Leadership Learning: There's always room to grow

Leadership learning is definitely not a new concept. But like many other aspects of the employee experience, it’s constantly changing to meet the needs and expectations of a new generation of employees.

And while some tactics may change in leadership learning here and there, what are the core pillars to leadership learning? SkillCycle CEO and Co-founder Kristy McCann Flynn recently shared her thoughts what it takes to be a leader, and why her journey isn’t over yet.

QUESTION: How do you meet people where they are when an employee expresses discomfort with their job demands?

Kristy McCann Flynn: You will never please everyone. There will always be a compromise. What’s most compelling is how you hone your listening skills to ensure you are seeing, hearing, and understanding the problem so you are proactively driving effective solutions. In other words — ask, don’t assume.

QUESTION: How can I find time in my day to further my leadership learning?

Kristy McCann Flynn: You have to provide balance for yourself and your team. One quick fix is to look at your standing meetings. You know the old joke about how a meeting should’ve been an email? I take it a step further. If your calendar’s full of daily meetings, you will burn yourself out and others as you are in reactive mode rather than proactive mode. Every meeting needs a clear agenda, owners, and outputs due next steps. If a meeting does not — just decline. Meetings are for strategy and execution amongst people to solve a problem. Meetings are not a communication channel. Reclaim that time to make yourself better with leadership learning.

QUESTION: How do I identify gaps in my leadership ability and how to I fill them?

Kristy McCann Flynn: Well the first part is easy because you will mess up a lot. The goal is not to make the same mistakes over and over. It took me many years to refine my communication skills as I’m often dry and blunt to meet my audience and situationally lead. I worked with various coaches on this to hone not just my communication style but, more so, my emotional intelligence. Coaching provided a leadership learning path with lots of reinforcement to make the changes every day, step by step, that I will continue to perfect for many years.

QUESTION: Any last thoughts?

Kristy McCann Flynn: Only that it’s ok to let go. The minute I stopped focusing on things that did not generate clear outcomes, the gift called time presented itself. Continually evaluate what you’re doing and why and how it connects to the organization’s goals. If it doesn’t, don’t do it. Give youself some space to explore your own personal growth through leadership learning.