Are you ready for the 30-day leadership challenge?»

Can you become a better leader in the next 30 days? Have you checked recently to see if you have a leadership blind spot? We all have blind spots. Whether you are in your first role as a team leader or have risen through the ranks to lead an entire company, consistently great leadership can prove challenging. If it is true that talented employees don’t leave their company, they leave their managers; there is work to be done in building better leaders. One of the most common complaints I hear as an executive coach is that individual managers or business owners can’t explain the company strategy and objectives clearly to employees. Your employees are asking an essential question. “How does my role and contribution fit into our overall goals as a company?” Often, leaders lack the clarity or patience to answer this question. The truth is that motivated employees want to know how their contribution will be measured and require guidance on critical priorities. Here’s a great place to begin your 30-day leadership challenge. Ask yourself how long it’s been since you sought to answer these questions. Has it been a while since you gave substantial attention to these areas? If so, set a clear goal on how to make progress in one or two areas within the next 30 days. 1. Does everyone on your team understand the “mission” of their role and measurable impact on the company? Can every team member articulate his or her job mission? 2. Does every team member have clear goals for the next 30 days, six months and year? 3. How long has it been since you met individually with team members for an informal checkin and open discussion on goals and growth opportunities? 4. How long has it been since you publicly thanked each team member for work well done? 5. Are you holding each person accountable while still allowing appropriate autonomy on completing tasks? 6. What resources have you provided in the past six months to promote skill-building or improved teamwork? 7. In the past year, what guidance have you provided to help team members make progress in their career? Your honest answers to these questions could reveal a leadership blind spot, or at least an opportunity to improve the productivity and engagement of your employees. There is no need to tackle the entire list. Choose one or two areas of priority and watch how quickly your best team members respond. For a free survey to launch your 30-Day Leadership Challenge, please email me at kwinsor@thewinsorgroup.com. Use the subject line: Leadership Challenge. I’d love to hear what you discover!