Many of us who have been promoted to a leadership role feel infinitely attached to the title. To be a offered a leadership role is the culmination of your career to date. You’ve worked hard to get where you wanted to be. It is a significant reward for your effort.
Likewise you may have been promoted with no conscious effort on your part. You just come to work and do your job well. The company believes that you have enough experience, knowledge and skills to be a leader and so they promote you.
And then you plateau.
You say that you’re not interested in a higher level leadership role. Unfortunately you are now one of the most common type of leader in businesses today. You have risen to the level of what you want to know and to the level of what you believe about yourself. You have stopped becoming the best you can be. In short you have become average.
As humans we are capable of continually growing, learning and developing. It is how we have evolved and created what we have today. There is so much untapped scope in our brains that gives us the capacity to move beyond what is known and towards what is possible. So what makes us decide to be average?
It is well known that fear is what limits us. It is also known that what we choose to do with the fear defines us. Being average is the result of fear defining us.
How do great leaders move beyond the fear? What is it that catapulted them into being exceptional?
Don’t accept that you are what you are. Only accept that you are what you choose.
Many leaders continue to down play the importance of visualisation in setting goals and strategy development. However our brains have highly developed visual systems that can help us move beyond fear and our limiting beliefs.
Examples of our visual system include
- being able to literally “see” past experiences as though we are right there.
- having vivid images triggered from just a scent or a tune.
- our ability to create a “movie” in our minds just by reading a story.
We seem to work best when we use the visual structures of our brain. We use it when we are innovating and creating and it is brilliant for strategy development. Remember that drawing was the way our ancestors communicated before they developed language.
It is sad that we continue to discredit a part of our brain that is so powerful and useful. Why do elite athletes use visualisation before they compete? Why do they imagine their plan, their moves, their strategy? The beauty of using visualisation is that your brain does not know the difference between a real image and one that you have created in your mind. It is all the same to the brain. It means that it treats the created images like memories and just repeats it.
So if fear is stopping you growing in your leadership role, why not create a different story? The world of neuroscience is discovering so much about the brain and its functionality. It has been found that visions and goals create neural pathways and networks in your brain and that these are strengthened by regular thinking and acting. By building these new networks you will weaken the beliefs and fears you previously held about yourself and your role. Here are six ways to help you become an exceptional leader using visualisation and a planned approach.
- Learn – about yourself, about your brain functioning, about your team. But whilst it is good to learn a lot, make sure you balance this by putting much of it into action.
- Create a vision – it doesn’t matter whether you draw or create a vision board to create your compelling vision. Don’t allow your career to completely define you. Make sure you take a holistic approach to your vision by including family, your values, holidays, health & wellbeing etc.
- Write it down – from visualisation comes aspiration for what you want to achieve in your career. Aspirations can be long, medium or short term. It might be to complete some studies or work for a particular company. Make sure your aspiration is clear, measurable and has a time frame attached.
- Don’t do it alone – all the great leaders in the world had great help. They have mentors, leadership coaches, role models, favourite authors. It may be your personal journey however it is best shared.
- Have a plan – treat your career like a business that you must work on rather than in. Building a career is not just about the work you do, it is how you achieve your strategies in a timely manner that makes the difference. Who do you need to know, what do you need to know, when and how, are all questions that you need to answer along your career path.
- Mistakes will happen – you learn and challenge your capabilities most when you make a mistake. Don’t choose inaction and procrastination over risk or change. The only bad decisions are those made without appropriate consideration. If a decision doesn’t work out then it becomes a fantastic opportunity to reflect, learn and decide on what needs to be done differently next time. Growth doesn’t happen in the safe zone.
Most companies offer a career development plan for employees and leaders however very few will result in significant change. These are often transactional rather than transformational in their design. Many plans are only looked at once a year and often consist of the promise of training, a project, or acting opportunity. They certainly do not encourage visualisation and aspiration. The biggest problem is that no one is really accountable for the results.
If you are keen to develop and move up the career ladder you may need to take responsibility of your own journey. If you don’t know how or where to start call me to discuss. I offer free advice and guidance to get you on the right road for where you want to go. Dont delay!! Send me an email at success@nullbelieveachievecoach.com.au
