Episode 6: 5 Leadership Myths Keeping You Stuck | 12MinuteLeadership

Leadership myths can significantly impact our effectiveness as leaders. By examining common misconceptions about leadership, we can remove barriers that prevent our teams and organizations from reaching their full potential.

Here's what we'll cover-

• The belief that there's one leadership prototype limits our talent pool and stunts organizational growth. Introverts often make excellent leaders with strengths in listening, thoughtful decision-making, and calm under pressure
• Leaders are both born and made - natural aptitude helps, but development is essential for everyone
• True leadership is about influence, not titles - people should follow you regardless of position
• Tolerating toxic behavior from high performers undermines your culture and often costs more than it's worth
• Vulnerability in leadership builds trust, models authenticity, deepens team connections, and encourages innovation

Challenging our leadership beliefs directly impacts our actions and ultimately our results

Go to www.eliseboggs.com for more information about executive retreats, customized training, and coaching. You can also find my book "Lead Anyone" on Amazon.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the 12-Minute Leadership Podcast
where, in 12 minutes or less,I'll share small things that you
can put into immediate practicethat will make a big difference
in your leadershipeffectiveness.
I'm your host, eliseBoggs-Morales leadership
professor, consultant and coach.
For the last 17 years, I havehelped thousands of leaders

(00:25):
level up their influence andachieve remarkable results.
If you want to trade compliancefor true commitment and create
your dream team, you are in theright place.
Get ready for a quick hit ofpractical wisdom to increase
your team's engagement, inspiretop performance and retain your
best talent.
Ready to level up yourinfluence and get better results

(00:47):
.
12 Minutes starts now.
Hi everyone, elise here,welcome to Episode 6, 5
Leadership Myths that AreKeeping you Stuck.
As leadership expert and author,john Maxwell says, everything
rises and falls on leadership.
I couldn't agree more.

(01:08):
Whether your organization isthriving or surviving, clues for
your current reality often liewithin leadership.
While acknowledgement of thatfact can be sobering at times,
it's ultimately empoweringbecause it means that you have
the power to change things.
It's ultimately empoweringbecause it means that you have
the power to change things,since beliefs affect actions and

(01:33):
actions impact results.
Today's episode is going tofocus on highlighting some
common beliefs or myths thatmight be keeping you stuck, so
that you can get differentresults.
This list reflects insightsI've gained over the last 17
years working alongside seniorand executive leaders across a
broad range of industries.
So let's get started.
Leadership myth number one thereis one leadership prototype.

(01:54):
When we hold this belief, wetend to have a picture of what
an effective leader looks like.
A common stereotypicalprototype for a leader,
especially in Western culture,often looks like this
Extroverted, charismatic, quickin action and decision-making.
The other common prototype ischoosing leaders that are most

(02:15):
similar to you, whatever thosecharacteristics may be.
Believing this myth createsseveral limitations.
One, it limits the leadershippool of possible candidates for
promotion.
Two, it communicates to thosewho don't fit the prototype that
leadership isn't accessible tothem.
Three, it stunts the growth oforganizations because everyone

(02:37):
in leadership tends to think andact alike.
There is no diversity ofthought to promote new ideas and
growth.
There is no diversity ofthought to promote new ideas and
growth.
One group of people I often seeoverlooked for leadership is
introverts.
This could be becauseextroverts have more visible and
obvious strengths, while thestrengths of extroverts are less
obvious.
Introverted leaders have aquieter strength and offer much

(03:00):
to their roles such as greatlistening skills, taking time to
think things through beforemaking decisions and remaining
calm in stressful situations.
An extroverted leader oftenstruggles with these things.
On the other hand, introvertedleaders often struggle with the
more relational parts of therole which extroverts can be
strong in.

(03:21):
So diversity of leadership inthis sense creates a great
balance of strengths.
There is a great quote by SusanCain that says everyone shines
given the right lighting.
So a question to ask yourselfaround this myth is are you
providing the right lighting fordifferent types of leaders to
shine?
Leadership myth number twoleaders are born, not made.

(03:46):
You've probably heard peopleargue this point before.
This is not a new one.
The reason I bring this up isbecause, as I mentioned at the
top of the episode, actionsreflect our beliefs.
So let's reflect on our actions.
Think for a moment about yourown organization.
How much time and money isinvested in leadership

(04:07):
development?
In episode one, I mentioned a2020 Forbes Coaches Council
study that showed thatorganizations worldwide spent
approximately $357 billion oncorporate training, but only 25%
of that went to leadershipdevelopment programs.
What priority does your companyplace on it?

(04:28):
If the investment is limited,it's possible that the belief
held is leaders are born and notmade.
Otherwise there would be aninvestment in development.
My personal belief, based on myexperience, is that leaders are
both born and made.
Many people have a naturalproclivity towards leadership.

