[The Ripple Effect] Reinvent Your Leadership Style

Published: Fri, 03/15/13

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Hello everyone and welcome to the March issue of The Ripple Effect. Is everyone getting ready for Spring? I most certainly am - especially after last week's snowstorm that came through the mid-Atlantic region. We got about a foot of snow and lost power for three days! For someone like me who doesn't like snow or cold weather, this late winter storm was not welcome! So, I am excited that the start of Spring on March 21 is right around the corner.

March also marks the launch of my latest book with co-author Julie Simmons, Letting Go Of The Status Quo. Julie and I are very excited for the launch and the events coming up surrounding our book. We recently recorded a video for our book trailer (behind the scenes photo below!), which was a lot of fun and a reminder to both of us about how much our professional lives have changed over the past several years. It is amazing how today, things that are so much fun to do are actually considered "work". That is what can happen when you (like us) make conscious choices to change your life and career and recreate it to align with what you value and what motivates you.

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Letting Go Of The Status Quo Video Shoot

Not surprisingly, this month's article focuses on the topic of reinvention as it relates to your leadership style. I wrote this last year as a blog post and wanted to share it in this month's newsletter since I get many questions from leaders about how they can change and re-create their own leadership styles. Although my upcoming book is about big life changes and how Julie and I maneuvered through reinventing our own lives, what this article shows is that reinvention doesn't have to be something big or even life changing - it just has to be something that makes a difference to you. Often times making a few small changes to our leadership style can have big impactful results on those we lead as well as on our own careers.

Hope you enjoy this month's article and, as always, feel free to share it with others and keep spreading those positive ripple effects!

Best always,

Andria

C3's News and Events

Andria is honored to be speaking at an upcoming event: Redefining Yourself Through Career Success. Join the Fairfax Chamber's Women in Business Group for an informative panel discussion featuring women business leaders who have reinvented themselves to achieve career success - and personal happiness. It's often a fine line that executives, especially women executives, walk between work/life balance, or the balance between career success and personal fulfillment. Hear from three leaders who took a hard look at their careers - what was working and what wasn't - an in many ways did an about-face that launched their trajectory to personal and career success. For more information please visit: March 20, 2013 Fairfax County Chamber Women in Business Event

Andria's latest book: Letting Go of the Status Quo - The Liberating Exhilarating Journey of Two Women Who Reinvented Themselves (And Your Guide to do the Same) is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON!! Get your copy here!

Have you seen our recent blog posts?

Pay Attention To The Whispers: One of the many things I learned along my journey of reinvention was that I spent a long time ignoring the "whispers" or internal nudges that were telling me certain things in my life needed to change.

Oprah said something that, in retrospect, speaks vividly to what was occurring in my life, while I was in my phase of resisting the things that, deep down, I knew needed to change:

"The Universe speaks to us, always, first in whispers. And a whisper in your life usually feels like 'hmm, that's odd.' Or, 'hmm, that doesn't make any sense.' [Read more here ...]

Want Different Results? Do Something Different!: You've all heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing every day but expecting different results...? That's what this week's blog post is about. I've decided to share a brief part of one chapter in my upcoming book, Letting Go Of The Status Quo, to illustrate how doing things differently is really the only way to get different results. Although I'm sharing a personal example, I want you to think of something you want to be different in your life - it could be your career, the environment your work or live in or even something to do with your health. Think about what it is you want to be different and then think about whether you have been doing anything different to get new results. If you keep doing the same thing, chances are your results will be the same. It's exactly what JD Houston said, "If you want something in your life you've never had, you'll have to do something you've never done." That is what the following is about. [Read more here ...]

Four Steps To Recreate Your Leadership Style

"I can't do this anymore" were the words I recently heard from an emerging leader who I coach. She was struggling with a number of aspects of her leadership role and the biggest was her perception of how others expected her to act in her role. She was uncomfortable with the assertive style and directive tone that was common of leaders in her company and more so, she was uncomfortable with the fact that this had become common for her. She didn't like the way she felt about the style she had adopted nor did she want to continue to lead in this fashion. I challenged her to recreate her leadership style by following these four steps:

First, accept what's not working. What's making you uncomfortable? Often times you're being asked to do things that aren't aligned with who you truly are, like my client. Recognizing and accepting what is not working for you in your current style is the first step toward changing.

Next, decide what is working. There are likely things you are doing and aspects of your leadership style that you are comfortable with and that resonate with your authenticity. Highlight these and commit to keeping them on your list of traits to display.

Third, determine the type of leader you want to be. Who are your role models and what characteristics do they display? Which of these are currently missing from your own traits? What would it require for you to begin to add these characteristics to your style?

Finally, step into the new version of you. Begin to act in ways that align with the leader you want to be and stop doing those things that you decided no longer work for you. Take small steps to do this. Sometimes shedding the old traits and displaying the new ones will not go over well in your current environment. If you discover that is the case, it may require a deeper look into whether or not you are in the right environment to act as the leader you are meant to be.

The only way to discover this is to step into that new leadership style and be true to who you are meant to be as a leader. Whether in your current environment or a new one, if you do this one-step, one day at a time, eventually your recreated leadership style will become your new norm.

This month's development tip: Are you feeling as if your current leadership style or behaviors are misaligned with who you genuinely want to be? Follow the four steps above and create a style that is authentic to who you truly are.

Andria Corso is the founder of C3 Coaching and Consulting. an Executive Leadership and Career Development Coaching and Consulting firm. C3's mission is to help our clients reach their highest potential. Read more about C3 here or contact us to find out how we can help you and your organization reach your greatest success.

Contact information: Andria L. Corso ~ 888-432-4245

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