If you have any inclination to make a big impact in life, it’s a no-brainer that becoming a great leader is a necessity. There are many differing opinions and disciplines of leadership.
However, one thing that isn’t up for debate in the leadership arena is the necessity to have skills such as being a collaborator, team player, innovator, and emotionally intelligent individual.
While those common areas are highlighted often, what’s not often mentioned are the small intangible habits of creating a high performing leader. Becoming a high performing leader starts with committing to these three habits on a daily basis.
1. Create and stick to a personal philosophy.
A personal philosophy is necessary for high performing leaders because you don’t want to waste mental energy on things that don’t serve you, the team, nor the mission as a whole.
Your personal philosophy helps calibrate an identity for the type of leader you’re becoming. What follows afterward is crystal-clear clarity which makes you more effective in your daily decision making. Your team along with others will respect and rave about you more because you’re consistent with your actions and what you stand for.
Lastly, you’re going to improve your health and energy levels because it’s easier to say “no” and establish boundaries that guard your energy so you can show up as your best self.
To get started with creating your personal philosophy, start with the end in mind and then reverse engineer the process. Jot down the type of leader you need to become in order to attain the type of success that you want.
Next, ruthlessly assess yourself and see how you currently stand up to that end goal character. Once you identify the gaps in characters, immediately take action to bridge the gap between who you currently are and who you’re becoming.
2. Equip yourself with a playbook to stay mentally and emotionally strong.
As a leader seeking high performance, your mindset and emotions will either propel you to success or serve as your anchor to not getting the results you desire. Stress, pressure, uncomfortable situations, and even toxic language is, unfortunately, a part of daily life.
There’s no avoiding that.
However, you can properly equip your mindset and emotions for those moments so it doesn’t wreck your energy levels and performance. To get started with your playbook, mentally prepare yourself for potentially stressful situations that could arise by going through the most common scenarios applicable to your life.
A couple scenarios to prepare for could be a big proposal being rejected, falling short of revenue goals, firing an employee, or handling personal relationships that could wear on you.
3. Focus on growth and recovery.
I see far too often, high achieving individuals pushing themselves for maximum growth and expansion in their particular endeavors. While this is necessary and expected, what is also necessary is a proper allotment toward recovery.
As hard as you hustle and work, the same amount of effort and intensity needs to be applied to your recovery. When you neglect recovery, your leadership abilities along with your emotional intelligence declines across the board due to numerous factors such as sleep and unmanaged stress.
When you think of recovery, expand your thinking beyond merely sleeping at night. Recovery is a 24-hour activity that has precise and timely activities integrated into your busy workday.
Activities such as meditation and letting your mind aimlessly wander pays huge dividends when it comes to your emotional and mental well being which translates to a higher quality of leadership.