The Three Key Elements Of Effective Leadership: Mindset, Energy and Time

In today's Top Tip, I thought we'd explore the crucial elements of leadership. Self-leadership in fact and how mastering your mindset, energy, and time can elevate your leadership capabilities, as these elements cannot exist without each other in the realm of effective leadership.

I’ve written about leadership development and the various aspects good leaders have before now and I’ve very probably talked about the MET model too.

The MET model is a ‘thing’ I came up with ages ago as a shortcut to hone in on what the best leaders have and employ. 

M stands for Mindset. Cultivating a leadership mindset that can help you thrive in any circumstance is a key skill that the best leaders always demonstrate.

E is for Energy. I’m talking about how you conserve and use your Energy, and crucially avoid burnout.

Finally, T is about Time and specifically how the best leaders aim to manage theirs efficiently and effectively.

There are obviously other elements that great leaders have, but they can usually be found within these three main themes.

If you’ve got a grip on these three, then you’re pretty much sorted.

Successful Leadership

Strong leadership is often seen as guiding others, but the true foundation of effective leadership begins not with your team members but with leading oneself.

Self-leadership is the cornerstone upon which all other leadership is built. Self-leadership is probably the hardest type of governance. It's the one where you have absolute control and complete accountability.

Some people think that they don't have a leadership position, but I don't agree with that. I think that you're a leader in so many different areas.

Sometimes you actually have a title that spells your role out in words: Headteacher, Owner, Director, Partner, Head Honcho, Top Cat, whatever, but as long as you're part of a group, you will also be a leader of that group.

Not in all ways and not all the time, but definitely at moments. And those moments will count.

You will, at times, be a leader of the organisation you head, your department or team, the family that looks to you for guidance and support, the sports team you play for, the community you lift, the religious community you serve, the friendship group you light up, the hobby group you encourage. In ways large and small, you lead these groups.

So now that I’ve browbeaten you into recognising that you are a pretty damn important leader, here comes an important question: how can you improve your leadership skills?

Come on then, let’s use my MET Model to do it!

Develop A Leadership Mindset

Your mindset can either be your greatest ally or your fiercest adversary. The right mindset can help you tackle the most daunting challenges with confidence. To develop a leadership mindset you need to focus on personal development. Here are three ways you can develop a growth mindset that will complement your leadership style.

Positive Self-Talk: Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Your internal dialogue greatly influences your actions and reactions.

By consciously replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations, you can transform your mindset from one of self-doubt to one of confidence and resilience. This practice not only boosts self-esteem but also empowers you to face challenges with a more optimistic outlook.

You don’t need to believe this by the way, it just does.

Growth Mindset: Leaders need to embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, as a growth mindset can help transform obstacles into learning experiences. Adopting a growth mindset means viewing obstacles in the way not as insurmountable barriers but as opportunities for development and learning new skills.

It’s a perspective you can choose to embrace or not. But when you do embrace it, you become more resilient in the face of setbacks. It makes it easier to understand that effort and perseverance can lead to improvement and success, even if it takes aaaaaaaages.

This shift in thinking encourages continuous personal and professional growth because you end up always noticing the opportunity in a problem.

Visualisation: Imagine successful outcomes to build confidence and motivation. I think this is massively underrated. Visualisation is a powerful tool that helps you mentally rehearse your desired outcomes, which is fundamental to developing a strong leadership mindset by enhancing your confidence and motivation. By vividly imagining the successful completion of your goals, you can create a mental roadmap that guides your actions towards those outcomes.

I mean that quite literally as well. Earlier this week, I was talking to someone (Hi Anna!) about how if you’ve got an interview coming up, then visualisation can really help you to prepare for it and build confidence. A successful leader always prepares thoroughly so it would be a great idea to physically travel to the venue that you are going to be interviewed in. Ask to see the room if possible. Then having done all of that, it becomes much easier to visualise yourself in the room and being brilliant in the interview.

This technique not only reinforces your belief in your abilities but also prepares you to navigate challenges with greater ease and determination.

An Effective Leader Has Energy

Energy is the fuel that drives your actions. Without managing it effectively, even the best plans can falter.

Healthy Lifestyle: You know this anyway, so I won’t bang on about it. Exercise regularly and maintain a balanced diet. That’s it. You know why, you should probably just be doing it a bit more. 

