A great way to develop as a leader is to practice. Yes, literally practice.

For example, if you have found that you struggle being courageous in meetings, find some low risk opportunities to speak up. Practice.

Or, if you just go along for the sake of getting along, find a low risk opportunity to challenge the status quo. Practice.

Or, if you doubt yourself and defer to others, sit up straight and look the part unit there is no doubt. Practice.

"I spend so much time just getting through the day and don't have time to think about long-term planning."

This is a common statement I hear in my leadership development coaching sessions. The challenge is that what got you here as a leader, won't get you to the next level of leadership.

Here are a few ideas to help you transition into your role.

In this series of posts, we have been exploring leadership development from two perspectives – competencies and capacities. In our last two posts, we focused on the limiting internal belief of Controlling and Protecting. Today, our focus is on Complying.

In this series of posts, we have been exploring leadership development from two perspectives - competencies and capacities. In our last post, we focused on the limiting internal belief of Controlling. Today, our focus is on Protecting.

Limiting Internal Beliefs: Controlling

Levels of Development

Humans develop through very specific stages over the course of their lives, and along the way they can become better equipped to handle the complexities of today's fast-paced and interdependent business environment.

By understanding the stages through which people develop, you'll be able to set forth a path to increase your effectiveness as a leader.

"Are leaders born?"

This is an interesting question that I am often asked in the leadership development programs we run at 5.12 Solutions.

We believe that leadership isn't about being charismatic and it’s not about some magical qualities that are bestowed upon you at birth. And you don’t have to go through special forces training as a rite of passage.

Leadership is about employing key skills and behaviors on a consistent basis.

And those skills and behaviors can be learned.

The first week of January is over. Are your people aligned?

Is every team member, from your front line employee to supervisor to mid-level manager and above, clear about the strategic direction of the organization? In most companies, it’s well into the calendar year before team members understand the vision and strategy. If this is the case on your team, you'll probably notice a lack of clarity, confusion and unspoken expectations. The business results you'll experience are lost productivity, low employee engagement, and missed opportunities.

There couldn't be a better week to talk about gratitude. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some ideas to show gratitude toward your people.

When a team member is either overwhelmed with their work or underwhelmed, it can lead to a low level of engagement. In other words, responsibility level has to be in line with competency and potential.

Here are a few other thoughts to "gauge" the level of engagement with your team members.