How do you know if you’re good at leading people through change?

I’ve recently completed a Growth Accountability Programme with Jannine Barron (Home - Jannine Barron), looking at leadership. I wanted to understand my own capability and capacity as a leader, with my own team starting to grow.

Doing this has really grounded some things which I know I talk about with clients a lot, especially doing it in parallel to managing our own change project – a rebrand. During this process I’ve been managing different stakeholders, engaging the team, and mapping out new processes, providing a great opportunity to reflect. Here are a couple of things I’ve taken away from the experience:

? Your purpose – whether individually or on behalf of the business - needs to be front and centre, arguably more than your goals. Sometimes we can be blinded by goals, taking away from our ability to be flexible. Sometimes the best results come from moving from the path temporarily, while not losing our overall purpose. We’ll still end up in the right place.

? When leading a team, it’s important that you create space for your own wellbeing and boundaries. This helps with creativity – sometimes the best ideas come when you’re not thinking about the task at hand. Taking a step back every now and then throughout this process has allowed me to tap into my intuition and make clearer business decisions.

One of the most valuable things which has been reinforced throughout my learnings with Jannine is the fact that to lead, you need a leadership mindset. There is a difference between managing and leading, and if you don’t launch a project with a leadership mindset, it’s not going to be as enjoyable for everyone involved. 

Have you recently invested in personal development? I’d love to hear your key takeaways in the comments??