Next Foundation Blog

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Continuing on with looking at  Scott Eblin’s book. In the first part of the book he talks about how insecure people make lousy leaders…we can all agree with that.

We continue to look at some great practical tips on how to deal with these personal skeletons in our closets. Personally I think this book is worth the investment of your time.

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When faced with a challenge, a natural response for many leaders is to bear down and speed up. Having chalked up success after success, they see each new challenge as simply another hurdle to jump over. They believe that all it should take is more of what brought them to that point: smarts and willingness to work harder and do more than the competition. The problem with this approach at the executive level is that it is one new challenge after another.If your immediate response in the face of every new challenge is to bear down and speed up, you will eventually run out of gas and crash. Managing the demands of executive life requires picking up regular renewal of your energy and perspective, and letting go of running flat out until you crash.

The transformative challenge for new executives is to learn to take the regular breaks needed to renew the energy and perspective that enable them to perform at their best. Even brief periods of recovery or downtime can make a huge difference in executive performance. For executives who already feel the pressure to get through yet more work, stepping off the treadmill of working seven days a week seems like a leap of faith. But breaking the cycle of continuous exertion allows some time for recovery and reconnection to how they are at their best.

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Continuing on with looking at  Scott Eblin’s book. In the first part of the book he talks about how insecure people make lousy leaders…we can all agree with that.

We continue to look at some great practical tips on how to deal with these personal skeletons in our closets. Personally I think this book is worth the investment of your time.

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It’s important to recognize when your inner critic is speaking. Interference is whatever keeps you from performing in the position of how you are when you’re at your best. Before meetings, practice by asking questions like these:

• What is the meeting going to be about?
• What is my point of view on that subject?
• What outcome do I want from the meeting?
• What ideas will I need to share to reach that outcome?
• What are the top two or three points I want to make?
• How do I want to make them?

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www.nextfoundation.org/nfblog

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Continuing on with looking at  Scott Eblin’s book.

In the first part of the book he talks about how insecure people make lousy leaders…we can all agree with that.

We continue to look at some great practical tips on how to deal with these personal skeletons in our closets.

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To play the broader leadership role as an executive, you will have to develop and project a sense of confidence in your judgment that extends beyond functional or technical knowledge. Taking constructive action that moves the organization forward will be a key aspect of how you are assessed as an executive. If you project discomfort or insecurity, your peers will sense it and become uncomfortable with you and your judgment. If you project a confident and comfortable presence, your peers will sense that and will return the favor.

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www.nextfoundation.org/nfblog

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This is the title of a great book by Scott Eblin. It has some tremendous insights that are applicable to people in every sphere of Leadership.

In the first part of the book he talks about how insecure people make lousy leaders…we can all agree with that.

But then he goes on and gives some great practical tips on how to deal with the skeletons in all of our closets.

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PICK UP CONFIDENCE IN YOUR PRESENCE

As you move into the executive level, the first challenge is to keep insecurity from getting the better of you. Unless you are superhuman, your first days as an executive will naturally produce some uncertainty and discomfort. It is critical for your success that you not dwell on thoughts and self-assessments that cause you to doubt your capacity to contribute as an executive. You must build a sense of grounded confidence in your presence and in the idea that you have important contributions to make as one of the leaders of your organization.

FROM TACTICAL TO TRANSFORMATIONAL

Regularly demonstrating your confidence in a grounded and appropriate way will build the confidence of your boss, your peers and your team in you. Building your confidence in your executive role can begin with some tactics that, when you make them part of your routine, can lead to transformational changes that dramatically raise your level of leadership effectiveness. The opportunity you have is to identify the key tactical behaviors that, if regularly repeated, will lead to a transformation in the level of confidence you project.

To achieve and sustain results over the long run at the executive level, strong relationships with peers, top leadership and functional team members across the organization are critical. Your success in managing relationships will stem from the confidence you have in yourself and your ability to work well with others to make things happen.

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www.nextfoundation.org/nfblog