(04:48):
Others have less of a naturalaptitude, but if they are
willing and committed tolearning, they can become great
leaders.
Even those with a naturalproclivity towards leadership
need ongoing development tocontinue to meet new challenges.
I once worked at a company thatrequired me to meet a specific

(05:08):
leadership quota every year tomeet the demands of the work.
I didn't always have the optionto hire, so I had to look
internally within theorganization to create leaders.
That is when I learned thatgood leaders truly can come in
all sorts of brilliant shapesand sizes.
So some questions to askyourself around this myth are

(05:30):
are you promoting a variety oftypes of people versus just a
particular prototype?
And is your leadership teamjust like you, or is there good
diversity of thought,personality and experiences to
continue to grow?
Leadership myth number threetitle equals influence.
True, leadership is influence,but a title won't give you that.

(05:54):
I have worked with leaders whothink their voice will finally
be heard once they're promotedinto the next level of
leadership.
But if you haven't been able tocultivate influence where you
are right now.
Nothing will change with thenew title.
There's a movie I love calledFlaming Hot.
It's the inspiring true storyof Richard Montanez, a janitor

(06:15):
at Frito-Lay who worked his wayup the ranks to become VP of
multicultural sales byintroducing his now famous
Flaming Hot Cheeto recipe.
His story illustrates theability to influence regardless
of title.
So a question you can askyourself around this myth is

(06:35):
would people follow me if Ididn't have a title?
Leadership myth number fourtalent trumps toxic behavior.
Almost every company has aperson who is very technically
competent or makes the company alot of money but is a pain to
work with.
This person often keeps the HRteam very busy and drains a lot

(06:58):
of emotional and mental energytrying to manage them.
They are someone who has beengiven a lot of chances, but
ultimately things don't change.
Are someone who has been givena lot of chances, but ultimately
things don't change, becausethey usually bring a lot of
needed expertise.
Leaders are slow to let them go.
They also can be hesitantbecause of the drama they
anticipate in doing so.
I know what it's like to be onall sides of this working for a

(07:21):
toxic leader and choosing toleave jobs.
I love tolerating toxicbehavior from someone on my team
longer than I should have andnow working alongside many
different companies with thischallenge.
So what happens when we lettalent trump toxic behavior?
First, it can frustrate yourgood talent and you could lose

(07:43):
them because of it.
It sends a mixed message aboutyour cultural values.
Your professed values aren'tmatching your practice values.
It communicates a value ofcompetency over character and it
undermines the culture you wantto create, because culture is
created by what you, as a leader, both reward and punish.

(08:06):
Also, it's expensive.
I have a worksheet I use withclients called the cost of
conflict, where we assign hardcosts to difficult employees
that have been unwilling tochange, willing to change.
By the time you calculate HRinvestigation and mediation time

(08:26):
, sick time from people callingout from the stress, lost
productivity and rehiring costsfor losing good talent, the cost
is significant.
Sometimes the cost is as muchas the problem person's salary,
which defeats the purpose ofkeeping them, because they make
the company money.
The purpose of keeping thembecause they make the company
money.
Maybe they are actually causingyou to lose money.
So why do we hang on?

(08:46):
It often reflects a limitedmindset that you could find
someone who is both technicallycompetent and can work well with
others.
In my experience, theseunicorns are more common than
you think, and when you decideto draw a line in the sand and
not settle for less than yourprofessed values, somehow the
world opens up and the rightperson for the job often finds

(09:08):
you.
So the question here is isthere someone who doesn't
represent your company's values?
That has been kept too long?
How might you be able to growand put your energy into other
things if you had the rightperson in that role?
So we'll close things up herewith our last one leadership
myth.
Number five Vulnerability inleadership is weakness.

(09:32):
Before I lose you, let medefine what vulnerability is and
how it can functionappropriately and professionally
in leadership to build trust,loyalty and, ultimately, good
performance in your team.
Brene Brown, a researcher knownfor her work on vulnerability,
puts it this way vulnerabilityis not weakness, it's our

(09:54):
greatest measure of courage.
In leadership, it means showingour humanity, not to diminish
authority, but to buildcredibility and connection.
So what are some appropriateexpressions of vulnerability?
It's admitting you don't haveall the answers.
It's asking for help or inputfrom your team.

(10:15):
It's owning up to mistakesinstead of covering them up.
It's sharing challenges orconcerns when appropriate, and
it's being real about setbacksand what you've learned from
them.
When leaders practicevulnerability, trust increases.
People feel safer to speak upand take risks when they see

(10:35):
their leader doing the same.
It also models authenticity.
It sets a tone wheretransparency is valued over
perfection.
It also deepens connections.
Teams become more cohesive whenleaders are relatable, not
unreachable, and innovationgrows.
Vulnerability creates space forexperimentation, creativity and

(11:01):
learning from failure.
So ask yourself this questionwhen is the last time I was
vulnerable with my team?
So there you have it.
Those are five leadership mythsthat may be keeping you stuck.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
I'll see you next time.
Like what you heard on today'sepisode and want to go deeper,

(11:27):
subscribe to this podcast so younever miss an episode.
You can also pick up my bookLead Anyone on Amazon.
Then go to my website to checkout ways that we can support
your leadership goals.
From executive retreats tocustomized training and coaching
, my team of experts will helpyou level up your leadership and

(11:47):
accelerate your results.
Go to wwweliseboggscom for moreinfo.