Put it Together: Service Leadership and Self-Awareness

Most employees do not receive coaching or leadership advice from outside their organisation. According to Stephen Miles, CEO of The Miles Group, “Even the best-of-the-best CEOs have their blind spots and can dramatically improve their performance with an outside perspective weighing in.”

Miles teaches employees at all levels how to up their leadership game. By the end of this step, you’ll have four tools for identifying and improving upon your base case leadership style. Use these tools to self-coach your way toward a more advanced, fulfilling, and effective career.

Tool 1: The Diagnostic

Identify your leadership style

*What is your base case leadership style? * In which situations will your base case leadership style give you the best outcome? * Where are the gaps in your style where you can work on expanding your range?

Tool 2: Advance Preparation

Modify your leadership style as appropriate

• Who is your audience?
• What is your desired outcome?
• What is the best leadership style to achieve that outcome?

Tool 3: Listen for Content

Foster dialogue by refraining from listening to win

• Demonstrate your interest through non-verbal communication.
• Ask clarifying questions.
• Fully immerse yourself in your opponent’s content.

Tool 4: Facilitate the Opposition

Maintain your leadership position.

• Affirm your opponent’s point of view.
• Use a Socratic approach.

Expanding Your Range

Now that you’re familiar with the service leadership approach, and have practiced self-awareness by tuning into true north, making resilience contagious, and starting a support network, let’s put the concepts together as an example of how you can apply EQ more broadly to your work.

Before you watch the video in the next step:

• In your own words, describe your leadership style. Feel free to share your thoughts with your fellow learners in the comments below.
• Also, think of an upcoming meeting in which you anticipate some degree of conflict or opposition and keep it in mind as you watch the video.