13 Leadership Lessons Learned On My Way To CEO
It took me 13 years to work my way from volunteer to CEO. Here are the lessons I learned and which guide me daily:
1. Co-creation
Inspire people with your vision, then give them the tools to create it.
No one knows more about the operation than the people on the ground, empower them.
2. Care with your whole heart
Leadership is about sharing a journey with people.
If you don’t care and just see it as a job, then you are just a manager, not a leader.
3. Humility
No matter your position, there’s always room for growth.
Climbing the job ladder isn’t a green light to inflate your ego.
4. Relationships
Never underestimate the value of relationships.
Building strong connections is a leader’s best investment in success.
5. Take ownership
Everything is a leadership problem.
Own everything in your world, don’t hide behind excuses. Leaders who admit their mistakes build trust.
6. Listen to your intuition
Your gut is more reliable than your brain.
When a situation doesn’t feel right, or you worry about a member of your team, trust that feeling.
7. Be aware of your gaps
You’ve got to know your strengths and weaknesses.
Build your team to supplement your personality to ensure the mission gets accomplished.
8. Trust is the foundation
When people have faith in you they’ll follow you.
Trust can be fragile, but it can also be freeing. It allows everyone to bring their whole self to their roles.
9. A leader and a follower
We think a leader needs to have all the answers.
Your team should be better at their jobs than you could ever be. Listen and learn from their expertise.
10. Building the right culture
Policies and procedures don’t help your business thrive.
Build the right culture to support the mission and you’ll create trust and the willingness to go the extra mile.
11. Be comfortable with conflict
We all shy away from having difficult conversations.
Progress is forged through conflict and pressure. Learn to foster a healthy discourse in your teams.
12. Reputation matters, not titles
We’ve been conditioned to chase titles to validate ourselves.
Don’t get hung up adding letters before or after your name. Instead, listen and learn from how people talk about you.
13. Forging your best self in service to others
Leadership starts with leading yourself.
Great leaders seek to improve themselves physically, mentally and emotionally daily. Because when you’re at your best, you can give your team your best.
