I have been noticing a recurring theme from the leaders that I coach. It’s the need for leaders to unlearn, as well as learn. Several that I am coaching are focusing a significant amount of their time and energy on unlearning.
Here are a few examples:
- One leader recently discovered how much “telling and advising” she had been doing. She realized that in order to develop as a leader that she needed to learn how listen to others. A huge part of her learning how to listen also included unlearning her behavior of “telling and advising”.
- Another leader recently discovered that his definition of leader is really more of a definition of manager. His primary focus is unlearning his thinking and assumptions about leaders as manager, while also embracing a broader definition of leadership.
- A final example is a leader that wants to develop the leadership capacity of his team – only to discover that he likes being the expert or the “go-to” person. He recently stated that for most of his professional career he believed that his primary role was to be the “Answer Person.”
Today I invite you to consider what you need to unlearn in order to be the best leader possible.
All the best to you,
Stop Telling People What to Do