Q: For three years now as a CEO, I have been able to deliver a fair amount of value to my organisation which makes shareholders happy, keeps customers satisfied, and boosts employee morale. Encouraged by these results, I feel it is time to move to the next level of my career to be an extraordinary leader instead of just being a good one. However, there is still some unease in me as to whether I am too ambitious or even arrogant in wanting to be an extraordinary leader. What do you think?
A: Indeed, there is nothing wrong with this ambition. It is better to have one than none at all. All good leaders should keep striving to be the best they can be. Without scaling up, what would life be like for you? I am sure your people too want to have better things that can only be possible when you are progressing well as a leader.
To begin with, you need a stretched target so that it will pump out your energy and passion to do what I call “extraordinary things”. Find an extraordinary leadership role model to emulate. Extraordinary leaders like Tony Fernandes and Bill Gates always look for extraordinary things to do and nothing can stop them from doing them better and better, again and again. You too can put yourself in the same league. Among the many things you can do is to focus on increasing the capabilities of your organisation and its people. Visualise what it entails to set you apart from your competitors. Then communicate and more importantly, inspire your people to embrace this vision as well. Finally, rope them in to grow together towards the same vision with you leading the way.
POWERFUL QUESTIONS
- What kind of leader do you want to be?
- What will make you different from others?
- What will this benefit your organisation when you are one?
- What will attract people to you?
Coach leadership programs transform you to be extraordinary leaders. Leaders who deploy non directive methods, who can challenge status quo, raise self- awareness for breakthrough performance.