Knowing how fast, or how slowly, to proceed, and knowing in which direction to proceed can be the ballgame when it comes to your effectiveness as a leader.
Leadership effectiveness is all about moving in the right direction; it’s about making sure that each step you take is strategic and purposeful. And that’s not always taking a step forward…
To maximize your leadership, learn to recognize each of these three steps…
Stepping Back
As counter-intuitive as it can seem, there are times when the most important move a leader can make is not to charge forward, but to take a step back.
This means stepping back to reflect, to analyze to reconsider, or simply to wait.
Effective leaders learn to recognize those moments when it’s time to hit the pause button, step back from the situation, and to simply reassess.
Stepping aside
Self-aware, secure leaders are so focused on the mission, and so aware of their own potential limitations, that they regularly ask themselves, “Am I the right person to lead this charge?”
During my years running a leadership development organization in Canada, we conducted many large conferences each year. And it became apparent that, during these events, our staff would come to me to make operational decisions. The problem was, I was very weak in the operational side of these events.
And so we instituted a ritual at the start of each conference where I would gather the team, call our event manager, Wendy, to step forward, and I would make a formal announcement. “Team, during this entire event, Wendy is in charge. Not me. Wendy makes the final call.”
Know when you need to step aside and assign leadership to someone else.
Stepping up
Organizations stall when the leader hesitates to act or to make a decision.
There are times when you must simply step up and lead.
You need to know when the time for research is finished, when the time for consultation is complete, and when the time for planning has passed.
And in that moment, you need to step up. You must muster the courage to face the risks to move forward.
When that moment comes, there is only one option available; you must step up, and lead.
Learn to recognize the times when you must change your leadership “step”.
Because learning this skill is always a step in the right direction.
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