Be the Leader Others Will Follow: Know Your Superpowers

Once you’re clear on your leadership (and life) destination, the second step to being the leaders others will follow is to know your superpowers. One of the most important things you can do as a leader, and in life in general, is to get really clear on your values and your strengths. 

Your values are who you are at your core. Those often un-named rules of what is important to you.

In addition to your values, it’s important to know your strengths. Your strengths are your skills and elements of your character that make you who you are.  When you’re using your strengths, you’re being the best and most fulfilled version of yourself.

I think of your strengths as having two components. First, there’s your technical or “hard” skills. Those are the things that you’re good at doing. For example, you might be great at planning, organizing, writing, or using technology. What are you good at that you also enjoy? What do people tell you you’re good at? What activities cause you to lose all track of time? The second component of your strengths are your character traits, also known as “soft” skills. These are the elements of how you’re best at being and might be things like teamwork, bravery, humor, or kindness. How do you conduct yourself? What qualities do people compliment you on?

Once you’ve identified your values and strengths, use them as a guidepost and lens for how you focus your time and attention, make decisions, and make tradeoffs. 

Ask yourself where you’re leading – others and yourself – according to your values. Where are you not? Where are you using your skills and strengths the most? Where could you be using them more?

Then, and this requires courage, think about saying no to things that don’t fit your values and priorities or don’t let you use your strengths. And remember – just because you are good at something doesn’t mean it’s what brings you satisfaction. Often, more of what we’re good at gets imposed on us and our time and energy gets consumed.

Working with my coach, I was able to get clear on my strengths, what I value, what it takes for me to be at my best, and the difference I wanted my leadership to make in the world. It became clear to me that my greatest professional contributions and fulfillment derive from developing and leading individuals and teams and enhancing communication, culture, and effectiveness. I wanted to spend more time on people development. So, I researched professions that would allow me to do that, and while also allowing me to be at my best and fostering work-life dynamic consistent with my values. In my case, I made a pretty big shift in my profession. But not everyone needs to make a drastic change. You just need to get really clear on what you want from your career and your leadership and really understand what’s getting in the way so you can remove those obstacles. You will be a better, more inspiring, more influential leader (and spouse, parent, friend) when you tap into your superpowers so you can live and lead from your strengths and values. Once you do this, others will naturally want to follow you.

Comment below and share how you plan to use your superpowers more in your work and life.

Be the Leader Others Will Follow: Maximize Your Time and Energy

I’m guessing that two of your biggest obstacles to becoming the healthcare leader you want to be are time and energy. Maybe it’s because you put the needs of others ahead of your own. Maybe it’s because you find many things interesting and exciting and you have a hard time letting an opportunity pass you by. Or maybe it’s because you’re so busy trying to get everything done, you don’t have the time to be more strategic.

Here are some tips for maximizing your time and energy:

Get organized:  Record everything on your mind in some kind of a “collection tool” that you will come back to regularly and sort through. This becomes your master to-do list. Schedule everything in a calendar and block off time every day for the priorities and projects that have the most meaning and impact for you as a leader – those big rocks. Set aside time at the beginning of each week and each day to review your calendar, update your to-do list, and schedule in your weekly/daily actions and appointments.

Make your goals and values visible: Write out your values and your big rocks and put them where you will see them often. This will keep them top of mind when you’re prioritizing and making decisions. And – another neuroscience tip! – keeping your goals visible helps you tap into the feelings of why you want to reach them and will help you maintain motivation and energy to complete them.

Practice Self Care: This is an absolutely critical leadership behavior and one that is really tough for healthcare professionals. There are the basics – sleep, healthy eating, and exercise. To take it to the next level, you need to build mental, physical, and emotional renewal into your workday every day. And, set boundaries to give yourself time to replenish your physical and emotional energy. 

