Over the past few weeks, I’ve explained a few crucial steps that can be taken to strengthen your executive leadership skills. We’ve delved into the concepts of Open Leadership, Big Picture Thinking, and how Being Adventurous makes for innovative leaders worth following – all necessary subsets when crafting a vision for your business or practice. Next is the subset of and ability to “Speak Out” – something a leader should always be ready and willing to do, as long as it’s done the right way.
In today’s blog, I’ll break down the importance of healthily speaking up as a leader, which falls under the trait of Boldness. Openly expressing your feelings takes a healthy dose of courage, after all.
What Does It Mean to “Speak Out”?
When you hear the words “speak out,” you likely think of the phrase “speak up.” They’re similar in definition, both concerning how you express your feelings or opinions in a public manner. When I refer to speaking out, it’s in reference to how leaders approach sharing those ideas or observations.
Great Leaders are Fixers, Not Shamers
Have you ever heard a bad leader speak out? Maybe they singled out and reprimanded an employee in a blatant fashion, discussed a vision not shared by the rest of the company, or only chose to speak up when something was wrong. These are clear examples of unhealthily speaking out; the aim shouldn’t be to focus on what is wrong or not working, because employees will feel that negative demeanor. Instead, the focus should be on how things can be improved.
Why Leaders Need to Speak Out
Great leaders ultimately speak out to expose certain truths about their organization – its values, its people, and ways of carrying out business, for example. They know that their words hold the most weight and use their voice for positive change, rather than standing idly by and acting solely as a critic. Most importantly, when good leaders speak out and even ask for help from their teams, it challenges lesser leaders to change their ways. They check their pride, understand that they can’t do it all, and know that they can’t possibly have all the answers. Having the boldness to speak out, share your thoughts, ask for help, and take the risk of judgement from your peers are crucial in progressing as a leader while maintaining a healthy, collaborative workplace.
Speak Out the Way a Leader Should
Learning how to speak out when necessary can make for a more open, honest, and collaborative organization. Plus, it assures that your staff truly looks up to you as an effective healthcare leader.
Contact me today to see if you are a good fit for executive leadership coaching with a free consultation.
About Dr. Wilkerson, PD, MBA, PCC.
Do you want to increase your impact? Do you want to increase profits under your leadership? Do you want to develop and use your abilities to the fullest to better connect with and lead others? Executive Leadership Coaching covers these bases. Dr. Jerrund Wilkerson, PD, MBA, PCC, has more than 30 years of successful executive leadership coaching in the United States and internationally.
As a licensed pharmacist, he is particularly passionate about helping develop effective leaders in the healthcare community. Dr. Wilkerson has coached and trained thousands of managers and leaders. He is a certified coach and member of the John Maxwell Leadership Team.
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