As a cancer survivor, successful entrepreneur, and battle-hardened business executive, I learned many valuable leadership lessons. Take cancer for example. I had never been sick a day in my life when I was diagnosed with cancer at age 34. I was at the height of my mental and physical prowess then — invincible, confident, independent. I’d out work anyone, try harder, work longer with more effort to achieve any goal I set my mind to achieving.
I was also egotistical, naive, shortsighted, and woefully under supported.
Suffering through and recovering from my cancer treatments — the chemotherapy and surgeries — showed me how limited I was as an individual and business leader. How my perceived strengths were actually holding me back. I needed to learn how to request, and ACCEPT, help and support from family, friends, business colleagues, and sometimes complete strangers. I needed to really learn how to motivate, inspire, and lead within my company and community. It was either learn this or die. Literally.
And I did. I learned to take my amazing work ethic and apply it to building, training, and developing strong teams. So instead of one burned out “Michael Veltri” trying to do the work of 10 people, I developed a team of 10 strong leaders who supported each other and worked together to achieve our company and community goals with balance — not burnout.
Where are your strengths making you weak, limiting you, holding you back? In what areas of your personal and professional life are you trying to muscle your way through to create mediocre results? Where does your ego get in the way of innovation, leadership, and life?
30-Seconds of Action: Try This to Develop Leadership Self-Awareness
Leaders are Readers: Spend 15 - 30 minutes a day feeding your mind with material that will help you grow as a responsible leader. Consume material that will give you insight and ideas on where your strengths may be holding you back. Read or listen to books / audio books, podcasts, interviews, or online courses. Take 10-seconds to schedule time to do this five days per week.
Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: Spend 15 - 30 minutes a day exercising: No matter how busy you are, set aside time to take care of your health, otherwise you won't have the energy to fulfill your other priorities in earnest. Kill two birds with one stone and listen to a great audio book or podcast while exercising. Take 10-seconds to schedule time to do this five or more days per week.
Low-Information Diet: You are what you consume. Avoid distracting, disturbing, and over-sensationalized social media and “news” items that are designed to shock, enrage, or get a negative reaction from you.
By feeding and exercising your mind and body on a regular basis — while avoiding the harmful and wasteful stimuli that begs for your constant attention — you will develop the self-awareness necessary to discover where some of your strengths are actually holding you back from becoming the life-changing leader you are meant to be.
If you have questions, comments, or other innovative ways to discover where your strengths are holding you back, let me know below or hit me up on Twitter @mpveltri. And if you enjoyed the ideas presented here, please take a look at my leadership keynote speaker website where you can find additional information about my dynamic and memorable keynote speeches, business transformation breakout sessions and workshops, and peak performance consulting: https://michaelveltri.com