Manage Your Mindset: Look for areas where you may be making assumptions about what is and is not possible, and challenge these assumptions. If you’re not sure about what is expected of you from others, ask them to clarify their expectations. Pay attention if you’re thinking or talking about things as a "need," a "should," or a "must."  See if you can substitute "choose” or “want” when you think about or speak of doing that action. The word you use actually makes a difference in how your brain responds when something feels like a choice.  If “want” doesn’t feel truthful, ask whether you really have to do whatever it is and learn the art of saying “no.”  Pay attention to whether it’s a true need or whether it’s your own inner voice making things into a “need” or a “should.” 

Ask for What You Need and Want: Get clear on the opportunities and resources you need to be a successful leader and ask for them. Delegate other tasks that don’t require you (and only you) to do them. This not only takes things off your plate, it gives others the chance to grow. And letting others help is a chance to make them feel good.

The most successful people learn to be more selective about where they focus their time and energy. Just because you can handle everything that comes your way doesn’t mean you should.

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that
really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett

Please share in the comments below which of these tips for maximizing your time and energy will be most valuable for you to practice.

Be the Leader Others Will Follow: Get Clear on Your Big Rocks

I remember in elementary school science class the teacher put a few rocks into a jar until the rocks were piled to the rim of the jar and then asked the class if it was full.  We all thought it was. But then he added some pebbles in the jar and they filled in around the big rocks right up to the top of the jar. And he asked us again if it was full. Then he added sand and, after that, water, until the jar was actually overflowing. 

In order to be the leader others want to follow, it’s important that you get clear on what your big rocks are. The biggest priorities in your life, your most important goals, the top one or two projects that are going to be most impactful for you at any given period in your career. And get those in your jar before other people fill up your jar with pebbles, sand, or water.

Once you’re clear on your big rocks, ask yourself what steps you need to take to get them. What’s the necessary first step? What help, advice, or resources might you need to get started and to stay on track? What obstacles might get in your way? Learn to say no to the things that aren’t consistent with your big rocks or that will take time and energy away from your ability to focus on your big rocks.

Write out your big rocks and your answers to the questions I posed. Remember that writing it down will activate different parts of your brain and different chemicals in your brain that can lead to creating new brain circuits. New ideas. And a shift in your motivation and energy.   

The most successful and inspiring leaders are essentialists. They are crystal clear on their Big Rocks and don’t let themselves get distracted or diverted from the actions that they need to take to achieve their vision.

 “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” 
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I welcome you to share your big rocks in the comments below. Neuroscience tip – sharing them with the world is a great step to helping you honor them!

Be the Leader Others Will Follow: Create a Personal Advisory Board

Two important steps to being a leader others will follow are developing more self-awareness and developing a solid strategy for your professional development and career. One of the best ways to do this is to actively seek input from mentors and advisors.

Your boss, your spouse, friends, or other family members can all play this role, but I caution against relying  solely on them to provide guidance.  They all likely have strong opinions about what you should and shouldn’t do, and most likely, they also have some kind of “skin in your game” – in other words, your decisions and actions impact them in some way. Instead, create your own “advisory board” so you can get a variety of perspectives from people who aren’t directly affected by your choices.

This was a major mistake I made in my career! I relied on my bosses to guide me and define my leadership. I allowed my direct colleagues, friends’ and family’s experiences define my perceptions of what was and wasn’t possible. I focused too much of my energy on getting stuff done. I took on everything that I was asked to do, thinking that would help me advance.

What I didn’t do was take the time to learn from people outside my circle, my organization, or my industry. I didn’t proactively evaluate what I needed to do, or who I needed to be to take my leadership to the next level. I didn’t cultivate a big enough or diverse enough network to expand my perception of who I am was, what I could do, and the impact my strengths and skills could have. And instead of helping me advance, this actually held me back.

This advice isn’t  just for early careerists – we need to gain perspective throughout our careers. And it’s not just limited to when you want to get a new job, or even to your professional life only.  Tap into your advisory board to help you be your best version of you, to make the best decisions for you, and for support throughout your life and career to enable you to be the leader others want to follow.

If you could have anyone in the world on your personal advisory board, who would it be? Share your advisory board pick in the comments below.