When I got rejected from the first two leadership positions I applied for, I couldn’t understand why.  

I had been successful at everything I’d done throughout my career. Not always at first, but I had always been willing to work hard, improve where I needed to, and put up the results.  

So I couldn’t understand why I was getting passed up for a promotion.  

I’d always been successful and had a great track record. Why wasn’t that enough?  

What I learned was, the leaders of my company really liked me…  

As a sales person.  

That’s what they viewed me as.  

They didn’t view me as a leader, and that was the hurdle I needed to overcome.  

I needed to change the way they perceived me.  

Throughout my journey into leadership, here are the three questions I started with:  

How do my peers, those above me, and those below me all currently assess my strengths and weaknesses?  

How does that differ from how I want them to view me?  

What specific actions do I need to take immediately to change how people look at me?  

Answering those questions, and asking others who would give me honest feedback, showed me a few key areas I needed to improve in:  

• I was the party guy, which was fine as a salesperson. However, they realized teams are a replica of their leader, and they didn’t need a team of 10-12 more people like me drinking until 2 am at company events.
• I was interesting for most to talk to, but I needed to learn how to be more interested in others. If I focused more on getting to know other people, what motivated them, what they wanted, and how I could support those efforts, that would gain me needed trust and respect.  

Once I realized I had a self-awareness gap and started improving in those areas, everything started changing for me.  

If you find yourself in the same spot I was in 2008, I recommend starting with those three questions.

I assure you, they won’t steer you wrong. 

Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:

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