The core theme from Stage III – The Change Leader was to develop self-awareness. We accomplish this by connecting with our purpose, mastering The 7 Skills of Great Leaders, and performing at our best during critical moments of impact.

Stage IV – The People Leader

In Stage IV – The People Leader, we broaden our focus to include others. The core theme of this stage shifts to involve bringing out the best of our clients, teams, and families.

Let’s jump in …

1) Lead from purpose.

In Stage III, your purpose was to discover your purpose. This stage is about owning and living your purpose.

Without purpose, your life is shaped from the outside in. You …

• react to situations in your environment.
• learn skills to survive.
• compromise your values.
• are motivated by extrinsic rewards.

When you lead from purpose, your life is shaped from the inside out. You …

• are motivated by intrinsic rewards.
• stay true to your values.
• develop skills to thrive.
• perform at your best when it matters most.

To lead from purpose, you need to share your purpose and help others discover their purpose.

When you share your purpose, you walk your talk and set an example for others to follow.

When you help others discover and connect with their purpose, you unlock the inner leader inside the people around you.

Begin leading from purpose by sharing The Great Leaders One Page Blueprint inside The Great Leaders Guide with your team.

2) Own your influence.

“People rise and fall to meet your level of expectations for them. If you express skepticism and doubt in others, they will return your lack of confidence with mediocrity. But if you believe in them and expect them to do well, they will go the extra mile trying to do their best.” – John C Maxwell

It’s impossible to be a great leader without a deep understanding of influence.

In Stage I – The Hesitant Leader, influence is primarily centred around your role or position and rarely extends beyond.

In Stage II – The Stuck Leader, you discovered your default method of influence from the blind-spot assessment. Each type having a primary style of influence – either protecting, controlling, or complying.

And in Stage III – The Change Leader, your influence style is about producing results and being an example for others to follow.

At Stage IV – The People Leader, your influence shifts from producing results on your own, to delivering results through others.

This shift from individual contributor to influencing others is a crucial milestone on your journey toward great leadership.

How do you expand your influence? One relationship at a time.

Here’s my simple 3-step formula for building influence.

Step 1 – Lower your shields.

It’s impossible to build meaningful relationships when you keep people at arm’s length.

Our shields consist of our beliefs and preconceived judgements that we hold about others and the world.

To challenge my preconceived notions, I find it useful to be mindful and step into a state of curiosity.

When you come from a place of curiosity and non-judgement, your shields will naturally lower.

Step 2 – Make a connection.

Once you’ve lowered your shields, you want to make a connection.

The greatest gift that you can give another human being is the gift of your undivided attention.

Put away your phone, be fully present, direct your attention toward the other person, and explore ways to build rapport.

Step 3 – Adapt your style.

Everyone has different styles of relating and connecting.

It was an ah-ha moment for me when I realized that everyone has their own reactive style (blind spot) when it comes to relating and influence.

Stuck leaders expect others to conform to their style while great leaders are flexible and adapt their style to each individual or situation.

For those times that you are struggling with influence, it’s because you didn’t lower your shields, skipped building rapport, or are being inflexible with your style.

3) Grow your people.

As you continue to apply the lessons from the previous stages, you will naturally rise to the top.

And at some point, you will realize that effectiveness is limited by the number of hours in the day.

This is where you need to make a choice.

You either …

• Take the blue pill, limit your influence and go back to being a stuck leader.

Or

• Take the red pill, expand your influence and begin growing the people around you.

When you are ready to grow your people, let’s look at Google, who set out to answer the question: “What makes a team effective?”

In order of importance, here’s what Google discovered about effective teams …

• Psychological Safety: Team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other.
• Dependability: Team members meet a high standard of quality and get things done on time.
• Structure & Clarity: Team members have clear roles, plans, and goals.
• Meaning: Work is personally important to team members.
• Impact: Team members believe that their work matters and creates change.

They discovered that it was less about who was on the team and more about how the team worked together.

Your job as an effective people leader is to create an environment where you help each member of your team move from hesitant and stuck leaders to change leaders.

And the role of great leaders is to develop people leaders and create a culture that allows everyone to thrive.

Let’s Recap

The theme for Stage IV – People Leader is that your effectiveness shifts from what you can achieve on your own, to the overall impact of the individuals that you lead.

We started with leading from purpose. Where you share your purpose with the world and help others discover theirs.

I then shared my 3-step formula for owning your influence. If you are struggling with influence, it’s because you haven’t lowered your shields, skipped building rapport, or are being inflexible with your style.

And finally, grow your people by creating an environment where you help each member of your team move from hesitant and stuck leaders to change leaders.

Begin by sharing The Great Leaders Guide with your team and work together to implement The One-Page Blueprint.

Let’s level-up our leadership!