Mastering the Unnatural Act of Leadership
Mastering the Unnatural Act of Leadership
Executive coach Alisa Cohn highlights that even seasoned leaders experience imposter syndrome, and to foster confidence in their teams, they must first address their own insecurities and create a psychologically safe environment.
Leadership Starts with You
Effective leadership requires understanding your default style and knowing when to adapt, which involves courageous self-examination of your communication, conflict resolution, feedback methods, control tendencies, stress responses, and decision-making processes, according to executive coach Alisa Cohn.
Understand How Others See You with 360 Feedback
Hearing your recorded voice can feel strange, much like receiving feedback on your leadership; to foster personal growth, it's essential to gather honest insights from others, ideally with the guidance of a coach, to align your intentions with your impact.
Create Psychological Safety for Your Team
In today's workplace, fostering psychological safety—where team members feel secure and valued—is essential for maximizing potential, requiring leaders to confront their own insecurities, encourage open communication, and recognize individual contributions.
How to Give Constructive Feedback
Effective feedback requires a delicate balance; establish psychological safety through praise, provide specific recommendations, and use the COIN Model to guide the conversation, ensuring the recipient feels supported and motivated to improve over time.
How to Use OKRs to Motivate Your Team and Meet Your Goals
To enhance team motivation and direction, executive coach Alisa Cohn emphasizes the importance of establishing clear objectives and key results (OKRs), which should be displayed on dashboards to track progress and facilitate analytical feedback.
Four Key Principles for Successful Delegation
As startups grow, leaders must learn to delegate effectively by assessing each employee's capabilities and enthusiasm, adapting their management style accordingly, and clearly communicating expectations for project outcomes.
Make Sure You and Your Team Look Your Best in Virtual Meetings
To enhance professionalism in virtual meetings, executive coach Alisa Cohn emphasizes the importance of effective body language, including maintaining eye-level camera positioning, a pleasant expression, and addressing team members' presentation issues constructively.
Leadership is an unnatural act, one that can engender feelings of self-doubt, insecurity, or indecision. In this expert class, executive coach Alisa Cohn offers a series of principles and practices to help you become a more natural leader for your team.
Learning Objectives
- Practice radical self-examination.
- Structure feedback for yourself and others.
- Create psychological safety for your team.
- Set clear business goals and delegate effectively.
- Improve how you and your team present yourselves in virtual meetings.