Rest and Recovery: Prioritise sleep and take breaks to recharge. Adequate sleep and regular breaks are crucial for restoring energy and maintaining productivity; mastering these elements of a leadership mindset means you're investing in your long-term success. Quality sleep rejuvenates the body and mind, while taking breaks throughout the day helps prevent burnout and keeps you focused.

I’m such a hypocrite talking about this because I get up early and go to bed late. I always feel that by going to sleep I’ll miss out on something. Daft I know, but it’s something to work on.

If you want an amazing read about sleep, pick up a copy of Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It’s a deep dive. Basically, it will make you really really want to improve the quality of your sleep. Maybe I should re-read it!

Mindfulness Practices: Incorporate meditation or deep-breathing exercises to maintain focus and reduce stress.

Mindfulness practices such as meditation and deep-breathing exercises can significantly enhance your ability to manage stress and maintain concentration. These techniques help calm the mind, improve emotional regulation, and foster a sense of inner peace. It's amazing how taking time for mindfulness and letting go somehow seems to immediately improve problem-solving ability and shift your mindset and upgrade your emotional intelligence. 

It doesn’t have to be a strict, rigid formula that you follow. Your version might just be going slow on your morning coffee and taking time to notice the warm liquid in your mouth.

Time Management Is A Crucial Leadership Skill

Time management is a critical skill for effective self-leadership. By mastering your schedule, you ensure that your priorities align with your goals.

Prioritisation: This is the most important part of Time Management, so get onto it pronto. You can use tools like the Time Management Matrix to distinguish between urgent and important tasks.

This helps you to categorise tasks and focus on what truly matters. You can allocate your time and resources to high-priority activities, reducing stress and increasing productivity. It's amazing what a difference it makes when you're focused on growth.

Delegation: Delegate tasks to others to focus on high-value activities (think of my Yazoo Onion delegation model). Effective delegation involves assigning tasks to others to free up your time for more strategic initiatives.

The Yazoo Onion encourages you to peel back the layers of your responsibilities, ensuring that tasks are delegated appropriately based on the level of involvement required, which enhances efficiency and fosters team development. People with a fixed mindset are too often unwilling to delegate effectively. Taking on a leadership role does mean that you'll have to take risks in certain areas and maybe delegation can sometimes be a risk, but it's part of true leadership and a key to success.

Time Blocking: Allocate specific times for focused work, meetings, and personal activities to maintain balance. Time blocking involves scheduling dedicated blocks of time for various tasks and activities throughout your day.

This approach helps you maintain a balanced workload, ensure focused productivity during work periods, and allocate sufficient time for personal activities and relaxation.

Leadership Abilities

Everyone, whether officially titled or not, leads in various aspects of life - at work, home, or in social groups.

Recognise the moments when you naturally step into leadership roles and leverage your self-leadership skills to excel in them.

In professional settings, your actions speak louder than words. By demonstrating commitment, integrity, and resilience, you set a powerful example for your team.

Being open and honest and leading by example inspires trust and respect, fostering a positive work environment where others are motivated to follow suit and perform at their best.

Family leadership is very similar and involves providing guidance, support, and encouragement to your loved ones. By practicing empathy and understanding, you create a nurturing environment where family members feel valued and supported.

Leading with wisdom means making thoughtful decisions that benefit the whole family and help each member grow and thrive, even if certain members of the family don’t necessarily understand or value your efforts as a mentor at the time!

Community leadership extends your influence beyond personal and professional circles, allowing you to make a broader impact. By actively participating in community initiatives and projects, you demonstrate your commitment to collective well-being.

Inspiring others through your actions encourages community members to get involved and work together towards common goals, strengthening the fabric of the community.

There are all sorts of communities you might be a part of. I’m in a community of investors in a particular biotech company. I struggle to understand the science and the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) is not a strong suit of mine either and so others are leaders in those areas.

To help this community, I do what I actually AM good at, which is organising social get-togethers and writing up notes of meetings. That's where I get to lead.

Learn And Grow

Effective leadership starts with self-leadership. By mastering your mindset, energy, and time, you can lead yourself and others with confidence and resilience.

So when you have a moment take some time to reflect on the areas of your life where you can improve your self-leadership skill. Decide your path an then take actionable steps to keep moving forward, grow and develop and become a more effective leader. Good luck.