Are You a Great Leader? Uncovering Your Leadership Blind Spots
How do you know if you’re a great leader?
The Blind Spots of Leadership
Most leaders think they’re doing a great job, even when they’re not. These are the blind spots that we all have. If the company’s still afloat, we still have customers, and we haven’t been in the news lately, we’re probably in good shape, right? I mean, someone would speak up if things went awry, wouldn’t they?
The Image of a ‘Perfect’ Leader
We often have an idea in our head about what a great leader “should” be, and it usually includes things like they know what they’re doing, they don’t make mistakes, they know everything about their business, and they only have success.
We assume what we think is what everyone thinks. If something were going sideways, we believe we would know it. Sometimes we think everything’s good and we’re in control, so we don’t think to get other people’s feedback. Other times, we fear being criticized, so we’d rather live with not knowing if anything’s amiss, hoping it will resolve itself.
The Fear of Not Knowing
When we don’t know something, we fear looking stupid. We end up becoming defensive or blaming others. When we make mistakes, we shut down or beat ourselves up. We don’t intend to react this way — it just happens.
“Shitty leadership happens outside of our awareness.” Brené Brown
The Essential Role of Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is essential to becoming a great leader. No one wakes up and says to themselves, “I’m going to do a terrible job at work today.” No. We all do our best. But sometimes, our best isn’t enough for our businesses and organizations. Sometimes we’re the problem, and we don’t even know it.
The Hardest Step: Asking for and Learning from Feedback
The hardest part of being a great leader is being willing not only to receive feedback but also to ask for it and learn from it. In order to be great, we need to do things other people aren’t willing to do. Learning that we have weak areas isn’t always a surprise to us. Learning that other people can see them can feel devastating.
Learning to Lead Bravely with Live Dare to Lead Training
Dare to Lead will teach you the skills you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
You’ll learn that knowing is better than not knowing, and that we can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.
You’ll realize that you’re not alone, that we all have things to work on, and that you can increase your self-confidence so that feedback will start to feel like an opportunity rather than a threat.
You’ll learn how to manage feelings of shame so that you can react with calm and intentionality.
You will learn how to use your values to do hard things and build trust with your team when you face conflict and adversity. Lastly, when things inevitably turn out differently than we planned, you will learn how to reset and pivot.
Many people crumble under the weight of a setback, but great leaders face it head-on and bravely lead their team even when they don’t have all the answers or know what the future holds.
Dare To Lead will teach you the skillsets you need and show you how to implement them right away so that you can show up differently to your job, and ultimately get the results you’re working so hard for.
