The Ultimate Tool Kit of Leadership Kills for Managers

contents
Introduction 5
1. LET GO OF LIMITING BELIEFS 9
What Does It Mean to Be a Leader? 11
Why Is Being an Effective Leader Important? 12
What Is a Natural Leader? 13
Leaders Are Made, Not Born 13
What’s Standing in Your Way? 16
LEADERSHIP Model Step 1: Let Go of Limiting
Beliefs 17
Unleash the Leader Within You 20
2. EXAMINE YOURSELF 23
How Well Do You Know Yourself? 24
LEADERSHIP Model Step 2: Examine Yourself 28
Small Steps Matter Big 32
3. ALIGN YOUR VISIONS WITH YOUR VALUES 35
Why Do Values Matter? 36
LEADERSHIP Model Step 3: Align Your Visions With
Your Values 39
Setting Goals With Your Team 44
4. DEVELOP EFFICIENT SYSTEMS 49
So Much to Do, So Little Time 50
Top Time Management Skills 51
LEADERSHIP Model Step 4: Develop Efficient
Systems 55
5. EXPLORE YOUR TEAM’S STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES 67
Embrace Your Weaknesses 68
LEADERSHIP Model Step 5: Explore Your Team’s
Strengths and Weaknesses 70
When Building a Team 75
When You Already Have a Team 78
6. RECOGNIZE WHAT WORKS 81
What Is Culture? 82
LEADERSHIP Model Step 6: Recognize What Works 84
Navigating Team Conflict 91
Navigating External Conflict 95
Goals and the Expectations of Higher-Ups 97
7. SHARE THE LOAD 99
Stress Is Inevitable 99
A Manager’s Role Has Changed 100
Why Do People Micromanage? 101
LEADERSHIP Model Step 7: Share the Load 104
When to Take the Wheel 109
8. HONE IN ON WHAT TRULY MATTERS 111
The Impact of Purpose 112
LEADERSHIP Model Step 8: Hone In on What Truly
Matters 113
Celebrating Wins and Losses 118
9. INITIATE CHANGE 121
When Something No Longer Works… 121
Change Can Lead to Connections 124
LEADERSHIP Model Step 9: Initiate Change 126
Transparency Is Essential 131
10. PLAN AHEAD 135
What Does the Future Look Like? 136
LEADERSHIP Model Step 10: Plan Ahead 142
Planning Ahead With AI 146
Conclusion 151
Glossary 155
References 157
introduction
Imagine walking up to the opportunity of a lifetime—a shiny new
leadership role at the head of a table filled with senior manage-
ment and company executives. As a newly appointed leader, you
feel the weight of responsibility pressing down on your shoulders;
and as the room buzzes with anticipation, your mind is filled with
uncertainty and doubt.
Although grateful for the opportunity, everyone has expressed
suggestions for improvement as you navigate email correspon-
dence with managers and staff, attending to their needs as soon as
possible. You must address HR requests, attend to funding and
budget issues, and train new hires. All this among other things
popped up—seemingly out of nowhere.
But it’s okay. Take a deep breath and let the chaos roll over you.
Just because you signed up for a fancy new leadership position
does not mean that you are an expert in your role. According to
career experts Zippia, it takes an average of “two years of profes-
sional experience to become a leader” and, when “normal educa-
tion requirements” are taken into consideration, that time extends
6 • Introduction
to “five to seven years to become a leader” (How Long Does It Take to
Become A Leader? 2022).
And within those five to seven years, we experience struggles of
insecurity and low self-confidence, such as in the aforementioned
example. It takes years to develop the confidence, systems, goal-
setting, and communication skills necessary to produce highly
effective teams.
But, again, it’s okay. With the right tools in your arsenal and mind-
set, “anyone can be a leader,” and yes, this means you, too (Can
Anyone Be A Leader? 2022). All it takes is the aspiration and motiva-
tion to practice the skills required to become successful.
Enter the LEADERSHIP Model, a simple yet powerful framework
I’ve refined to guide you through the intricacies of modern
leadership:
Let go of limiting beliefs
Examine yourself
Align your visions with your values
Develop efficient systems
Explore your team’s strengths and weaknesses
Recognize what works
Share the load
Hone in on what truly matters
Initiate change
Plan ahead
When combined, this guide will offer you everything you need to
take your role to the next level. Through my extensive experience
as a business and leadership coach, I have honed my process to
help you become an exceptional leader. My goal isn’t just to talk at
you or to fill your head with stuffy nonsense but to inspire and
Introduction • 7
motivate you to continue learning even after you’ve turned the last
page.
Remember my example from earlier? That was a real client and
dear friend of mine. On the first Friday after she started her new
job, I called her up for a celebratory drink. She sounded a little
tired on the phone, but I didn’t think anything of it—she’d just had
a hard week at a new job. There were bound to be some
adjustments.
But when we met up that night, everything came flooding out: how
her bosses critiqued everything she did, disregarded every sugges-
tion, and offered zero training or guidance to boot. Even with 10
years of industry experience and two degrees under her belt, when
she seated herself at the senior management table, self-doubt
tugged at every thought in her head.
She was already in the position; she couldn’t wait five to seven
years for her expertise to kick in. She needed it now, and she
needed a simple and effective guide to help her along her journey.
Otherwise, her job and professional reputation would be at a
significant risk.
All the other methods had offered some reprieve, but nothing
stuck. Nothing created the sustainable change she needed to
propel her career and impress her bosses and colleagues…
So, as we talked in that bustling lounge, French martinis in hand,
she asked me, for the first time, how I was able to help so many
people reach the peak of their leadership mountains. And I
responded with this:
Management is for those who want to control.
Leadership is for those who want to inspire.
8 • Introduction
Where do you fit in?
In the pages that follow, expect simplicity, actionable insights, and
a blueprint to becoming the leader you aspire to be. So, if you’re
ready to gain the self-confidence you deserve, develop the leader-
ship skills you need, and earn the trust of your entire team,
managers, and clients, let’s dive in!