Cracking The P.O.W.E.R. Code, A Five-Step Formula To Becoming A Greater Leader

The ‘Great Resignation’ is not anything new, you know. 

Maybe we are seeing a higher percentage of people leaving their jobs or making huge career changes but the reasons why people are leaving are NOT new. Dissatisfaction in their companies or jobs, feeling undervalued or underpaid, feeling unseen or unheard, is pretty much as old as I am. 

You know what else is old? The way we promote people into management positions without enough leadership training. The way top management responds to employee dissatisfaction. The way a company’s culture is directly influenced by company leaders, but those in positions of power rarely take responsibility for the culture they helped create.

The thing that all of these things have in common (apart from being old news) is that they are all signs that the fish stinks at the head. Meaning, the issues most teams/companies experience start at the top. We need greater leaders if we don’t want an even “greater resignation.” 

Right now we have a unique opportunity to finally examine management and leadership and do something about it. Now that people are actually stopping and taking notice and attempting to have a conversation, we might be able to shift old ways of thinking (and doing) inside the workplace. 

Finally.  

Because the truth is, people can be taught to be great leaders. People can learn how to better respond to their employees. People can be made aware of what makes a good company culture and be empowered to take more of an active role in creating it. 

Do you want to get started right here and now? Cool. Great. Let’s do that. 

I have a five-step formula that can be used to create the life you want, but it also has the ability to transform you into a greater leader when you apply these same principles to your professional life. These five actions together will uplevel your leadership and begin to transform your team. Remember, the transformation is going to start with you. 

Try these on for size.

P - Pursue the facts

Identify what’s fact and what’s fiction before making assumptions or jumping to conclusions. 
For example, if someone provides you feedback, take a moment’s pause. Your inclination may be to automatically see the feedback as criticism, but is it? Instead of assuming anything, figure out what’s the truth of the situation. Ask the person whether they’re offering additional ideas to consider or telling you to change them based on what they want. Defaulting to your assumption that the feedback is criticism is fiction. By asking them what they mean, you’re getting what’s real (fact). 

O - Own your stories

Notice when you are making up a story about a situation/circumstance and then considering that story as Truth—as though no other options are available. When you find yourself reacting to something, this is a great time to ask yourself what stories you’re making up about ‘said thing.’ (P.S. a story you make up falls under the ‘fiction’ category; return to the bullet above.)

Let’s say, you log in to email and get a note from a team member that they’d like to set up a 1:1 meeting. You then begin to create a story around why they want to speak to you. Maybe you conjecture that they have a complaint to make, and you go down the rabbit hole of imagining what they're going to say. You’ve just spent time and energy working through a hypothetical situation based on a story you created, not one that actually exists. 

W - Witness your thoughts

Once you can separate fact from fiction you want to get good at recognizing your thoughts as just that – thoughts, not reality. We all have thoughts, judgments, and opinions. Don’t think you do? What do you think so far about this blog post? 

See? I told ya so.  

Start to get good at recognizing your thoughts instead of getting yourself wrapped around the axel about some fictionalized story you just made. (See my first two points!) 

Think about a time you beat yourself up about something. Likely you created a story about how horrible it was that you did that one thing wrong. And, then, as if that isn’t bad enough, you may have slid into rationalizing or defending the thing you did as if you were about to go in front of the Supreme Court. Look how crappy you made yourself feel by going after the cheese down that tunnel. Be aware of your thoughts, don’t you become them. 

E - Embrace a new choice

When you can witness your thoughts, you are present. When you are present, you have power.  When you have power, you have a new ability to choose how to respond. That’s what I call “Response-ABILITY.” 

So let’s say someone on your team failed to come through on an assignment. When you recognize that you’re telling yourself, “I need someone else. I can never rely on this person. I’ve got to just get this done myself,” you can pause a beat, go through the first three steps, and then choose to respond differently. You can embrace a new choice; a new way to interact with the person, situation, or circumstance. 

R - Reflect on your growth

This is where you check in with yourself as often as possible. Maybe it’s after a particularly challenging moment or maybe it’s at the end of each day. But you want to be continually evaluating yourself, doubling down on your successes, and practicing the principles that need some improvement. 

Were you able to separate fact versus fiction? Did you own your stories? Did you witness your thoughts or embrace new choices? If not, where can you improve? 

Rinse and repeat. 

Becoming a greater leader can be taught. Companies and teams can be transformed. And they have to. Otherwise, we will always have an ongoing struggle from either side of the water cooler. We will have managers and leaders feeling at a loss to sustain their workforce and move the business forward, and we’ll have employees feeling dissatisfied in their jobs and unwilling to stay. It all contributes to that revolving door of people coming and going. 

So, are you ready to throw your whole damn heart at your people so they finally feel valued, seen, and heard and want to stick around longer?

Are you ready to crack the P.O.W.E.R. code and become the great leader I know lives inside you? 

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That’s where I come in. My strengths-based training helps executives who then help their teams. Together, you can all shine brighter and do great things. Book a call with me to learn more.