I'm sharing my 'expert' commentary at the Women in Local Government Leadership Summit 2015 today.
There will be a bunch of women speakers and women in attendance and leadership is the flavour.
I get excited when I attend these types of events - there's always great information shared, views discussed and new people to meet.
I've trawled the internet, looked at notes which I've created, reflected on recent client case studies and using all this data, I've decided on the key elements that support and guide women up the leadership ladder.
I've identified seven areas which make the difference between good and great leaders and whilst there in no particular order my first pick is Adaptive Leadership. Thanks to Heifetz and Co we have a practice which encourages a network conversation to solve the unsolvable involving behaviour change.
Being authentic, managed to get on my list. Particularly with its focus on being honest, purpose led and open to feedback about blind-spots - which will put us in good stead to be trusted and respected.
Good 'ol assertiveness was an easy fit to my list. In particular for those of us who need to express their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and wishes in a direct, honest and appropriate way while respecting the rights of others. That's a lot of people who need to be assertive rather than being passive or aggressive. Note the final six words of the previous statement.
My favorite pick is Accountability. Being answerable for our actions. It's as simple as that.
Leadership Agility is a focus which I'm drawn to explore further. I believe we can all flex our agility muscle to 'seek pain to learn', delving into challenges to evolve our organisations, questioning the status quo, being creative and taking time out to just think.
Awareness is a critical component of emotional intelligence and is essential for leaders. Awareness is our leadership radar - picking up on the groups' emotions and those of individuals so we can alter our leadership communication style to maintain a purposeful conversation.
Finally, to tie up this bundle is ACTION. I believe we spend enough time in meetings, talking, texting and emailing in this world and what we need to do is take the lead by putting everything into action. Proactive action opposed to reactive action.