Leadership isn't for cowards

Despite being an experienced manager, there may be a few things stifling your team's progress —and they may stem from you. That was the message from Mike Staver, a leadership coach and CEO of the The Staver Group, during his presentation at a recent meeting of the Gulf Coast CEO Forum.

According to Staver the three things in the way of massive momentum in progress by leaders are: the need to be right, the need to be in control, and the need to be all things to all people.

If these sound familiar, don't worry, Staver also shared some solutions.

If you're someone who needs to be right, Staver suggests developing a mindset of curiosity. He recommends asking your leadership team big, scary, uncomfortable questions such as: “If we were going to build our most lethal competition that would put us out of business in six months, what would we build?”

For the person who needs to be in control, Staver says: Let. It. Go. Some companies have too restrictive policies that don't allow for flexibility, others are too hands-on. There needs to be a happy medium.

And, if you're the leader who needs to be all things to all people, Staver wants you to just say no. Choose what you say “yes” to carefully, but saying no is the first step toward communicating to your team where your priorities lie, which helps them do their jobs better, too.