Have you ever felt:
- that you may be inconsistent in how you lead
- not sure why you lead differently depending on the situation or the people you are leading
- you are not totally in charge of your current path and others are setting your trajectory
- you want to be more decisive about your professional direction
The issue may be clarity, you have not made clear to yourself what is driving you or the source of your motivation. Clarity is a great gift. A gift to give yourself and those you work with.
In my coaching, I work to help you create the gift of clarity. For yourself and those you lead.
Question: Think about the clearest goal you ever set for yourself. What did that do for you?
Now think about the clearest goal a leader set for you. What did that do you for?
I bet both answers were similar and shared elements of solid direction and motivation.
Clear goals tell you where you are going, why you are going there, and when you expect to get there. That translates directly into inspiration. It is easy to generate motivation when you are well informed.
When a goal is aligned with your values and principles personally most important to you, the motivation is always positive. Achieving that goal begets a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. When misaligned, the intensity of the motivation ebbs and flows. Uncertainty creeps in and you have thoughts such as, ‘Why am I doing this and what made me think this was a good idea?’
Now let’s go to your professional environment and reminisce about a leader who lacked clarity on how they led, set goals, and gave direction. How did that make you feel? What were the results?
Frustrated, unsure, repeating tasks, having a nagging uneasy feeling are all common. On your drive home you are thinking, ’What did I do today?’ In short, you are exhausted. They sucked the energy out of you and left you feeling like you spent the day driving on a dirt road.
Clarity on the direction you are going and why – gets you off the dirt road. Clarity, aligned with your values puts you on the highway to a known destination. You know where you are going, why you are going, and you are moving along at the fastest pace possible. That’s not saying everything will be perfect. You will experience, bumps, detours, rough weather, and occasionally have to get off and assess your progress. You will at times change your route. But, your change will be for a good reason.
Clarity and alignment are what most of us want in our lives, personal and professional.
The greatest gift you can give yourself and those you lead is clarity. Align clarity with your values and the values of those you lead and you will be rewarded with focus, hard work, and motivation.
Getting to clarity can be challenging for leaders and takes some work. It means taking the time to determine what is most important to you and setting a personal leadership direction. Clarity in how you lead will require self-exploration, gaining feedback, and changing behaviors. It requires constant effort.
In my coaching, I assist leaders to gain clarity about who they are, where they are going, and why. I have seen clarity bring significant success to those individual leaders.
Give yourself the gift of clarity in your life and how you lead.
Learn more about clarity and other ways to become a better leader in your company and business at Great Transitions YouTube Channel.
