20 Core Leadership Disciplines: The power of listening, pushing past comfort zones, and imagination

By Jeff Wolf

Time to read: 1 minute

As I reflect on Wolf Management's 20th anniversary, I think about our clients and the trust they continually place in us. We don't take that trust for granted and are grateful for their confidence in us as we continue striving to earn their loyalty every day.

Over the last 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching hundreds of leaders to help them understand one basic premise: before you can lead others, you must have fundamental disciplines as a basis to rely on for leadership success. After all, the success of an organization starts with its leaders.

Last week, I wrote about the first five of my core leadership disciplines that I’ve shared in my coaching sessions that have become fundamental to many successful leaders who have achieved extraordinary results. Here are 5 more:

1. Great leaders are great listeners who generate powerful connectivity among people.  When people feel listened to and heard, they become energized, motivated and engaged.
2. Leaders realize that the organization that will excel in years to come will be those that understand how to gain the commitment of employees and expand their capacity to learn.
3. Leaders encourage everyone to move past their comfort zone, try new ways of doing things, and embrace their creativity.
4. Leaders must be imaginative in our volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) business world. When you exercise imagination, you rely less on memory.  Memory ties you to your limits and past. Imagination points you to your potential and future.
5. When a leader’s strategies, objectives, and paths to success are clearly defined, individuals, teams and organizations will be motivated, inspired and energized.