Calling all leaders – aspiring and present! This month is all about leadership and we have a challenge for you that will put your skills to the test. Leadership is not about a fancy job title. It’s not about being the boss. Leadership is about recognising the powerful impact that you have on others - be that in a personal or professional environment - and using that impact to bring out the best in your team and those around you.
At The Colour Works, we help you identify the strengths and weaknesses within yourself and your team. Your individual Insights Discovery Profile and your team wheel enable better communication and collaboration across the board, helping to create a more dynamic working environment and build stronger team relationships.But what about leadership?
Great leaders lead great teams. And most of them do it subconsciously. The Colour Works’ Leadership Challenge is all about finding your leadership style and developing the skills that will become automated responses to everyday challenges.No one could have been prepared for the challenges of the past year. We all looked to our leaders for guidance as we packed up our offices and moved into our living rooms. Now, we are facing new challenges. Offices are reopening and the world is beginning to get back to normal. Once again, leaders are being relied upon to guide their people through the unknown.
The Colour Works’ Leadership Challenge has been created to help you identify your strengths as a leader. It will also help you identify weaknesses, as well as prepare you for the transition back to the office. If you’ve got your Insights Discovery Profile to hand, revisiting it before you take the leadership challenge is a great idea. You’ll be able to get stuck in and make the most of the resources we’ve lined up for you.
Explore the leadership challenge:
Before we get started, have you signed up for our webinar? Next week, The Colour Works is hosting a complimentary webinar to help you build on your Insights Discovery experience and investigate leadership styles through the colour lens. Click here to find out more and book your space!
Last but not least, don’t forget to get involved on social media. Tag your colleagues and make sure you’re using the hashtag #ColourWorksChallenge in your posts. Sharing your journey on social media is the best way to help us all become great leaders together!
The Colour Works Presents: The Leadership Challenge
Let’s dive in. Here are five activities for you to complete daily during one week. These activities have been carefully selected to teach you what great leadership looks like and help you automate behaviours that leaders commonly share.
Day 1
Watch Drew Dudley: Everyday Leadership
Watch Drew Dudley tell you about a moment in his life that he has no memory of, but happens to define what great leadership is all about. This 6 minute TED Talk defines what characteristics are needed for modern leadership, even in our ever changing world.
Drew says it’s time to get over our fear. It’s time to stand up and be proud of the extraordinary input that we can have in each other’s lives. It’s time to become the great leaders that we were destined to be. Put labels and job titles aside - this TED Talk proves that we are all capable of great leadership – it’s just a matter of style!
Day 2
Listen to the No Ego Podcast
The No Ego podcast by Cy Wakeman is a fantastic free resource for up-and-coming leaders. This particular episode, Go Be Great, is about identifying greatness within yourself and your team. How can you tell your team to be great with confidence if you can’t recognise greatness?
All the episodes are created with leaders in mind, but this one in particular is brilliant for those of you looking to add communication, compassion and direction to your leadership skill set.
Check it out and let us know what you think by using the hashtag #ColourWorksChallenge on social media.
Day 3
Identify Your Leadership Style
You’ve made good progress already. In the first 2 days of The Leadership Challenge, you’ve seen what outstanding leaders look like outside of a professional setting and you’re able to recognise greatness within yourself and your team.
Now it’s time to embrace your leadership style. Do you get stuck into a task straight away aiming to deliver a high standard of excellence? Or is your focus on building harmony among your team? Whatever your leadership style, you have the potential to succeed.
Put some time aside to read through this article today. It will help you identify your leadership style. That way, you’ll be able to focus on your strengths and get the most out of The Leadership Challenge.
As you’re reading this article, see if you recognise any of these attributes within your team. You may be mentoring a great leader of the future.
Day 4
Watch Julia Milner: The Surprising Truth
This TED Talk is a must-watch for aspiring and current leaders. Julia Milner discusses common problems that people in leadership positions face and teaches us how to avoid getting ‘yes but...’ as an answer.
She splits the room into advice-givers and coaches. The advice-givers offer a direction and tell Julia what she needs to do to combat her chocolate obsession. The coaches help Julia reflect and ask her about her motivations for giving up chocolate and getting fit.
When Google conducted a study among their employees, being a good coach was the number one thing that employees said made a good manager. Coaching enables teams to work collaboratively to achieve goals by utilising strengths and supporting weaknesses. Julia makes it sound easy, but building this skill is not a straightforward task.The Colour Works offers virtual and in-person workshops in Leadership, 360 Feedback and Coaching so if this is something you feel your team would benefit from click here to get in touch.
Day 5
Share Your Tales
Think back to the TED Talk you watched on day 1 of The Leadership Challenge. Drew told you a story. Not a story about how he inspired great things within his team. While his tale took place at work, it wasn’t the professional scenario we picture when discussing leadership.
Storytelling helps people connect the dots and is a much more impactful way of communicating. It makes building relationships within your team much easier because stories are responsive and personable.
A great example of this is a story that everyone in the hospitality industry has been told about an outstanding leader at Hilton Hotel Group. One evening, in one of their hotels, a kitchen porter had not turned up for his shift. With a busy night ahead and a full restaurant, the team were asked to do what they could to help the kitchen team cope with the demand.
Washing up is not a glamorous job and team members were reluctant to get involved. However, when the managing director of that hotel stepped up to the mark and spent the entire evening helping the kitchen porter his team took note. He ended up working a double shift in the kitchen with a smile on his face, all the while still wearing his designer suit.
That one act made the team feel more connected to their leader, knowing that he would support them in any way he could. Great leaders lead by example.
Have you got a story like that? Think about a time that you have witnessed great leadership and get everyone involved in the discussion. As people share their stories, you’ll develop an understanding of what a great leader looks like to the individuals in your team and will be better equipped to coach them moving forward.
Ready to take on the #ColourWorksChallenge?
You know what to do. Get involved in The Leadership Challenge and become an (even) better leader. These 5 quick and easy activities have taught you:
- How to identify greatness
- Your leadership style
- How to connect your team with storytelling
- The difference between giving advice and coaching
- Recognising a leader in the making
Now it’s over to you. Share this challenge with a colleague and work together to develop your leadership skills. Share your achievements on social media, we’d love to hear your stories come to life! Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ColourWorksChallenge so we can keep up with your progress.
In just 1 week, you’ve discovered some tools you need to be a great leader. If you want to take this further, get in touch with The Colour Works to discuss Insights Discovery which will give you a complete breakdown of your leadership style and your strengths and weaknesses through the Discovery lens
That’s a wrap from us. Good luck with The Leadership Challenge!
