Think Like a Leader: The Mindset that Drives Growth
What separates true leaders from managers? It's not fancy titles or corner offices. Real leadership comes from within. Adopting a leadership mindset is the key to realizing your full potential and driving sustainable growth.
Define Your Value
As Jocko Willink says, "Leaders provide direction, guidance, and a plan on how to achieve victory." To lead effectively, you must have an ironclad understanding of your own value. What unique skills, knowledge and experience do you bring to the table? How does this translate into value for your clients or team?
Getting clear on your value proposition establishes credibility and confidence. Don’t misunderstand, this isn’t an invitation to become self-absorbed with a “king of the hill” mindset. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It’s about correctly recognizing the value that only you can bring to your clients and staff.
This self-awareness allows you to position your abilities clearly to others. As any good commander knows, you can't lead troops effectively until you know exactly what you are capable of. Know Thyself
Start by talking with a mentor or your partner. Then spend time in self-reflection to clearly define your value and what makes your business or services unique. Writes these things down and articulate them. This clarity forms the foundation for leadership.
Delegate and Lead
"A good leader does not get bogged down in the minutia of a tactical problem at the expense of strategic success." - Jocko Willink
Great leaders avoid the trap of micromanagement. Understanding the difference between Strategy, Tactics and Logistics is a high priority principle. Good leaders delegate execution to, in turn, focus on higher-level strategy and planning. Review the tasks that eat up your time each day, week and month. Anything administrative or tactical should be handed off to others.
Here are some ways to start delegating today:
Free up your calendar by designing workflows and trusting your team.
Hire support staff to handle scheduling, filing, non-technical client follow ups, scanning and other non-core activities.
Empower others by training them on key skills and knowledge.
Consider this: Leading a successful business should follow the “Fancy Restaurant” model. When you dine at a high-end restaurant, you likely never see the owner or top tier manager. Instead, you interact with hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers, and more.
The owner doesn't spend time seating guests, taking orders, cooking meals, and clearing tables. Rather, they focus on the big-picture strategy and oversee skilled staff executing specific roles. And the customers always rave about their great dining experience.
Business leaders should adopt this model by hiring and training specialized team members to handle day-to-day tasks. This allows the leader to focus on high-level decision making, planning, and providing vision and direction. Delegate the details so you can dedicate time to working "on" the business, not getting buried "in" the weeds of the business.
Focus on the Big Picture
Leaders must keep their sights on the long-term vision and goals. As Steve Jobs put it, "Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do."
It is easy to become lost in the daily minutiae, stuck in the mire of decisions that drain your time and distract you from the key metrics that indicate progress toward your objectives. Ruthlessly cull activities that don't align with your strategy. Direct your energy toward high-level decisions that move the needle, enable growth, and reduce risk.
Identify the 2-3 things you should focus on daily to be successful, your highest value most profitable tasks/skills. Then empower the rest of your team to handle everything else. Remember, you as the leader need a clear, long-term view in order to guide your business to your goal. Don't get bogged down in details that prevent you from thinking strategically.
Master the Investor Mindset
Legendary leaders like Warren Buffett operate with an investor mindset. They view team members as appreciated assets, not expenses. This long-term strategy might mean that you put in greater effort during onboarding and training which will yield results later on. When you invest in people, you multiply returns over time.
Build a culture of learning. Set aside dedicated time for team training. Document institutional knowledge so it can be leveraged. Encourage mentorships and peer learning. View your team as an investment, not an expense. The value they bring in knowledge and skills is immense when you train and develop them.
This mindset shift pays dividends. An empowered, highly-skilled team delivers superior client service and innovation. Company value increases exponentially when you scale expertise across your workforce.
Adopting the leadership mindset takes courage, discipline, and determination. But the rewards are immense. Your mission and vision are attainable when you take ownership of your value, focus on strategic priorities instead of daily details and invest in your people. Now get out there and lead.
