Leadership Essentials Revisited

Send us a text

Bonus episode # 87: Where are your 2025 goals right now? If you've stalled or need to recalibrate, you're not alone. Sometimes life shifts dramatically after we set our annual targets, requiring us to adjust without abandoning our aspirations. Remember—adjusting your plan isn't quitting; it's strategic adaptation that keeps you moving forward while acknowledging your current reality.

Leadership excellence forms the heart of this episode, with a deep dive into five critical focus areas that transform good managers into exceptional leaders. Starting with setting the right example, we explore how performing the same work as your team while treating everyone with dignity creates the foundation for leadership credibility. Holding people accountable—perhaps the greatest service you can provide—helps develop future leaders while clearing pathways for team excellence by identifying and removing obstacles that prevent optimal performance. Strategic thinking, the ability to anticipate future developments and prepare accordingly, separates visionary leaders from reactive managers. We also tackle the sometimes challenging reality that your boss's priorities must become your priorities, using tools like the Eisenhower Matrix to balance urgent tasks with important initiatives.

The episode culminates with perhaps the most significant leadership responsibility: elevating others through thoughtful development opportunities. While some team members prefer routine responsibilities, high-potential individuals thrive when challenged with projects that stretch their capabilities without causing burnout. Throughout these leadership principles runs the common thread of self-care—proper sleep, nutrition, exercise, and downtime aren't luxuries but necessities that enable sustained leadership excellence. Technical expertise might be expected, but the true measure of leadership lies in your ability to elevate team performance to unprecedented levels. Ready to transform your leadership approach? Visit financeleaderacademy.com for additional resources to continue your development journey.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Episode Transcript

Stephen McLain (00:00):
Hi, this is Stephen McLain of the Finance
Leader Podcast.
This is bonus episode number 87.
Now let's do another goalcheck-in.
Where are you at with yourgoals for 2025?
Are you still getting them doneor have you stalled?
It may be time to review yourgoals for this year to check
where you are.
Also, it may also be time toreview everything going on in

(00:22):
your life.
You may have big life changesin the works since the new year
started, so you may have toadjust your plan.
It's okay to adjust a plan.
It's okay to do somethingdifferent.
Just don't quit.
Adjust your plan to fit what ishappening now and ensure your
life is filled with theactivities that make it
interesting.
Make your daily life as fun andexciting as possible.

(00:45):
Enjoy yourself.
Time keeps ticking.
Don't waste one moment.
Try to have fun in everythingthat you do.
Now on to another great topicthat I love, and that's
leadership.
If you know me, you know that Ilove leaders who commit
themselves to the organizationand especially to their team
members.

(01:05):
Leaders are those who work toelevate those around them.
The real leaders commit andinvest their time and effort to
making what they can controlbetter, better than what they
found it, always striving forimprovement.
It is essential as a leader toself-examine yourself and to
commit to investing in yourselfso you become better.

(01:27):
You must place self-care as adaily priority.
If you are not caring foryourself with the basics proper
sleep, nutrition, exercise,hydrating, taking some time off
and much more then you will beable to lead with enthusiasm and
more strength.
And you will be able to leadwith enthusiasm and more
strength.
Now commit to greaterleadership with these five focus
areas today.

(01:49):
Number one set the right example.
The best leaders lead the wayby willing to perform the same
work as their team and in thesame conditions.
Lead with integrity.
Always Treat everyone withdignity and respect.
You will never be wrong if youtreat people the way you want to
be treated.
This doesn't mean you don'thold people accountable because

(02:10):
you do.
Holding people accountable ismaybe the greatest service you
can do for them, because ithelps them to succeed even more.
It will help them elevate theirown performance.
Accountability means you areshaping them up to be a better
future leader and high performer.
Number two clear the pathway forexcellence.
Leaders set priorities andeliminate as many obstacles as

(02:34):
possible for their team.
Do your team members have towork late consistently.
Then there is a problem withworkload priorities and time
management.
Find out why and then takeaction.
Do your team members needadditional training?
Then schedule it.
Find the resources to help themdo their jobs even better.
What is stopping them fromachieving excellence?

(02:55):
Sometimes it's an individualproblem, so that requires
coaching, but sometimes it's asystem issue or an
organizational bottleneck.
So problem solve to find asolution.
Number three think strategically.
I always say that the greatleaders need to see the future.
You need to think several stepsahead of where you are right

(03:16):
now.
What is happening that willaffect the organization in the
future?
What are the relevant trends?
Sharpen your ability toanticipate actions.
Look into the future.
What moves do you need to maketoday to prepare your team and
organization for what willhappen next?
Think and act strategically ineverything you do.

(03:36):
Start to think bigger.
Start to see how the entireorganization works together to
achieve common goals.
Number four commit to yourboss's priorities.
Your boss's priorities mustalways become your priorities.
This is sometimes a hardconcept for some to consider.
We all have a boss.
We all have to work onorganizational goals in addition

(04:00):
to what we want our team toaccomplish.
I use the Eisenhower Matrix tohelp solve urgency and
importance for task and projectexecution.
Never forget what your ownsupervisor considers important.
And finally, number five,elevate others.
Our greatest responsibility asleaders is to prepare and find

(04:21):
developmental opportunities forour team.
We must dedicate ourselves tomaking our team better.
I always recommend that youfocus your effort on the ones
you want to grow and develop.
You will always have teammembers who only want to do
their jobs and punch the clockevery day, but also ensure you
don't overburden your topperformers, so be selective to

(04:42):
make sure they get the bestfuture potential developing
projects.
Leadership is always aboutimproving and pushing for
excellence, while also takingcare of your team and don't
forget about your own self-care.
Leadership is the mostoverlooked skill to develop, but
is the most important, in myopinion.
I expect you to be technicalexperts, but can you take a team

(05:05):
to a higher level ofperformance?
Thank you again for listening.
Please visitfinanceleaderacademycom to find
more resources.
Thank you.