As this year comes to a close and you plan for 2025, you will bring the ‘weather’ as a leader—even in how you approach your planning.
The ‘weather’ you bring is influenced by your expectations.
In this month’s newsletter, I’m sharing tips to check your mindset around expectations…
There’s a difference between having HIGH EXPECTATIONS and being DEMEANING. There’s a difference between striving for EXCELLENCE and stressing for PERFECTION.
COACH LEADERS see the possibilities for their organization and the potential in their people. They are willing to challenge their team to stretch and grow, while also treating them with respect and dignity.
BOSSES tend to demean and push their people in disrespectful and abrasive ways.
The first is OTHERS-FOCUSED, and the second is ME-FOCUSED.
Here’s how you can know if you’re an others-focused leader…
When you’re asking questions like:
🎯 How can I leverage my team’s strengths to get the best results possible?
🎯 What’s missing that could increase our productivity and morale?
🎯 What does my team need from me to be more successful?
Your standards and expectations may be high. But they’re high because you believe in the possibilities and potential of your people.
Here’s how you can know if you’re a me-focused leader…
When you’re asking questions like:
🙅🏻 What if my team lets me down? Makes me look bad?
🙅🏻 How can my team’s work help me advance my career?
🙅🏻 Our productivity and morale are wrong. What’s wrong with my employees (this generation)?
If you’re a me-focused leader, your high expectations often become a source of toxicity and stress.
When bosses push their team members so hard they’re exhausted…
or when their team members don’t feel that their bosses really have their best interest at heart…
…it leads to decreased engagement and performance, and relational breakdowns.
High expectations are a GREAT thing when they come from the right mindset and are conveyed the right way. They become a source of inspiration, motivation and productivity.
So, have high expectations as a leader—it will inspire growth and greatness. Just be sure you have the ‘coach approach’ mindset.