Have you mastered the power of perseverance?
As I wrote in my last post, no one can change his or her character in one leap. But with commitment and small wins, you can master the most powerful leadership trait: perseverance. Here are two more steps:
Find your purpose – Many leaders lack purpose and fail to persevere in tough times. Maybe their focus is too narrow. Are you more concerned about your own well-being or the organization as a whole? Are you a limited decision-maker or a grand vision-maker? You have the opportunity to make a significant impact on many levels. Find your purpose there.
If you can’t find a way to love your work, seek ways to love the results. There’s purpose in adding value, making improvements and growing people. By deciding to be the best at something, you can have a calling with great purpose. Fuel your perseverance with this kind of thinking.
Be positive – A leader with a critical or pessimistic view will never muster the determination to plow through a crisis. If you lack positivity, you probably feel a force dragging you down, without understanding why. Fortunately, this can be addressed.
Become more self-aware, and catch yourself having negative thoughts or moods. Try to determine why you have these feelings, and create positive alternatives. A seasoned leadership coach can be of great benefit. Coaching accentuates the positive and leans toward it. Focus on the ways a situation can work instead of getting mired in negatives.
Nurture Perseverance in Others
The best way to help your people persevere is to model optimal behavior. Develop grit and build on it. Use your authority wisely to instill organizational toughness. Developing a culture of perseverance maximizes people’s strengths and pushes them to achieve peak performance. An authoritarian approach is unhelpful, while a coaching, encouraging manner is powerful. Grasp how your leadership style comes across, and adjust to your people’s needs.
Leaders make great strides by helping their people understand that success is an accumulation of many ordinary jobs done well. They push people out of their comfort zones, giving them challenging assignments and timely feedback. Letting staff devise solutions ultimately engages them.
Organizations become persevering machines that weather the strongest storms when leaders build relationships and foster a good work ethic.
What do you think? Have you mastered the power of perseverance? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060; let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
