58: How to Stop Worrying and Start Leading

I wish I could tell you that I’ve always felt confident as a leader, but I used to be a real scaredy cat. In this episode, I discuss six ways that I learned to have more confidence in my leadership abilities and not be consumed by the fear and worry about giving feedback to others.

1) Set expectations early: If expectations aren’t there with followers, create them. If they aren’t clear, clarify. Do it early or as soon as you can.

2) Be willing to change directions: A mentor gave me great advice when they said, “No leader is perfect. You can always acknowledge to a follower that something has been OK up until now, but that you are now making a different decision going forward.”

3) Ask a trusted colleague for feedback: I discovered that asking for advice from a person I trusted often gave me new ideas.

4) Respond in 24 hours: Zig Ziglar said, “If you need to eat a frog, you don’t want to look at that sucker too long. He ain’t gonna get any prettier.” (Customers – SCORE!)

5) Earn trust by being a good-finder: I spent time each day finding good stuff people were doing and told them.

6) Listen to daily inspiration: These days, I listen to podcasts. One that always gives me a boost is Michael Hyatt’s show This Is Your Life.

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