In today’s rough and tumble economy, leaders of small businesses and nonprofits are tested at every turn. For some decisions you have time to research or consult with others, but when decisions need to be made fast, without a lot of prep, your instincts need to take over.

Can leaders hone their intuition to make it stronger, more agile, so they’re better prepared to take on challenges? Absolutely!

Like a top athlete playing in the zone, leaders who want to make a difference and make informed decisions need a reserve of skills that they can call on automatically. When this applies to work, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls it “flow.”

Athletes train and so should you. By continually building your skills throught training (leadership, growth strategies, financial acumen, etc.), fewer situations are out of your range of expertise and you feel more confident that the decisions you’re making are the right ones.

How do you know what skills to add or strengthen? Well, let’s face it, you know. If you are second guessing yourself every time you sign-off on marketing materials, if you get a knot in your stomach when you try to do financial projections, if you act like every pitch is equivalent to opening night at a Broadway show, then these are areas that you should be addressing. It’s individual, based on what you see as your weaknesses as where you think your challenges will be.

How have you received leadership training and how effective was do you think it is? Have you applied it in your day-to-day decision-making?

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Comments (3)

Leadership training

Submitted by Duff Batchelder (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 12:37pm.

My best experiences in leadership training have come via one-to-one mentoring or coaching. I these situations allow for greater opportunity for timely and focused give and take.

Mentoring, Coaching and More

Submitted by Geri Stengel on Sat, 06/13/2009 - 1:13pm.

Duff and Stephanie, I too have benefited from being mentored and coached.

I've also gotten a lot out of brainstorming sessions with colleagues. I’ve done this informally, where either one-on-one or in small groups, I get together with peers to chew the fat, but also share challenges and problem solve. I’ve also have done this formally with a trained facilitator. These groups are better known as Mastermind or Roundtables. I have found them very insightful as well.

Geri

I agree with Duff

Submitted by Stephanie (not verified) on Sat, 06/13/2009 - 11:23am.

Group experiences aren't my thing. I learn more through one to one. I'm just trying the world of webinars since I'm too busy running my business to go to classes or schedule appointments with coaches . Webinars I can do at my own time and pace.

Geri, I saw you mention on another blog post that you're going to have a bunch of webinars coming up. What will they be covering?

Sharpening Your Intuition Keeps Leaders Nimble

Leadership training

Mentoring, Coaching and More

I agree with Duff

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