|
One of the toughest questions we have to answer in leadership comes from those who don't agree with our choices. Leadership comes with its set of setbacks. Definitely one of the setbacks we all must learn to overcome is criticisms. If you're a leader, your going to be kicked in the pants by the criticism of others. I want you to know that if you get kicked in the rear it's only because you are out in front! Here are four steps to help you deal with the criticism that comes with leadership.
Step 1- Know yourself. This is all about understanding your strengths and weaknesses. If you know your strengths, you can focus on them and not be pulled into criticisms of your weaknesses. By defining your weaknesses, you can look for others on your team to fill those gaps rather than trying to develop them into strength areas. Step 2- Change yourself. This is all about you taking responsibility for you. You can grow by receiving criticism with the right attitude. Be open to improvement by avoiding defensiveness. Be willing to change in the areas where change benefits you and those you lead. You can look for the grain of truth that exists in any critique. Be willing to make the changes necessary to improve your relationships with your employees. Finally, take the high road by thanking the person sharing their criticism for helping you learn and grow. Step 3- Accept yourself. This is an issue of personal maturity, Professor and author Leo Buscaglia counseled, “The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position. To be the best person and leader you can be, you need to be yourself. That doesn’t mean that you aren’t willing to grow and change. It just means that you work to become the best you that you can be. As psychologist Carl Rogers remarked, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." Being who you really are is the first step in becoming better than you are. Step 4- Forget yourself. The final step in the process of effectively handling criticism is to stop focusing on yourself. When we were growing up, a lot of us spent a good deal of time worrying about what the world thought of us. Now I’m forty six and I realize the world really hasn't been paying much attention to me after all! .I've developed this policy: when entering a room, go to critics first. Tell them you value and appreciate them. Uncross their arms. Take the high road. You'll be surprised how little people are thinking of you when you start thinking of them! I hope these 4 steps to dealing with criticism add value to your leadership journey. If you'd like more help in learning how to do this or help teaching your team how to do this, please send me an email through my contact page.
0 Comments
Failure to empower your team will kill your dream. Your dream may be simple or your dream may be complex. Regardless, if you are going to achieve it, you're going to need other people to embrace it as their own to have any chance of success. When is the last time you accomplished anything of value that didn't require another person?
The real issue isn't whether or not we agree that empowerment is the greater choice. We all give mental assent to the idea of empowering others. We know that's the right answer, yeah?- Empowerment! "I love to empower my team!", we say. But, how's that working out for you in your daily habits?. Do your actions (behaviors, facial expressions, tone of voice) match your verbal praise for the Law of Empowerment? Put your belief in empowerment to the test by asking three simple questions. Three Questions to Test Your Belief in Empowerment
If you're ready to go deeper and develop a consistent process for communicating in ways that empower your team, request my free step by step process for charting the course when communicating change. This method has allowed me to increase engagement with my team when it counts the most. I think it will do the same for you. You can find it here. My parents determined that it was time for me to work on my work-ethic. I didn't have much skill and I didn't know what I was interested in, so at 15 years old I went with the only thing I knew. Cutting grass. I heard about a crew that was hiring so I applied and was hired on the spot. Talk about excited! I left that office ready to make my mark on the world and get some much-needed cash in my pocket. Over time, I've come to learn that everyone enters a new job with major enthusiasm, sky-high ambition, and a hope that they'll move closer to achieving their dreams.
Those first few weeks, I was on cloud nine! I was making a contribution to the team, I liked the guys I was working with, and I was out in the world making a difference for the people we served! Then, things began to change. I started noticing my supervisor was super demanding. He was intolerant of little mistakes, harsh in correcting others, failed to listen to new ideas, and modeled a genuine disregard for anyone who held a position lower than his. To say he devalued others would be an understatement! I made it through that summer, but the next summer when I was called to see about working again, I politely declined. You see, I learned a valuable lesson the year before. It wasn't that the company was bad. My leader was a bad leader and I quit him. I quit him because of his inability to value others. You see, people quit people, not jobs. It wasn't that I didn't want to cut grass that next summer (I still spent that summer cutting grass, just not with him). I didn't want to be cutting grass with him. I want to see you avoid the same mistake he made. 5 Keys To Avoiding People Quitting You
|
AuthorW. Shane McKenzie is an Executive Coach and Mentor who specializes in helping successful leaders leave their job to own a business using proven strategies to minimize risk. 
Archives
May 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly