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Knowing Who You Are as a Leader
Hans Finzel is a bestselling leadership author, teacher, podcaster and trusted authority in the field of leadership. In this episode of the Eternal Leadership Podcast, he dropped several golden nuggets of leadership wisdom.
Hans explained that we are naturally selfish beings. It’s human nature to look after yourself first. And that is the opposite of servant leadership.
But how does one lead a parade of ever-changing people? By constantly preaching the vision… every single week.
Based on Hans’s observation, leaders never communicate enough. As a leader, you have to be chief press officer both internally and externally.
If you are the leader and you are an introvert, you need to become a professional extrovert.
One of the main reasons why leaders fail is because they had no clue how they were coming across. The number one way to learn how to become more self-aware and to see your blind spots is to have other people give you feedback on how you are coming across.
If you want to be a great leader, swallow your pride and ask your team to give you feedback.
Quoting Patrick Lencioni, Hans suggested a question you should ask every member of your team: “Tell me a formative event that happened in your childhood that makes you who you are.” This powerful question helps you understand each of your team member’s mindset and emotional intelligence.
Hans also shared some tips on developing leadership through vulnerability:
- Offsite meetings – going away on leadership retreats creates a much better atmosphere than the room you always meet in
- Ask “How can I be a better leader to you?”
- Assure everyone in your team you will never hold their feedback against them.
- Get the most open person in your team to lead a “vulnerability session” to hear everyone’s story
And finally, the two most important words in a leader’s vocabulary are: listen and learn.
What You’ll Learn
- Are leaders born or made?
- The bitter experience that gave birth to the book “The Top Ten Mistakes that Leaders Make”
- How do you know when it’s time to leave your leader?
- How do you lead a parade of ever-changing people?
- How does one become an effective communicator?
- One of the main reasons why leaders fail.
- The number one characteristic of great leadership
- Hans’s biggest leadership failure and what he learned from it
- The two most important words in a leader’s vocabulary
Resources
- The Top Ten Mistakes that Leaders Make by Hans Finzel
- Top Ten Ways to Be a Great Leader by Hans Finzel
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
- Hans Finzel’s website
Bio
Hans Finzel is known as an author of great leadership books. He travels the world speaking and teaching on all things leadership. Hans is a successful author, mentor, speaker and trusted authority in the field of leadership. Hans has trained leaders internationally on five continents. He and Donna founded HDLeaders in 2012 where he serves as President. Prior to that, Hans completed twenty years as President and CEO of international non-profit WorldVenture. Hans and his wife Donna spent ten years living in Vienna, Austria while training leaders throughout Eastern Europe behind the Iron Curtain before the fall of communism. He has an earned doctorate in the field of leadership from Fuller School of Intercultural Studies. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Columbia International University (CIU.EDU) for twenty years. Hans is host of “The Leadership Answer Man” Podcast. He is the author of ten books, including his bestseller The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make(David C Cook) and his newest release Top Ten Ways To Be A Great Leader(David C Cook). His books have been published in over twenty foreign languages.
