Some leaders focus mostly on their teams, leaving little time to work on themselves. While you may not think you have time to enhance your leadership skills, when you’re continuously evolving and staying ahead of the curve, you become better at managing your team and driving projects toward successful outcomes. The trick is being intentional about growing professionally.

Jason Evanish, the CEO of Get Lighthouse, understands what it’s like to feel stuck in a rut sometimes. As a leader, you might find yourself doing the same things week after week without ever shaking things up. Whether your team is shrinking, growing or staying the same, he says there are some powerful ways to level up your leadership. We share his insight in this issue of PromoPro Daily.

  1. Get a handle on time management. How do you invest your time? Evanish says it’s easy to go from feeling like everything is under control to feeling overbooked and overwhelmed. To grow as a leader, you need to make sure you’re using your time wisely. Cancel unnecessary meetings, eliminate distractions and maintain a sustainable pace by taking regular breaks.
  2. Become a multiplier for your team. According to Evanish, helping your team is often a better use of your time than focusing on yourself. When you unblock an hour of your time, it’s a fraction as powerful as doing the same for everyone on your team. That’s because your efforts are multiplied when you help your team – your efforts compound across all of them.
  3. Embrace self-directed learning. When you’re a leader, you’re often on your own when it comes to professional development. Always be on the lookout for interesting articles, books and podcasts, and not just those focused on leadership. Evanish advises exploring topics like habit change and human behavior, which can help you understand people better.
  4. Set aside reflection time. Block off time in your calendar so you have time to think through big projects, important milestones or challenges you’ve faced. Evanish says you can also do this with your team in the form of retrospectives.
  5. Build your ideal leadership model. The idea here, according to Evanish, is that you recognize the leadership habits that define you as a leader – what fits your personality, style and what you’ve seen work for you. Over time, you can add to your repertoire.
  6. Hire a coach or mentor. This can be especially helpful if you’re new to your role. Before choosing one, Evanish recommends interviewing them to find the coach or mentor who resonates most with you. Make sure you know what you’re looking for before you start your search.

When you focus on becoming a better leader, both your team and your professional life can flourish. Consider the ideas above to embrace a learning mindset and grow as a leader.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Jason Evanish is the CEO of Get Lighthouse, a performance management platform.