With the growing amount of professional coaches and leadership strategies that are out there, it can get overwhelming which of them will suit us best – from stylish buzzwords, clever mnemonics to lifehacks that hold the secret of effective leaders. But sometimes, what it takes to truly become the best leader and version of ourselves is to take a step back and review what we already have in front of us instead of searching for an elusive panacea.

This is exactly what today’s instructor will provide us with. Kimberly Miller is one of Justice Clearinghouse’s regular instructors. She is a resource speaker, consultant, and trainer for over 15 years best-known for her relationship-based approach. She provides workshops, coaching and organizational intervention to improve the employees’ skills and the organization’s productivity.

Kimberly goes back to basics and focuses on influence, providing tips to enhance leadership and engage the people we work with. Specifics that she deep-dived into are:

• The concept of mastering and honing basic skills to get the results we desire.
• Fostering relationships with all the people we work with by genuinely caring, understanding their personality and strengths, modeling humility, and showing them the bigger perspective.
• The idea of the relationship bank where we deposit and invest in acts that build and nurture relationships.
• An exercise to reveal the characteristics that the best leaders or mentors possess, and how these leaders/mentors made us feel.
• Being more than average and ways to increase our individual mean through self-care, mindfulness of our actions and habits, preventing blame and excuses, and working through discomfort.
• Increasing the agency mean by challenging our team and having the willingness to deal with difficult/uncomfortable conversations and situations.
• Raising the bar when it comes to:
  • Our mindset by practicing control in our energy, focusing on the future, seeking the lessons in difficulties, and self-care.
  • Our communications by seeing the positive in everyone, avoiding judgment, and helping others gain influence.
• Reminding ourselves and others of the reason we chose the path we took and how staying true to your ‘why’ allows us to influence others towards its ideation.
• Being strategic in using our strengths to gain influence and careful not to exploit it.
• Losing influence through the most common leadership pitfalls including:
  • Excusing bad behavior that tends to result in the lowering of standards.
  • Favoritism that causes loss of influence and respect.
  • Complaining down the chain and adopting a victim mentality that refuses to see the bigger picture.
  • Limited self-reflection, lack of humility, and even delusions of grandeur.
  • Not keeping your word as a leader.
  • Focusing on the limelight and recognition.
  • Using power as a weapon and for selfish motives.
  • Information hoarding in fear of others stealing their thunder.
  • Inability to develop the skills of the team and putting people in boxes.
• Achieving lasting influence by remaining dedicated to the ‘why’ and ensuring that your impact lasts even in your absence.
• Kimberly provided clarifications during the Q&A on the topics of:
  • Books and resources to overcome pessimism.
  • How to impose discipline without resorting to nagging.
  • Forgiveness and letting go of other’s mistakes.
  • Managing emotional triggers through self-care.
  • Making time for self-care.
  • Helping a supervisor who is struggling with leadership.

Resources Mentioned During Webinar

• Via Character Strengths Survey
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One