As part of my leadership work, I ask people to think about their style and whether it aligns with their intentions. ​
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We all know how easy it is to give mixed messages and, I would imagine at some stage in our lives, we’ve all experienced situations where our styles and intentions didn’t align, leaving us with a number of challenges to sort out. ​
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Ones that come to mind are: ​
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➡️  If you intend to foster collaboration yet are very directive in your style, you probably won’t get the engagement you anticipated.

➡️  Or your aim is to drive innovation, yet your leadership style is risk-averse, you’ll be less effective. ​
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This in turn can lead to you feeling compromised and frustrated because you’re not achieving the results you desire, whilst your own people start to be more wary of you. ​
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My advice would be…​
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✅  Have a period of self-reflection. Think about what it is that you want your leadership style to say about you and where do your actions and words support it or require some adjustment? Measure where you are now and where you want to be. It’s then easier to focus on the elements which will make a difference rather than trying to do everything at once.​
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✅  Create an environment where feedback is the norm. The insights of others can enable you to see your blind-spots and identify areas for improvement. The key is to remain curious and find out what you could do to adapt your style to better meet your goals. Get into the habit of asking the questions – what’s one thing I do well and what’s the one thing that would help me be even better. And make sure you act upon the feedback!​
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✅  Engage in some leadership training/coaching. Even if you don’t choose me, (although I’ll be very upset 😉!!!) there are lots of us out here who can help you to develop skills that are better aligned with your intentions​.
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✅ Develop clarity in your communications. The best way to help people have clarity about your intentions is to clearly communicate a picture in their heads of what good looks like. This ensures you’re all on the same path. The greater the transparency the better it will bridge the gaps between what you do and what you achieve. ​
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I hope these four steps will help you to achieve a more cohesive and effective leadership approach.

And if you fancy chatting any of this through, please get in touch and we’ll get a call in the diary​.