Welcome to the final instalment of the improving your leadership health series.
Today I’ll be sharing the remaining 3 points of what you can do to improve your leadership health at the self-level and they are: address dysfunctional behaviour, level up your people skills, and set boundaries that honour your values and priorities.
Address dysfunctional behaviour
Recognising and calling out dysfunctional behaviour in someone else is fine.
But, how honest are you to recognise and call out dysfunctional behaviour when it’s you who is manifesting it?
Dysfunctional behaviour is simply an impairment or deficiency in behaviour. It can manifest as constant disagreements, abuse, poor communication, substance abuse, power tussling, neglect, harassment, etc.
Ignoring dysfunctional behaviour (in you or in others) hinders proper functionality and continuous productivity. It is therefore vital that you recognise the signs and take action to bring things back to order.
If your behaviour or actions are neither serving you nor your people well, acknowledge and address it. If the behaviour and actions of your people are not serving the whole well, speak to those involved and deal with it appropriately.
Level up your people skills.
Every leader is in the people business.
If you have any doubts about that, take a few minutes to think about what you do in your team or in your organisation right now…
Does it mostly involve people or not?
I rest my case 🙂
If you want to significantly move forward as a leader, make a real difference, and attract good rewards, you’ll need to double up on developing your people skills. Skills like communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, team building, etc. Levelling up on these kinds of skills will help you work better with your team to meet the needs and goals of your social system.
Regardless of your level of leadership or your social system, having good people skills is a vital tool to have in your leadership success kit.
Set boundaries that honour your values and priorities
Setting boundaries is good practice; especially in relation to improving your leadership health for good success.
I know your role often demands that you do ‘a thousand things’ at once but…you need to ensure you monitor and manage your priorities. Be quick to recognise requests that might sound good but are not relevant or good for you (in terms of time, resources, importance, or commitment).
Some reasons why you should set boundaries:
- To protect yourself (your sanity, health, etc)
- To save your energy
- To use your time well
- To channel your efforts to your most productive work
- To encourage healthy relationships
How to set boundaries:
- Be honest with yourself (how you feel and what you want)
- Identify and make your values known
- Determine your priorities in the important areas of your life
- Set clear short and long term goals
- Learn to say no to things that harass or drain you
- Be clear on what you will allow/accommodate and what you won’t
- Courteously explain your stand to the people who place demands on you
There you have it! 7 things you can do to improve your leadership health at the self-level. If this is the first post in the series you’re reading, please read the previous posts (parts 1 -4) for the other four points.
If you’re experiencing a dwindle in effectiveness or productivity for yourself, your team, or your organisation, I can help. Simply send an email (with details of the specific issue) to info@belindaujani.co.uk and I’ll be in touch.
Lead Right and Live Light,
Belinda
