"A leader has to show the face his team needs to see. Before he ever utters a word, they see his face and they also see his eyes, even his walk." Mike Krzyzewski
Now that the executive direction has been laid, next’s to motivate commitment by being a visionary leader who inspires confidence by managing your thoughts, feelings and actions, to stay on top of any situation. Then continue to energize and empower your people to achieve personal excellence.
Manage your thoughts, feelings and actions
Direct your thoughts to focus on
a. The top positive priority of advancing your shared purpose towards the greater good
b. What matters most for the group. Others before self.
Direct your feelings
a. Focused determination to progress on your top priority
b. Get comfortable with these difficult feelings
Direct your actions
a. Determine and execute the best actions to advance that priority
b. Be aware of your verbal and non-verbal cues
c. Gather feedback for improvement
Energize and empower
Demonstrate you’re engaged and committed to your people. Let them know you’re all in. Give them something to get energized about, leaving them more excited and motivated than when they 1st met you.
Learn to let go. Empower and tell your people you trust them, and are counting on them to deliver.
Encourage personal excellence
John shared a number of questions to ask, to help formulate a strategy on how to help your people achieve personal excellence. As I digest these questions, I am now more aware of how to help my leaders help me. Development is really a 2-way street. If you do not know what you want, how can others help you achieve your personal best?
So regardless whether you’re an executive leader, manager or individual contributor, give these 4 questions some thought and revisit them every so often as you progress along your career:
a. Ask your people what drives them towards peak performance
b. Identify and discuss their strengths
c. Reinforce their growth attempts through positive reinforcements. Nudge them out of their comfort zones.
d. Encourage setting goals for performance and developments
"Energizing people without empowering them can leave them frustrated. Empowering them without energizing them can leave them overwhelmed, stuck in place."
John mentioned connecting to strategy and higher-level goals in Influencing Others. Here he shared senior leaders think and contribute beyond their role.
The prerequisite to achieving these, is to create and encourage collaboration:
a. Help people beyond your role and tasks
b. Reach out for feedback regularly
c. Work on cross-functional initiatives
d. Communicate the importance of collaboration
e. Reward collaboration
f. Support adhoc opportunities for collaboration

"Good bosses create employee satisfaction that leads to retention, performance, productivity and profitability."
Larry Bossidy said “you bet on people, not strategies”. Does that still hold true today? Do executive leaders still subscribe to this belief as we experience endless waves of layoffs? Or do companies suck people dry and cut them off, shifting their roles to lower-cost alternatives under the guise of reorg?
If you still believe your people are your greatest assets, here’s something for you to consider when developing your people:
a. Provide feedback on their strengths and areas of improvement
b. Encourage them to invite feedback from their stakeholders
c. Understand their career goals
d. Motivate them to set priorities to grow their skills and abilities in alignment with their goals
e. Challenge them with stretch assignments to expand their perspective, business acument and skills
f. Encourage and support them to build developmental relationships
g. Give them exposure to senior leaders, in action and as advice givers
"Communicate to motivate. Be thoughtful and intentional about what you say. Speak thoughtfully and with positive purpose. Add inspiration to information."
As you would have gathered, communication plays a huge part in executive leadership. And I believe, in everything we do. Regardless whether you’re a leader, at work or at home. It’s important to speak to people’s WHY. Speak to their motives: passion, concerns, fears and hopes.
It’s easy for us to get carried away speaking in the language and style we’re used to, and comfortable with. However it’s crucial to take a pause to assess whether your target audience gets your message.
This reminds me of the sludge report I learnt in Effective Storytelling. Keep it simple, specific, concrete, memorable, repeatable.
a. Ensure people from different background understands
b. It’s easy to remember and repeat your message to others
c. Confirm key takeaways towards the end
"Executive leaders need to consider how their message will be passed along by people with diverse perspectives over stretches of time to other people who weren't there. You need to communicate to replicate. Simple isn't easy but it is essential."
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/executive-leadership