We all experience moments of doubt in our ability to lead.

This can happen …

1) Early in our career when don’t have the knowledge or experience,

Or

2) Later in our career, anytime we step out of our comfort zone.

If you never experience doubt or uncertainty, it means that you are playing within your comfort zone.

The critical lesson at this stage is to recognize that having uncertainty in your ability to lead is a natural part of being human.

Here are a few things to help you move beyond this stage.

1) Decide to become a great leader.

People aren’t born great leaders.

Becoming a great leader requires us to set an intention to discover and unleash our inner leader.

Great leaders don’t become great by accident.

Once we take responsibility for our personal and professional growth, great leadership is the natural result.

Leadership is a skill that can be developed.

Inside The Great Leaders Guide, I provide an overview of The 7 Skills of Great Leaders.

The best thing that you can do for your career is to make a commitment to developing the skills of great leaders.

2) Surround yourself with the right people.

We are social creatures.

When we experience doubt, we automatically look to others and model their behaviour.

The challenge is that for most of us, we don’t choose the right role models.

According to the authors of Mastering Leadership, 75% of people have what they call a reactive leadership style (which I call The Stuck Leader and cover in stage 2).

For years I struggled as a leader because I was modelling the bad habits of bad bosses.

It wasn’t until later in my career, when I started hanging with growth-minded people, where I really began to develop as a leader.

It’s incredible what can happen when you find the right role model.

3) Build confidence with practice.

The secret to your growth as a leader is to develop self-confidence.

And you build self-confidence through practice.

My working definition of practice is any activity that we engage in regularly and deliberately to achieve mastery.

There are 3 words within this definition that I want to focus on …

Regularly – When starting any practice, consistency outweighs quantity.

Sticking to a regular schedule is more important than how much time you spend.

Only increase effort, volume, or duration once the activity has turned into a regular habit.

Deliberately – We all have bad habits that get in our way – those automatic reactive behaviours that seem to dominate our lives.

Instead of leaving things to chance, when we practice, we intentionally choose the habits to move us toward what we want.

Mastery – Mastery is deciding that, regardless of your current level, you are going to bring your best self to the task.

If you’re not aiming for mastery, you’re settling for mediocrity.

And when you settle for mediocrity, you leave yourself open to adopting the bad habits of bad bosses.

Use The Great Leaders One Page Blueprint inside The Great Leaders Guide to develop the positive habits of great leaders.

Let’s Recap

When we experience moments of doubt and uncertainty, and we all do, it means we are growing as a leader.

This is the time to lean-in and unleash your inner leader.

Be on the alert for and avoid picking up the bad habits of bad bosses.

Choose good role models and surround yourself with other growth-minded leaders.

And finally, practice.

Choose to practice the positive habits that will set you on the path to mastery.

With each step, we learn a little more, grow a little more, and become the leader that we are meant to be.

Use The Great Leaders One Page Blueprint inside The Great Leaders Guide to level-up your leadership.