Leadership Is a Balancing Art

Leadership is a Balancing Act

I remember years ago when I was asked to head Revenue Management, starting from scratch, in a hotel and a team that had never heard of it. As methodical as it may seemed, I soon realised that Revenue Management was both a science and an art, and it was the constant balancing act of both that made it such a successful application. Once implemented, our yearly revenues sky-rocketed, and the hotel went onto becoming one of the highest performing properties in the entire state.

As I look back, what I remember most in being able to make it such a successful venture, was the constant recalibration and balancing act that occupied my daily working existence. And this is a learning that I can definitely apply to the field of leadership.

As a leader, you may feel like you are sometimes walking a tightrope, trying to navigate complexity and trying not to fall. In considering what made some of my clients succeed in their leadership roles, it was ultimately their leadership balancing capability that provided the key to their success or failure as a leader.

Understanding and finding your leadership balance is one way for leaders to take the next step in their development. You need to balance your organization’s goals with your employee’s individual needs. You need to find the right balance between commanding and motivating from a distance, and being able to serve as an up close and personal coach and mentor as required. You are also required to provide a sense of direction, vision, context and goals to drive and achieve the desired business outcomes, whilst at the same time creating space for your people to be self-starting, self-orienting, creative individuals that can perform highly.

Furthermore, you need to find the right balance between dedicating time and focus to today and tomorrow, so you can have a well-tuned operation whilst also being able to move the company forward over the long haul. Execution and foresight are both critical.  You need to develop the ability to have one foot firmly planted in today and one foot firmly planted well into the future – and balance both in real time.

The most effective leaders strive for the right balance in the moment. They don’t search for some perfect balance point with no need for future thought or adjustment. Avoiding extremes and consciously maintaining your balance will become part of your thoughts and actions as a leader forever, and the sooner you adopt this mindset, the more effective you will become.

Over to you. How have you personally achieved balance as a leader? What are your biggest obstacles when trying to balance it all out?

To your success,

Isabel

Isabel is an experienced Peak Performance Strategist with over 20 years of international work experience holding senior positions within the hospitality industry in countries around the world, as well as Executive and Leadership coaching, mentoring and training.
She specializes in high performance strategy, leadership development and building organizational culture to help leaders and their teams learn, grow and succeed.
Isabel is passionate about helping empower business leaders with the mindset, performance, skills and strategies that they need to get ahead.
More available on www.isabelvalle.com