I believe we have officially stopped saying 'Happy New Year' by now. Still, with this being our first newsletter after the Australian summer break, I do want to take the opportunity to wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2023.

It's time to reflect and set intentions.

I find this time of the year an excellent opportunity to reflect on what we want the next few months to look like and set some intentions for ourselves. I know there are always the usual resolutions like exercising more, eating healthier etc. etc. That's all well and good; go for it! But if you work with people, especially if you are leading a team, ask yourself:

'What kind of leader am I - and what does my team need from me?'

I am working with a coaching client in the banking industry, let's call her Katie, and in our first coaching session of this new year, she said:

"Jess, this year I want to be a better leader for my team. How do I go about that?"

She further shared that her team worked hard last year and has performed well. But she feels that her leadership style has been quite directive as the company has undergone a restructure.

Things have settled now, and Katie wants to empower her team members to grow their potential, make decisions more independently and work more strategically.

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When I coach people who want to develop as leaders, the first step is always to create self-awareness of their natural leadership style - especially how they lead when they are under pressure.

The DISC Flow tool enables us become aware our behavioural preferences and it also helps us understand our Leadership Style. Every DISC style has observable leadership traits and behaviours that impact how we engage and interact with the people we lead.

The DISC Flow Leader report is a fantastic tool to help create self-awareness about the strengths and challenges of your natural preference of how you lead people. This profile is focused on your leadership style along with your level of emotional intelligence.

	There are 5 pages packed with details on your leadership style, strengths, limitations, communication style, motivators, stressors and crisis management style. It's a comprehensive tool to reflect on your leadership in every situation.
	There is a 16-page section dedicated to understanding all the DISC styles from a leadership perspective. It's packed with practical tips on how to read behaviour traits in your people, meet their needs and manage them in all situations.
	The Action Plan is unique to this report, designed to help you plan how you will become a better leader.

I use this report to help leaders understand what their natural 'go-to style' is, and how they show up when they are under pressure. If you are working with leaders, or reflecting on your own leadership, I encourage you to:

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Through this process, Katie recognised her leadership style is Dynamic - but under pressure she was leaning into a more Commanding style, being more autocratic and instructive.

Her action plan is to consciously leverage her strengths and lean into the 'Inspiring' leader elements of her style. She has started involving her team members in strategies and decisions, has changed her meeting cadence and is focussed on developing and supporting her team members by flexing into their styles. She is already seeing more engagement and higher performance.

There is no right or wrong leadership style.

Self-awareness and the ability to flex into and meet your team members' individual preferences is the key to engaging and empowering your team.

Have you set an intention to be better leader this year?

Download a sample of the DISC Flow Leader report from the Trainer Portal to discover more about this amazing development tool.