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Who Influenced Your Leadership Style?

Great leadership is more than having a title to give you authority. Do you know who helped to shape or influence your leadership style, Reader?

I've been asked this on several occasions.

Looking back at my time being an employee who has worked for many different bosses, at many different companies, across several different industries, I wondered how each influenced my leadership style.

I can point to many (too many) bad bosses in my past... maybe they influenced how I chose not to lead.
I can think of instances where a boss did something that stood out to me in a positive way... where I felt like s/he was truly being a leader. Those memories are infrequent, sadly, but really stand out.
I've read many books & quotes that resonated with me on great leaders or great examples of leadership. There are so many... perhaps those had a great impact on my mindset.

I believe it takes one’s whole self to truly lead people - heart 💜, mind 🧠, body 🖐️, & soul 🧘.

Some of the great thought leaders who have influenced and resonated with me the most in my leadership journey cover all of these:

💜 “The secret to being a good leader is to actually care about your employees.”

Gary Vaynerchuk uses a no-nonsense, heart-driven approach to leadership that I appreciate. He demonstrates that leading with your heart isn’t about being soft or feminine, but being a good human being. I advocate this as a source of strength for both male and female leaders.

🧠 “The most effective leaders score high in both confidence and humility.”

Adam Grant takes a very analytical and data-driven approach to leadership. With a focus on team dynamics, he advocates for leadership that is not a one-size-fits-all approach. My approach is to meet each individual leader where they are, with their own strengths & opportunities for improvement. One of the hardest parts of being a leader is managing others, because they too have their own strengths and weaknesses.

🖐️ “Leaders must either invest a reasonable amount of time attending to fears and feelings, or squander an unreasonable amount of time trying to manage ineffective and unproductive behavior.”

Brene Brown focuses on vulnerability, noting that it takes courage to bring the core human experience to leadership. Like Brene, I believe that authenticity, transparency, and empathy are keys to being a great leader.

🧘 “The value of a true leader is not measured by the work they do, but by the work they inspire others to do.”

Simon Sinek takes a very inspirational approach to leadership. He asks us to look at our “why” to determine our purpose - Why do you want to lead? He is an amazing storyteller who appeals to emotions and aspirations. As a leader, I feel strongly that our role is to empower and motivate others to be the best versions of themselves.

I'd love to hear from you, Reader! Who influenced your leadership style? Reply and let me know! 📩

Be YOU

You are uniquely you - and that is amazing! While you can idolize someone or try to imitate another person, you will always still be YOU.

It's great to have mentors, coaches, and positive influences in your life. It's also great to remember who you authentically are... the person made up of your own unique combination of life's experiences & moments.

As a leader, no matter your original influences, there is no substitute for being the best version of yourself. Remember that you are also human - someone who makes mistakes, has emotions, gets stressed out, needs a day off here & there, is smart, is creative, is amazing.

Remember that those who report to you... they are human, too!

Imagine a world where we all treat each other like human beings, not cogs in a wheel. As a leader, you set that example - where the workplace can be human-centric and still do our best work, together.

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If you work with a mentor or a coach, don't try to become them - or worse, don't let them try to turn you into them. Learn from their experiences and guidance, but always - ALWAYS - only be YOU, Reader!

As a coach for front-line and mid-level corporate managers, my goal is to meet you where you are - with your own unique combination of strengths & weaknesses - and to support you with any guidance or blind spots you may have to get you to that next level.

Contact me to discuss if coaching or a training session would best meet your needs! 📩

Communication Styles

An easy - and fun - team building discussion is discovering your own communication style, and realizing that not everyone else is the same style. (This is why the golden rule doesn't always work!)

Download this free quiz. Give it to your team and have fun guessing and uncovering each other's unique communication style, Reader.

My teams have loved this so much, they took it home and made their families take it, too!