Lost your leadership mojo? Here's how to get it back...
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Lost your leadership mojo? Here's how to get it back...
You’ve strived and sacrificed, worked the hours, pushed the boundaries to grow your business and secure your role at the top of the tree, you should be feeling great right?
If you don’t, you’re probably feeling quite conflicted, and maybe even the slightest bit guilty. After all, plenty of people would love to be in your shoes.
Sometimes it’s the feelings that take you by surprise that are the most difficult to deal with. When you don’t feel like you ‘should’ feel it can really knock you off course.
The first thing to say is, it’s not uncommon.
It’s actually one of the things I hear most from the senior leaders I work with. Especially the ones who have grown a business past the start up phase, into growth and a bigger team. Many of you are either not sure you enjoying it as much as you thought you would, or you’re finding yourself wondering if you’re really cut out for it.
What’s more, the pandemic has caused a significant drop in confidence for many leaders which in turn, impacts decision making, happiness and the ability to take risks.
So what’s going on?
You’re probably telling yourself a whole heap of stories about what this role should be. Flooding your brain with a raft of expectations that you believe other people have of you and with that, probably setting very high expectations of how you should feel and act. You may be asking yourself how to improve your leadership skills?
If you’re not enjoying the role as much as you thought you would it can become a preoccupation. It can also lead to unhelpful behaviours like stepping down into the fray to get involved and prove that you can still do the do.
To allow you to really enjoy the job and many of the things that come with the territory, there are a few things you can do to start feeling optimistic about the potential it offers again.
These 5 shifts can make a big difference to how much you feel connected to your role and how much you really own it and enjoy it.
Actively develop your skills
It’s easy to think that you should be the finished article but, just like any other job you’ve ever had there’s ongoing development and growth that has to happen. If you’ve grown a business from the early stages then you’ve probably had your sleeves rolled up for a very long time. When it comes to how to develop your leadership skills, what’s needed at this phase are very different. Recognising that and actively developing relative to your business needs now can make you feel reconnected with the role and the possibilities it holds for you.
Many of the leaders I work with worry, at first, that it might show weakness to visibly work on your leadership at this level. They have a lingering concern that it might signal to the team that they aren’t up to the job. That simply is not true. It sets a tone of personal development for your business and, if nothing else, ensures the likelihood of more positive outcomes for both your business and your team.
It is usually worth looking for a leadership development programme that will suit the needs of the stage you’re at. I have a range of different programmes for first time CEOs of fast growth businesses.
Make time to think further ahead
Overseeing a WHOLE business will unfortunately mean that you have visibility of a whole host of issues you may not have had either visibility of before or that were under someone else’s remit. It’s very easy to take on responsibility for fixing all of these issues, and fixing them now. In fact it’s very easy to think you’ll think about the bigger picture when all the issues are fixed. Or that you can’t think about the bigger picture until all of the issues are fixed. Thinking further ahead, and thinking bigger picture will have the added benefit of making a lot of those issues actually seem smaller. Also thinking bigger picture will allow you to think more creatively about solutions to those problems.
It will also make you feel more in control. And possibly, even more importantly, as though you are doing your job properly. This can provide a big, and much needed, confidence boost. Stuck in a cycle of fixing issues means you never lift your head up to think further ahead and as that’s your job, the business is missing out on that. It doesn’t need to take long – and you can build the muscle over time.
Stop thinking in the negative
A lot of the leaders I work with base their leadership style on trying not to be certain things. They don’t want to make the same mistakes that they’ve seen other people make or the same leadership crimes that they’ve been the victim of. This is a hard way to live your life. It keeps you on high alert thinking about how you’re perceived… and whether you’re unintentionally committing leadership hari kari.
A far better way to think about your leadership style is to step back and think about the challenges and opportunities your business has. Ask yourself what kind of leadership your business needs to overcome your business challenges and make the most of the opportunities available? Think about how your individual strengths and weaknesses fit with that. Where can you leverage and grow existing strengths and how can you fill your gaps.
What do you want people to say about you when you’re not in the room? How can you live up to that? What are the sorts of behaviours you will need to demonstrate consistently to make sure that happens?
Reflect and build awareness
When was the last time you took some time out of your day to simply reflect? To sit and think about how things are going? To think about what is going well? And perhaps what’s not too?
Taking the time to do some leadership reflection is an important tool in building self awareness. It’s also something that many of my clients avoid like the plague - until they meet me!!. They’re afraid of slowing themselves down. Finding out things they don’t want to know. Wasting time.
Take it from me - it’s never a waste of time and it will give you some much needed perspective.
If you’re uncomfortable with this or simply don’t know how, try this very simple reflective exercise. Answer these four reflective questions:
What’s working?
What’s not working?
What’s missing?
What’s possible?
Set reasonable expectations
A lot of the CEOs I work with are frustrated. Frustrated with things not being sorted. Not being actioned. New initiatives taking flight and then crashing and burning quickly.
Change takes time and needs strong leadership. It’s hard, it feels clunky. We need a reason to put ourselves through that ‘pain’ and you need to be the one to provide that reason.
Colin Powell said that leadership is often the willingness to piss people off. If you think you’re going to be a CEO who never pisses people off, think again. It might help to remember that, to an extent, it’s actually quite energising to be pissed off and have something to fight against! As long as you’re sure that what you’re asking everyone to do will have a positive outcome then it’s probably worth the risk!
Be more intentional
Winging it will get you quite far in a leadership context. AND let’s not forget that your leadership style has got you and your business to where you are now. Which means there’s probably a lot of good stuff in there. But to take your business through the growth phase, to build a culture that works for you and foster sustainable growth, you need to be intentional. To own the space you occupy. To step confidently into, for want of a better word, the authority that your role provides and intentionally lead your business.
Humility has it’s place, and most of the leaders I work with are incredibly humble but people do like to be led. Especially when you’re on a shared mission or quest.
My upcoming leadership development programme - Elevate and Evolve - created especially for CEOs, MDs and founders of fast growth companies covers all of these points and more. Designed to give you time away from your day to day to reflect and gain perspective on the things that are going to make the biggest difference - it is dynamite for both you and your business. I’d love to share more details with you - do drop me a line on hello@rebeccamorley.co.uk or why not book a call to find out if you’re the right fit.
