4 Steps To Shift Your Leadership Perspective

As a leader, you know what works and what doesn’t.  Still, as days turn into months, and months turn into years, you may find yourself sliding through the same routines.  You may notice your tactics are not as successful, your insight – a little blurred or you might just feel plain out-of-touch.

Luckily, with a little effort on your part, you can shake things up.  By widening your perspective, you can tap back into the current happenings of your business, its employees, customers and your career.  Also through reflection, you will be able to make any necessary tweaks to those invisible issues that, because of this exercise, will soon become evident. Here are 4 steps to shift your leadership perspective:

Lose Your Identity

Experience your world anonymously as a customer.  Try to remain as objective as possible and take notes throughout the experience.  How easily were your questions answered?  How knowledgeable/helpful was the staff?  How many products or services were provided for you to choose from?  What level of ease was the purchasing process?

If possible, create a fictitious but common problem and take note of how it is handled.  Proper repercussions should be carried out for inept employees, but that should not be at the forefront of your thoughts. Keep in mind the purpose of this experience, to make you more aware.

This experiment can quickly become you with a checklist, a wagging finger and a stern talking to your team.  Yes, that can happen, and should happen if necessary- but only after you’ve experienced this effort with its real purpose in mind: to open your eyes, ears, mind and shape your perception.

Find Grand Central Station

For those that are getting up for their trench coats, hold on for a minute; finding Grand Central Station will be different for everyone.  It is the place where people are the busiest and the most work occurs; a location of high interaction and perhaps, high stress.  That, not your office, is where you need to be.

Don’t be surprised when a strange look is cast your way as you pull up a chair in a neighboring cubicle.  People will wonder what you are up to, so be sure to tell them.  Spell out your experiment clearly and reiterate that this isn’t so much about them, but about you and your grasp on the business’s day-to-day realities.

By letting your staff know that your biggest intention is to get back in-touch, you can help them relax and work as normal and natural as possible.  Similar to the customer experiment, this experience is all about taking notes.  Listen for workflow, complaints and the common stressors in the office.  It would not hurt to guide these comments by striking up a conversation in the break room.  (I.e. What is the best thing and biggest stressor your department is currently dealing with?)

360 Degree Feedback

More traditional that the other options you’ll find here, 360 degree feedback does pack its own perspective punch.  The concept of 360 degree feedback is pretty straight forward: you gather a variety of people involved with your business and you ask them for anonymous, honest and specific feedback pertaining to your performance.

It takes a tough skin to deal with some of the censor-less comments.  However, with the right attitude in place (I want to get back in-touch, and see things differently) 360 degree feedback can serve your leadership perspective well.  Try to have a mentor guide you through responses and then make a plan for any and all reasonable changes you are willing to make.

Reflect

Before you start these experiences, consider jotting down how you currently perceive things to be working.  After each process, make notes on the actual findings you discovered.  When finished allow some time and space for reflection (a day or two) but then come back to the drawing board.

Really, you can reflect in a way that works best for you, whether it is a journal entry, a conversation with a confidant or even something as simple as some summarized thoughts.  Whatever your method of mirrors, just make sure to take some time and note any changes.  How do you feel differently, what opinions of yours have shifted? It may take a few days or even months before your lessons learned kick into practice.  However the distinct stride in your step is almost immediate; that’s the confidence that comes with awareness and being tuned-in, and for a leader it’s a feeling that’s hard to beat.

As a leader, how do you shake things up?

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