Today is the perfect time to enhance your leadership skills to fill the leadership gap.
Research shows that 40% of organizations say that they do not have enough leaders. Baby boomers are retiring at the rate of 10,000 each day — 78 million by the year 2020! Good leaders drive organizational profit, productivity and engagement. We have found that studies show the key factor to success is more Emotional Intelligence as compared to technical expertise and IQ (Intellectual Quotient).
Have you underestimated your influence over others? 95% of the time we are on automatic. This leads to missed opportunities to consciously be aware of what we are saying, consciously be aware of what we are doing, of raising your emotional intelligence and truly developing others.
The more conscious you are, the more in charge of your life and your contributions you will be.
Why do we focus so much on the leader? Leaders have anywhere from 50-75% influence over the team–they are the emotional thermostat for the team, yet many of us don’t know how to be that top 10% leader.
- Only 28% of workers know how well they are doing.
- 82% of leaders fail to give feedback, either positive or negative.
- 81% of leaders fail to listen or involve others.
- 65% of employees have not had praise or recognition in the last year.
- Only 30% of employees are fully engaged.
Here is a list of the Seven Leadership Errors:
- Generalization of Skill Error: Leaders are promoted for other reasons than leadership. This error leaves new management leaders unprepared and set-up for failure.
- The Spotlight Error: Leaders are under the spotlight 24/7. Every action scrutinized, analyzed, interpreted–more so than leaders realize. That is why we underestimate our influence. Your leadership credibility can be crumbled with an off-the-cuff communication or reactive response.
- Influence Error: Followers want to please the leader and are waiting to be acknowledged for their progress and unique skills. Every day leaders miss opportunities to enhance their influence over others. We all want to know how we are doing; it doesn’t matter our position.
- Neglect Error: The tasks of leadership are often relegated and neglected in favor of the crises or hot issue of the day. You can’t focus on both analysis and empathy.
- Style & Alignment Error: Leaders communicate, they organize, they delegate, they give feedback in their own preferred manner–if it works for me, it will work for them.
- Focus Error: Followers expect and want their leaders to be well informed, be well intentioned, have well thought-out plans, have clear direction and know how the followers contribute.
- Frequency Error: If, in fact the leader has the skill, which they don’t always have, and makes the time occasionally, they don’t always employ the necessary strategies frequently enough to be successful.
Top 10% Leaders
To be a Top 10% Leader, leaders are changing their style to meet their direct reports, they are focusing on how to avoid the Seven Leadership Errors, and they are striving to learn more about Emotional Intelligence.
“Do you now all your people as chess players or checkers? If they are checkers, everybody is the same–they move one place forward. If they are chess players–they all move differently and you know their unique strengths.” ~Marcus Buckingham
Join us each week to be a Top 10% Leader by learning the Secrets and Emotional Intelligence Insights to get you there. You can listen to the complete recording with more information about this topic, without commercials, above.
We hope you visit next week!
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