82 CEOs Reveal Their Top 3 Leadership Tips

“Effective leaders don’t allow daily fluctuations of their ego to block their openness to the feedback needed to grow.”

Ron was a vice president of an IT company who invited me to dinner during our four-day leadership retreat. As we munched on our salads, Ron confided that he wanted my feedback to help him gain a promotion when the current president retired. We discussed his leadership challenges and 360 leadership assessment during the main course. By the time dessert arrived, I had recommended that Ron take a few actions that I felt would help him develop the most.

Over the next six months, Ron stayed in touch. He told me that he and his team were helping each other take action and holding each other accountable for progress. Then, a year after our dinner, he called to say that he had been promoted to president.

Based on my recent analysis of the feedback from 82 CEOs (that I’ve taught or coached over the last year), Ron’s story is also a prescription for you. Listed below are the fewest actions that made the biggest difference for Ron and these CEOs. I invite you to adapt their best ideas to make a big difference for you and your team (regardless of your title):

• Understand that leadership is “the process of unleashing the energy of others toward worthy goals.” Remind yourself throughout the day to answer this, how can I unleash the energy of this person/group now? (e.g., before and during meetings, conversations, performance reviews, counseling sessions, etc.)
• Place your attention on the tension. Appreciate that some of your dilemmas are not problems to solve, but paradoxes to manage. Recognize that you need to stretch when you’re pulled by your opposing strategic and leadership demands. Think both/and more often.
• Answer the four questions that improve decision-making. The following questions ensure that you access the four fundamental leadership styles (and philosophies) of the eXpansive Leadership Model – XLM (www.xlmassessment.com) when you’re making decisions:
  • Rational (epistemology) – what are the relevant facts of this decision?
  • Visionary (metaphysics) – how do these facts relate to my ideal outcome, strategy, or big picture?
  • Empowering (ethics) – with whom should I brainstorm options?
  • Commanding (existentialism) – which option achieves the desired outcome and/or the greatest good?

Effective leaders, at all levels of the best organizations, understand that the purpose of their educational meetings (e.g., seminars, conferences, executive retreats, etc.) is what happens after the meeting. So, what is an idea you learned at a meeting that made a big difference when you got back to work? How did it help? Give me your feedback, so I can compile and share a new list of great ideas. (I’m a researcher, I can’t help myself :-)

Keep stretching when you’re pulled,
Dave