Professional Maturity...is it a behavior, simply experience or can it be taught?

A critical component of capable leadership is the ability to exemplify professional maturity, both in your employee and customer interactions. In part the culture of your team, your company is defined by your ability to navigate good times, bad times, and when controlled mayhem ensues (whether a stellar growth year or like many struggling performance in the world of Covid 19) lift your organization to new heights.

The definition of this maturity , or when you "reach" this point is not defined merely by years in business, or age. And conversely , it doesn't mean jettisoning your passion for who you are or what you do.

Here are a few tips that if you can create a habit of these, can make you a better, more consistent and approachable leader :

Never have someone else deliver bad news‍

Whether a poor quarter, poor individual performance or if change is needed your ability to provide transparency, empathy and most importantly stability can be the catalyst of improvement personally and professionally. Allowing someone else to council your direct report, or not be the owner of communicating a layoff or termination undermines the person doing it for you ( he or she becoming the "hatchet" person) and you now have potentially created a disgruntled individual that may falsely implies you ,and or your company may not be a not a good place to work. Do not ignore Glassdoor, Google reviews , comments on social media posts. It all matters,

Eliminate the "Ready-Fire-Aim" management style

‍You've built your business from the ground up , held 5 positions simultaneously, and have been the rainmaker salesperson, However as your business grows, scaling your organization can fall short if you continue to react first and deliberate and consider later. Do not be involved in every decision, and do not write off bad decisions, creating a sick work environment or worse just because " that's just who I am ." Every person you deal with deserves respect and empathy regardless. Instead of blowing off, or dismissing an idea by someone else try saying simply..."I really appreciate your perspective, but here is why I may not agree."

Ruthless is not direct , nor decisive

‍Ruthless is simply defined as "showing no pity or compassion". Remember a tough decision, a merger or acquisition as example might need a so called ruthless moment. Great leaders sometimes need to make on the spot decisions. Do so with the maturity that treats the situation with transparency combined with basic empathy.

Fun...it needs to be part of your culture

‍Maturity doesn't mean ignoring the simply ways to communicate to employees and clients that your company is a great place to work. The Millennial and Gen Z space looks at work as much more than a job...but a conduit to meet people, feel their professional voice is important and you not only appreciate it but participate it. The best leader ..consistent...transparent ...collaborative...results driven, but can have moments that show to others that they don't take themselves too seriously.

The above tips are just small examples of the coaching and mentoring that can be done to make individuals more complete leaders . In the world of multi- generational work forces, a more approachable , consistent , professionally mature leader is what's needed. You can message me to learn more about development programs offered.