,” says Asad Husain, author of Careers Unleashed. “Your education, knowledge, skills and experience must help to solve the critical issues that businesses face.”
Good leadership is also based on being attuned to your own emotions and those of others, however. “Effective leadership begins with self-understanding,” notes Husain. “Leaders are expected to provide clarity; if they do not have that for themselves, they will not do much good to those they lead. By defining and embracing their own values and purpose, they can achieve personal fulfilment in their career.”
After a prolonged period in senior leadership, you can find yourself at a career crossroads. Perhaps you feel like you have achieved everything you can in your current position and you're ready for the next challenge?
For many leaders, the next challenge may be establishing a portfolio career or seeking non-executive director roles. But how do you make this transition? It all comes down to the strength of your “personal board”, says Emma Maslen, CEO and founder of consultancy inspir’em and author of The Personal Board of You Inc.
“A change in career direction requires a restructure in your personal board to include people experienced in that particular scenario,” Maslen advises. “The sooner you can do this, the stronger position you will be in to assess new potential opportunities and ensure you haven’t missed anything in the transition.”
If you are looking to build a portfolio career, for example, seek out someone who has followed that path and is now fully established, someone who is currently going through the same transition but has not yet completely established themselves and someone who is an expert in the field.
“Senior leaders should always be regularly reviewing their personal boards as their career changes direction,” Maslen adds.
Leaders’ roles can be multifaceted. They’re expected to manage many responsibilities, while balancing their personal and work lives. Under pressure from these competing demands, it can be difficult for them to perform their core job functions, let alone find avenues for career progression.
If leaders outsource excess tasks to other people, they can focus on priority work and intentionally dedicate themselves to expanding their opportunities and their own unique skills, says Kathy Soulsby, author of How To Work With A Virtual Assistant.
Soulsby concludes: “To truly level up in your career, you must be able to completely focus on the heart of your role, the thing that makes you brilliant, before you can really progress. If bringing on people to help will enable you to fulfil your full potential, it’s worth doing.”
