When Karen looks back over her thirty-year career, it amazes her that many people believed in her and supported her, perhaps more than she believed in herself at certain points in time.
Their influence lives on not just because they believed in her, but also because through their example, they each taught her about important aspects of leadership. They showed how to get the best from people.
Karen is now paying forward what she has learned from those influential leaders, supporting people she believes in.
One thing she noticed was that good leaders were always learning and growing.
In his book Good Leaders Learn, Gerard Seijts reflects on 30-plus interviews with leaders, at various stages of their careers from different industries, sectors and countries. He concludes that, “…good leaders develop through constant learning about their personalities, relationships and careers, not to mention the leader they want to become.” And although there are no silver bullets for becoming a good leader–because everyone takes a custom-made path — the journeys of the leaders interviewed by Seijts revealed ten clear pathways for learning to lead: 👇🏽
✳️ Performing, or excelling in a role
✳️ Risking, or taking chances to lead and to learn
✳️ Stretching, or going beyond one’s own personal comfort zone
✳️ Learning, or taking the time to reflect on past events to discern the lessons they offer
✳️ Self-awareness, or deliberately seeking to know one’s personal strengths and weaknesses
✳️ Trusting, or relying on one’s abilities and those of others to build a reputation for being trustworthy
✳️ Adapting, or the ability to act appropriately in different situations
✳️ Mentoring, or learning from other leaders and role models how to develop as a leader
✳️ Observing, or watching others and oneself to better understand events and situations
✳️ Integrating, or having the capacity to see and understand the “big picture”
🙋 Which of these practices appeals to you? 🙋♀️
Best regards, Brian