Your Leadership Blueprint: Do you want to be a good leader or a great one?

Aim High!

In life, you can choose your own adventure. Deciding what you can put in and removing what you don’t need. It’s the same as your leadership blueprint. In this blog, we are going to tackle the leadership blueprint, how to create yours, and what it looks like.

Defining your expectations

One of the most common problems the leaders that i work with face is, conflict within their team and most of the time, it all comes down to expectations. Being really clear on what you expect from your team members and from yourself is so essential to working effectively.

Sometimes expectations are not met because they were not communicated early on.

Aside from setting expectations at the very beginning, the expectations you create should be those that inspire and challenge you to be the best you can be. Make sure they are realistic and don’t put strain on you and your team.

How can you set realistic expectations? By breaking your goals into chunks. It makes your goals more feasible to achieve and to sustain in the long run. Ask yourself and your team what tiny little thing can you do that will make you improve 1% more each day? This way you are lessening the overwhelm and building motivation and momentum.

What will you commit to as a leader?

You don’t have to know all the answers when creating your leadership blueprint, but having a commitment statement is a great way to set a clear path for yourself and your team. Finishing your blueprint with this statement shows commitment to everything written in your blueprint. You can also sign it to yourself (if that’s your

thing). Your commitment statement should show your dedication, intention, and focus to become the leader you want to be.

Do you want to be a good leader or a great leader?

Throughout history, great leaders have emerged with particular leadership qualities and styles. Understanding common leadership styles can help you define your own strengths and weaknesses to become a great leader. Here are the most common types of leaderships:

Autocratic Leadership

The least liked but most common of what we think of as a leader is the autocratic leader. These people have high levels of control over their company and they make decisions on their own. This used to work back in the day, but in today’s age, people want to be more involved and so, the autocratic leader won’t always work well.

This type of leadership can work for people who are brand new and need constant supervision, or with smaller companies that have fewer employees, or during situations where there are quick decisions that need to be made. But this autocratic style shouldn’t be used full-time. It’s more of a situational style of leadership.

Democratic Leadership

This leadership style values the inputs of the team. Democratic leadership is really good for making employees feel valued but it doesn’t always work well for inexperienced teams or during situations that need quick decisions.

Servant Leadership

This leadership style is one where “you work for your team.” It does seem noble, however, this type of leader gives too much to their teams to the point that they neglect their own needs. These leaders have been on a rise in the previous years. While the idea is great, you are however, useless if you are not taking care of yourself first.

Remember that self care is never selfish. Fill your own cup first in order to show up as the best version of yourself for others.

In conclusion

To summarise, by first knowing yourself and your type of leadership style, you get to find out what works best for your team. It is also an essential part of your leadership blueprint to clearly define your expectations and the commitment you are willing to make to your team and to yourself.

If you need more guidance with developing your own leadership blueprint, then drop me a line and let’s have a conversation about it. I’d love to help you on your journey.

Until next time, Eat the Frog, Get the Worm, and Be the Bird