Action: Fuel Your Leadership Edge
This series of blog posts focuses on the Action component of the Together Evolving model. To achieve lasting results, take one intentional step forward at a time.
To elevate as a leader is to develop your leadership skills on a regular basis. While making time to learn is challenging, the benefits accumulated positively impact you and your team. Get started by following the steps below.
STEP ONE: PROACTIVELY SCHEDULE 30 MINUTES FOR LEADERSHIP LEARNING.
Look at your calendar right now. Where can you find 30 minutes next week for leadership learning? Choose a time you will honor and book it. This is not a time to ignore when a reminder pops up.
STEP TWO: SELECT YOUR LEARNING MATERIALS.
A plethora of resources are available, many with low or no cost, to aid you in this learning journey. Whether it is a book on your shelf, a podcast you've downloaded, or an article in your inbox you've been meaning to read, determine your learning materials in advance.
No initial ideas? Another way of learning is taking a blank page and asking yourself a leadership question during this 30 minutes, such as:
What are the key areas where I need to grow in my leadership?
What do the leaders I admire have in common?
What feedback have I received over the course of my career regarding areas for improvement?
The answers will lead you to personally impactful leadership topics and materials for future development sessions.
STEP THREE: ACKNOWLEDGE THE INSIGHTS.
Whatever the topic or question of the week, spend the last five minutes of your time jotting down what you learned. Ask yourself the following:
What a-ha moments did the learning materials or question provide?
How can you use what you learned to help you and your team?
Who might you want to share this information with: your colleagues, your leader, your direct reports?
Keep your learns in a journal or an online note-taking app you can easily go back and reference.
STEP FOUR: BUILD A LEADERSHIP LEARNING HABIT.
If you read Atomic Habits by James Clear, you know that habits take about 66 days to become new behaviors. (If you haven't read the book, I recommend putting it on your leadership learning list.). Commit to making this a regular time dedicated to you and your growth.
Start small and schedule 30 hours once a month. After 3 months, consider bumping up the time to one hour every other week. Note the results you are seeing, not only from the learnings but also from the interactions you have with direct reports.
You do not have to wait for an organized conference or a webinar to learn. Take small steps, 30 minutes at a time, to continuously grow in your leadership. The results will astound you.
Dr. Katie Stone is the founder of Together Evolving. Email Katie at katie.stone@togetherevolving.com to learn more about the transformational impact coaching can have on you and your leadership.