Yikes.
I just heard from one of my colleagues (outside of academia) who was thrust into leadership after a number of higher-ups in her division quit. She has risen to the occasion admirably, immersing herself in books, and trainings, trying to figure out her leadership style, motivational techniques, team building, and all the secrets to leadership she could gather, etc. BUT she is still having a hard time in this role. The work is piling up, she’s dealing with office politics, unreasonable demands, declining morale and more. On top of this, she is finding herself stressed out, overworked, and feeling disrespected.
So I started asking her questions.
I knew there HAD to be a reason for this.
Maybe too much focus on her new title or claim to authority.
Or fear.
Or something else?
My doctorate isn’t in leadership per se, but I think I know what the problem is.
See, she’s focused on the style of her leadership vs. the substance of it. Now, I’m the LAST person to tell someone to do something without studying it first (I’m a teacher after all…) But, having worked directly with leaders and served in leadership roles, I recognized that her style wasn’t the problem. It was the lack of clarity about her own deep sense of purpose.
I talk about this in detail in my free training (available here).
I think this is a big problem, especially since so many people are focused on leadership style.
Again, those books are useful.
But before you can focus on style, you need to have a clear sense of direction and a driving ‘why’ that guides you.
Otherwise, how can others follow you if you don’t know where you’re going or why?
My colleague is not even sure she wants to stay at the company. She has concerns about some of their practices. She’s thinking about working in a different subfield. She didn’t realize this lack of certainty is visible and makes it hard for her to inspire others to do and be their best.
All the style and tricks and hacks in the world can’t replace getting in touch with your inner compass. Once you have clarity and are working in alignment with your values, others will resonate with you.
It’s very frustrating trying to figure out leadership.
Especially when you’re reading all the right books on leadership style.
But there is good news:
Most of the time the problem is simple and easily dealt with.
In fact, you can get in tune with your own deep sense of purpose in just minutes.
For more on common pitfalls that actually get in the way of effective leadership (and what to do instead), check out my free training.
