Here is a quick leadership hack for you. Let’s say you’re accomplishing a major milestone and you’re turning around a customer account, or about to make a big sale, or you’re delivering a major product. What you are doing is very important. At the same time, how you do is also important. What you are doing is the outcome or the result that you’re after.
How do you do it?
It’s very important to make that milestone. As a leader, it’s not just important what you’re doing and what you’re achieving. It’s also as important in terms of how you do it. Did you take others along with you? Are you open to new ideas? Are you learning from your mistakes? Are you showing empathy to customers and your stakeholders? Are you growing and contributing to the people that are around you?
As you are getting success, are you institutionalizing that process and approach so that others can use the same process and approach? These are the things that differentiate great leaders versus good leaders. Next time you’re working on something very important, make sure to focus on not just what you’re doing, but also how you’re doing it. That’s how we get to the next level of effective leadership.