Bottom line leaning into difficult conversations is about confidence. What often gets missed in executive development programs is the importance of confidence. No amount of knowing what to do and how to do it will make any difference if you don’t have the confidence to lean into it.
That's why your relationship to yourself is a fundamental building block of leadership success. Confidence in leadership is partly about knowing what to say and how to say it. However, it is more about overcoming what's getting in the way of saying it.
Developing confidence starts with self-awareness. Understanding who you are at a deeper level, and why you think, say and do what you do, means you can make better choices about how you turn up for others.
This is where you need to work on getting out of your own way. That's why the who of leadership matters. A leader's Character is paramount.
Increasing self-awareness at the Character level means being able to manage ego defences and overcome limiting beliefs.
It's about recognising your patterns of behaviour and getting clear on the behaviours that are helping and hindering.
When you are comfortable and in alignment with who you are, you communicate from your congruent, authentic self - and that becomes a lighthouse for others. From this place leaning in becomes easier.
This is an inside out job. When you make a positive shift in your inner world, your outer world shifts too. The bonus is that things will improve across all of your relationships. At work and at home!
You have your finger on the pulse
You are noticing, and curious about what’s really going on
You are able to listen
You are able to discuss and collaborate
You care about the other person and their performance
You own the responsibility of your leadership
You are able to risk vulnerability to get to a more productive place
Your people can trust your humanity
Others can be confident in your leadership
You have skills and abilities others want to learn from
You have courage and integrity
Matt helps leaders and teams develop their mindset and resourcefulness so they can relate productively, communicate effectively, and navigate challenge, change and complexity with confidence.
Through coaching and training, he empowers leaders with better choices and more options for progress - building better leadership from the inside out.
Curious what that could look like for you or your organisation? Let’s talk.