Happy New Year. Now Fire Yourself!

Wikipedia describes Kryptonite better than I ever could. Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's homeworld of Krypton that emits unique radiation that weakens Superman, but is generally harmless to humans when exposed to it in the short term but deadly in the long term. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects on Superman. Due to Superman's popularity, kryptonite has become a byword for an extraordinary exploitable weakness, synonymous with "Achilles' heel.   What does Superman & Kryptonite have to do with you as a business leader? We all have areas that are our weaknesses or kryptonite as a leader. Here are five specific areas that I believe can be kryptonite to leaders: Poor Communicator, Can’t Fire, Lack of Discipline, Not Delegating, and Lack of Strategy. Kryptonite: Poor Communicator Holding people to expectations that you have but did not communicate as a leader will weaken your leadership. Be sure you take time to explain in detail what you need and when you need it. Your employee is not in your head so make sure they know your thoughts. I suggest you put your expectations in writing so there is no confusion. It is good to listen to the employee’s feedback and I would always try to find a solution that works for both sides when possible. Whatever you decide it is now on the employee to meet your expectations.   Kryptonite: Can’t Fire Bad Employees My Dad really struggled to fire bad employees. He thought yelling at an employee when they failed would change their behavior. It might have worked for a short period of time but it usually brought resentment to the employee’s heart. A leader might fear that firing a bad employee could cause the team to get mad. Often times, it does the opposite. The team is thankful for you for having the courage to remove the bad employee who was bringing down the team. Don’t let fear stop you from making the tough but right decision to fire a bad employee.   Kryptonite: Lack of Discipline Missing deadlines, not having a plan, waiting until the last minute to show up are all examples of having a lack of discipline. I knew a guy who ran a business and every time I met with him he would be 10 minutes late. I finally told him “If you want to meet then be on time. You are disrespecting my time by being late. We all have a lot going on and I am making it a priority to be on time to show you respect.” The guy loved me for saying it. Nope! He did thank me for being honest and agreed it was wrong. Don’t be a leader who moves deadlines but expects everyone else to hit your deadline. Not having a plan and winging one can cause doubt in the employee's trust in you as a leader when things are done poorly.   Kryptonite: Not Delegating Not being able to delegate is another way for leaders to fail. It’s important to get others to help and give them an opportunity to learn. Warning! The employees might fail. A good leader gives direction but doesn’t control every little detail. Find opportunities to build trust with your team by allowing them to take on duties that you have delegated out.   Kryptonite: Lack of Strategy Employees want to know where the company is going, why it is going there, what are they going to face and how will victory be achieved? No one gets excited when a leader doesn’t have passion for their strategy. Employees start to panic when a plan has not been communicated. It’s very important that a leader can cast a vision that helps the employees see the way into the future. Everyone wants a purpose in what they do and being part of a team with strategy will bring passion.    Many of you are like Superman with your amazing gifts and talents. The problem is you are allowing your business kryptonite to weaken your leadership. Take time to know where you fail and ask your employees if you aren’t sure. As a leader it is so important you know what can weaken your ability to be the best leader.

A Common Scenario You walk out of the meeting, shaking your head. You feel overwhelmed and frustrated, but you're not sure why. You just know that you're tired of these meetings always making you feel the same way: angry.   So, what could've happened here?   Any number of things. Maybe some of these resonate with you:   You were given a list of arbitrary tasks that don't seem to have an order. There was no plan, or if there was, someone didn't follow it. And so, it felt like nothing was accomplished. You didn't receive clear expectations. You were asked to do something that you weren't expecting to be asked to do. You had a significant accomplishment that wasn't recognized.   And the list goes on.   These are ordinary, annoying things that happen to most people in meetings. So naturally, they cause frustration, but what if you could pinpoint what made you feel that way and why?   What if you could figure out why you keep hitting your head against a brick wall in these meetings while other co-workers seem fine or may even be responding positively?   You can.   Know Thyself  Self-awareness is the ability to see outside oneself. It's like watching yourself interact with others, like sitting in a theater watching a movie. You see yourself behaving a certain way, and then you stop and ask yourself, why did I do that? Or what caused me to feel that way?   Let's take the list from above and pinpoint some possible reasons these things frustrated you:   You like to prioritize and make sure that the most crucial thing is addressed first. You value your time and don't like when it feels wasted. Without clear expectations, you feel like you risk failure. You already divvied out your day according to your task list. As a result, you don't have the additional time and energy for tasks you weren't expecting. You feel valued when people notice the work that you're doing.   These may seem simple, but knowing and understanding ourselves and why we respond the way we do has a massive impact on how we work with others. And how well we lead others.   If your co-workers know that you like to operate from a clearly ordered task list, they can be mindful of that when they assign tasks to you. Likewise, suppose you know that you don't have enough energy for an additional assignment. In that case, you can ask if anyone else might have the capacity to take it on. Or request a deadline that allows you the space you need.   Start Here So how do we start to see ourselves from the outside vantage point?    Here are a couple of ways to get going:   Take time to note when you feel frustrated, afraid, or anxious, and begin writing down why that might be. Is this a pattern that you've noticed? Talk to someone close to you that you trust. A great question to start with is, how are you experiencing me? Consider meeting with a Life Coach. With a coach, you will have space to talk through what you're experiencing and begin to pinpoint things you notice about yourself. Seek personality tools that give you language for your behavior. My favorite by far is the Enneagram which highlights both the good and the complex parts about a person's personality and what motivates a person.   In some cases, the more you learn about yourself, the more you'll find yourself interested in knowing other people. (Why does he seem so frustrated when he leaves these meetings?) You start to ask questions and begin working on a culture that considers who each person is and what they need before assigning the work.   Then more things get done and get done well. And maybe, just maybe, you even start to enjoy those meetings.   Need more?  Read about IOL’s 1st guest contributor Ashley Buenger Check out the IOL Community Groups to connect with like-minded leaders! Go to our YouTube and LinkedIn pages for more encouraging content.