The Most Effective Leaders Never Stop Learning
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The Most Effective Leaders Never Stop Learning

BySonya Shelton

Great leaders are great learners. Getting feedback from others allows you to continue to learn and grow. Just like you want your team and your organization to improve, you also want to improve yourself. Ask others for feedback on a regular basis. Some leaders make the mistake of thinking they need to have all the answers. Successful leaders never stop learning —…

Are You Challenging Assumptions In Your Workplace?
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Are You Challenging Assumptions In Your Workplace?

BySonya Shelton

A successful leader once shared that he constantly asks himself one question: “What am I not seeing?” Assumptions are one of the areas that may be a blind spot, and leadership requires us to challenge them repeatedly. What used to work yesterday may no longer apply today, and it’s important for leaders to question and challenge those assumptions. The hardest part about…

3 Steps to Measure Your Progress
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3 Steps to Measure Your Progress

BySonya Shelton

To ensure you realize the vision, you need to have the right measures in place, and they need to be institutionalized. How you measure success can make or break whether or not you achieve it. If the strategies and objectives your team has created aren’t producing the desired outcome, you want to know as soon as possible. First, you need to…

Why You Need to Check for Understanding
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Why You Need to Check for Understanding

BySonya Shelton

It happens all the time: we think we’re being understood, but we’re not. And we have no idea. We often don’t bother to check to make sure people understand us, even when it’s critical. It doesn’t help that most people don’t want to admit they don’t get it, especially to the leader. You may get a nod or even an…

How Executive Leaders Stop to Create Growth
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How Executive Leaders Stop to Create Growth

BySonya Shelton

As we embark toward achieving our vision, organizations sometimes continue to do things that either don’t work or don’t support the vision. When someone questions “why do we do that?” The answer is often “we’ve always done it this way.” Sometimes the person answering the question really doesn’t understand the purpose, which means they’re missing information. However, most often, the truth is that…

Yes, Growth Is Risky
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Yes, Growth Is Risky

BySonya Shelton

Trying anything new is risky. But it’s new ideas that catapult organizations to higher level樂威壯 s of growth and success. People aren’t motivated to follow leaders who are satisfied with the status quo. Of course, your organization or its industry may typically be risk averse, and taking risks doesn’t mean you have to rebel against it. When you’re willing to take calculated…

Strengthen Your Vision by Setting the Context
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Strengthen Your Vision by Setting the Context

BySonya Shelton

As the leader of your organization, you understand the context behind your vision and your decisions. It’s part of the environmental considerations you need to understand. However, not everyone sees the context the same way you do, so it’s important to explain it. To really make your vision come to life, you need to create the whole picture for yourself and for…

Take Time to Express Your Intentions
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Take Time to Express Your Intentions

BySonya Shelton

In any situation, where there’s a vacuum of information, people will make it up. This is especially true of leaders in organizations. People constantly interpret the motives of everything the leader says and does. So it’s best to express your intention, so no one wastes time trying to figure it out or make it up….

Successful Leaders Reinforce the Vision
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Successful Leaders Reinforce the Vision

BySonya Shelton

To keep your team moving in the right direction, you need to reinforce the vision. That doesn’t mean you have to recite it like a parrot; it means getting your team engaged and keeping them engaged. Talk about possibilities in the context of your vision. Celebrate accomplishments in the context of your vision. Have fun…

Executive Leaders Learn to Expand Their Perspective
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Executive Leaders Learn to Expand Their Perspective

BySonya Shelton

Some think you either focus on the vision or you focus on the practical, and that’s just how the world is. But great leaders know they must be able to see both the long-term vision and the next step, and you can learn how to do it. As a leader, your job is to lead…