The process of leadership training is a journey. Usually, the starting point for that journey is someone needing to move from being a manager, specialist or expert in their field to becoming a leader of people.
The people whom I’ve trained have ranged from lawyers to accountants to scientists. All businesses need good leadership – and everyone is capable of becoming a leader.
Leadership training involves a massive mind shift. It often means a change in behaviours, ideas and beliefs. This may sound challenging, and it can be – but ultimately, the effect it has on you, the people and the organisation is profound.
In my first encounter with clients, they often express resistance and unease. As an expert in your field, you may be so heavily engrossed in your tasks on a day-to-day basis that you feel you have no time to lead. Your day job is a place of comfort, and is something that you are a specialist in. To be asked to be a leader can appear to be a dramatic departure from what you’re used to – you fear you may not be as successful as you are in your current role.
My job is to show that you can be successful in both.
Leadership training means taking a step back from your day-to-day work to look at the areas where you are strong, and also the areas where you may be weaker which could be holding you back. The required changes could be on a personal level, in the hours you are working, or how you communicate with the team that you work in. Our goal here is to address these development areas and find a sustainably effective way for you to lead.
Your thoughts influence your feelings which influence your behaviour. Therefore to be a good leader, you need to update any negative beliefs that are not supporting you so that you are a positive influence for yourself and your people.
Our next job is to identity what your own personal brand of leadership is going to be. This is a case of looking at yourself and seeing what your strengths, passions and values are. You think about what you want to achieve as a leader, and what this requires. We then look at the vision and aims of the company, and align these with your purpose as a leader.
This process takes the focus away from the minutiae of your day-to-day work, and provides a long-range vision. You become less motivated by delivering things yourself and become motivated to inspire and engage the people around you to deliver the vision.
Leadership training should be a lifelong experience. While I can provide the tools and direction for you to get started as the leader, you will be responsible for developing the ability to always be conscious of your behaviour, your mindset and your impact on your people.
With the skills and qualities you develop through this process, you will experience a far more fulfilling way of interacting, motivating and empowering people.
