The Leadership Challenge: How do you measure up?

Leadership is a state of mind, not a job. It can’t be captured by a promotion and is often misappropriated to title.  Whether you’re a recognized leader, titled leader or a want-to-be leader, here are several self-reflecting questions and quotes that may impact the way you think about leading and your leadership style.

Do it OUR Way: How comfortable are you with accepting other’s perspective, insight, answers or approach if it’s not aligned with your way of thinking? Inclusion works.

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

Communicate Effectively: Misunderstandings, rework and disconnects are often a result of poor communication. Could the way you communicate be a contributing factor to mistakes?

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” – Mark Twain

Release the Fear: Are you afraid to disrupt even when appropriate, afraid to be different, afraid to take risks or afraid to let others do the same? Here’s my favorite quote to consider.

“The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles.” – Oren Harari

Education is Key: And it’s key for you too. When was the last time you invested in continuing education, coaching or personal development for yourself?

“Education isn’t something that you can finish.” – Isaac Assimov

Accept Challenges: Encourage and allow others to respectfully challenge your thinking. I believe constructive pushback builds intellectual muscle.

“Old ways won’t open new doors.” – Unknown

Be Authentic: Personal authenticity develops and changes over time. How often does the authentic you show up at work? In my opinion, authenticity precedes trust and pretense isn’t a virtue.

“He who is untrue to his own cause cannot command the respect of others.” – Albert Einstein

Charlotte Ntreh is a Partner at PeopleResults where she helps clients build and sustain high performing, effective and impactful organizations with measurable results. You can reach her at cntreh@people-results.com or follow her on twitter @cntreh.