There are many self-help articles about the keys to personal success. I generally subscribe to the theory that you must prove it before I believe it. Because of this, there’s one successful method that I rely on. It has helped my clients be more effective leaders time and time again.

Be, Do, Have

If you want to have something different in your life, you need to be another person and do different things. It sounds pretty straightforward, but of course, it’s rarely easy. Here are a few examples of how this strategy can help you be more effective in the workplace:

• A CEO yearns for higher numbers. Instead of focusing on new initiatives, her best bet is to see why her current leadership style isn’t getting the results she wants. She must DO things differently to BE a better leader. In turn, she will HAVE her team’s support, which can help her reach her expectations.
• A sales manager struggles to motivate his salespeople to exceed their goals. For this leader to HAVE the desired results, he will need to DO or shake up the sales process and BE a change leader for his team. The entire team will be more effective as a result.
• A naturally gifted athlete didn’t have to work that hard in high school, as success came quickly to him. Now in college, he is just an average player. He yearns to be a star again, so he must DO different things like strength training, practice, and listening to his coaching. He must BE a more focused and dedicated athlete to succeed.

Improving Your Effectiveness Skills

Most of us are trained to sort through the touchy-feely aspects of leadership to focus on particular methods to boost our numbers. This is often the correct approach, but I encourage you to think introspectively about your effectiveness as a leader. Much of the time, a productivity problem is a leadership problem in disguise.

It can be hard to evaluate your leadership style independently, as we are rarely unbiased observers of our behavior. I recommend enlisting the help of a third party to help you with this step. You can do this in a few different ways: 

• Find a mentor that is courageous enough to tell you the truth.
• Listen to an objective colleague who is not afraid to evaluate you as a leader honestly.
• Hire a business coach and take the assessments that will benchmark your skills.

A new perspective can help you realize that your mindset and what you telegraph to your team may be the key to getting better results. You must change your usual methods to be more effective as a leader. Getting objective and honest feedback on your leadership style can help you boost the productivity of your entire team. 

Learning to BE more effective is easier said than done. Please fill out my contact form for a complimentary discussion on how you can learn to BE effective, to DO or apply new techniques, and to HAVE better results.

Coach Dave