Session 3 – The 4 Greatest Challenges Leaders Are Facing Today

Fast Action Steps

1. What is your primary goal for developing people around you more effectively?
2. If you could figure out how to better invest in other people without sacrificing your job or home life, what opportunities would that open for you?

Session Transcript

In this session, I am going to introduce you to the Simple Leadership Compass and look at the 4 Greatest Challenges Leaders Are Facing Today and how to deal with them. As you follow along, here’s the question I want you to consider – Where Do I Need to Start?

I developed the Simple Leadership Compass based on feedback that we’ve received from leaders and teams over the past 20 years. It helps us understand the 4 Greatest Challenges Leaders Are Facing Today. Here they are:

Nearly every leader we’ve worked with has said, I need help in one of four areas.

1. Developing MY OWN leadership skills
2. Developing the Leadership Skills of OTHERS around me
3. LEADING FROM THE MIDDLE (often with poor leadership above me)
4. TIME & FOCUS Challenges

What we’re helping you to do is to identify WHERE you need to start. Let’s look at each of the 4 challenges a little more…

1. CHALLENGE #1 – Developing MY OWN leadership skills. With this challenge, leaders are often looking for direction around topics like –
   1. How can I sort through the plethora of content and information to identify the perfect tools and resources to develop skills, attitudes, and practices that will stick?
   2. How can I apply the content to my setting right away, so training doesn’t become a routine, theoretical experience that is forgotten soon after?
   3. I already spend so much time investing in others, setting aside time to invest in myself is difficult. We’ll show you how to invest in yourself without sacrificing your job or home life.

2. CHALLENGE #2 – Developing the Leadership Skills of OTHERS around me. With this challenge, leaders often need direction with –
   1. What can I do to better motivate team members?
   2. How can I better model great leadership so it is easier for others to emulate?
   3. Identification: how do I find the right people to invest in?
   4. How can I measure the impact of leadership development to show a reasonable return on the investment?
3. CHALLENGE #3 – LEADING FROM THE MIDDLE (often with poor leadership above me). With this challenge, leaders are often looking for direction around topics like –
   1. How can I communicate more effectively – particularly with senior leaders who are less experienced?
   2. How can I succeed and thrive in a low-support, micromanaged environment?
   3. What is the best way to help a leader who consistently makes poor decisions?
   4. What can I do when I’m blamed for something that is not my responsibility?

4. CHALLENGE #4 – TIME & FOCUS Challenges. With this challenge, leaders often ask for direction with –
   1. How can I create more margin, so I am not so distracted and overwhelmed with busyness?
   2. What do I do if I’m consuming so much leadership info but don’t have enough time to apply it?
   3. How can I do better focusing on the task at hand when I’m working with team members who do not understand their role or commitment level?
   4. What do I do when I really just need a crash course for managing my time more effectively?

Next Session

In the next session, we are going to talk about what it means to be a Leader Worth Following.

Remember, you don’t have to get it perfect, you just need to take the next step.

I’ll see you in the next session.[/text_block]