Six warning signs that your leadership is dangerously boring!

What if the pressure to deliver has crept up on you and instead of being a terrible leader, you’ve become a boring one!?

The life is slowly draining out of things and people at work are becoming more and more zombie-like. Sooner or later, the life may drain out of your customers and clients too!

Watch the video above to discover the six warning signs you should look out for – and what to do about them.

Please leave a comment below if they’re still open at the time of reading, or tweet me @nickrobcoach

Six warning signs that you've become a dangerously boring leader!! And what to do about it. Click To Tweet

A coaching question

What kind of person are you – at your absolute best?

I’ve written before about what I believe to be one of the most powerful questions you can ask, as a leader or a coach – or anybody really. And here’s another.

If anything, this one is actually even more of a favourite of mine because I just love the impact it has. It also sits really well with one of my core coaching principles – that you coach the person, not the issue they are dealing with.

I use this question sparingly, because it is so powerful. I particularly like it when somebody says something like:

I just don’t know where to start!

“Well,” I’ll say, “What kind of person are you, at your absolute best?” – and that almost always opens up several avenues of approach.

Or a client will say:

Which is the right choice for me?

And I’ll ask it then, “What kind of person are you, at your absolute best?” The choices we make should always be informed by who we are – and I don’t mean the person we are when we ‘re doubting ourselves or holding back or angry with the world, I mean the real person in our core – the absolute best version.

Or somebody will say:

I can’t seem to get on with this colleague no matter what!

And I’ll use that same question then, “Hmm, interesting – what kind of person are you – at your absolute best?” That’s always the version of ourselves to bring forwards when we want to connect well with others. Even or perhaps especially if that version of ourselves is vulnerable or unsure (as the best people often are).

How about you? What are you like at your absolute best?

And as a leader – how would you feel using this type of question? What kind of impact would it have on you, if somebody asked you?

Please leave a comment below if they’re still open at the time of reading, or tweet me @nickrobcoach

A coach's favourite question - what kind of person are you - at your *absolute* best? Click To Tweet

Which Team are YOU on?

Managers and Leaders should make sure they’re being a teammate at work on the RIGHT team – and not confusing Leadership with Team Membership

At first sight, that might seem like a dumb thing to say. Surely everyone knows which is their team? But I’m seeing more and more people who fall into difficulty at work because they don’t quite get this distinction right.

Perhaps it’s an easy mistake to make, especially if you’re a loyal, principled leader.

I’m constantly talking about how leaders should role model the kind of behaviours they want to see. This is particularly important if you want your teams to behave more like a team. And one of the behaviours to get really clear about role-modelling is which team you’re actually on.


Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’re ON the team that you lead. I’m not a big fan of sporting metaphors, but that would be like saying that Eddie Jones plays rugby for England – he doesn’t, he’s (currently) the team’s Head Coach. Or that Jose Mourinho plays football for Spurs – again, he doesn’t, he’s (currently) the Head Coach.

 

If you want the teams that you lead to be more team-like, then show them how you are a great member of the team to which you belong.


What do you notice about your own attitude towards teams, colleagues and those who work for you?
Please leave a comment below if they’re still open at the time of reading, or tweet me @nickrobcoach

Make sure you're being a teammate at work on the RIGHT team - and don't confuse leadership with team membership. Click To Tweet