In this blog, I will outline seven ways Purposeful Accountable Leaders (PALs) lose at the 5th Phase Of Leadership (POL), Shaping Leaders. The 5th POL on your leadership journey demands that you begin to invest heavily in others to shape future leaders.

This month's blog outlines seven ways leaders can lose at the 4th Phase Of Leadership (POL), Succeed Together. The 4th POL begins when the organization collects a series of wins. Those wins could be small tactical victories or even large strategic targets. However, the results are the same, and that is building momentum.

Phase 3 of leadership is your decisive point in becoming a transformational leader. Leadership is a journey; if you do not take the time upfront to build authentic relationships, you will fail to become a transformational leader. Building close relationships with your team is not a weakness and should not be considered soft. Leadership is messy, and you must lead the whole person, including yourself. To do that, you must be honest, vulnerable, and okay with showing emotion. But above all, you need to be consistent. If you fail to live the values and principles you want to emulate in your organization, so will your team. Your responsibility is to your team and their ability to produce results. Be routine in your actions, hold others and yourself accountable, and have the discipline to follow through when times get tough. Let these seven ways to fail at Strengthening Relationships inspire you. We all have greatness inside, but it's up to us to forge those abilities. Become the leader your team needs!

Situational leadership is the shortest phase in becoming a Purposeful Accountable Leader (PAL). Stopping at phase two on the journey across the leadership bridge prevents you from achieving your true potential. Leaders must understand the most precious asset in their business and start investing in it immediately. Do you know what yours is? Your team, the individuals who show up daily to progress your vision and move the company forward. The PEOPLE! Leaders inherit authority when starting a new role, which is temporary. Authority has limited influence but, most importantly, does not inspire others to action. A leader's goal is to move away from rank, title, and situational authority as quickly as possible and build individual relationships.

As we build our leadership bridge to become a more Purposeful Accountable Leader (PAL), there will come a time when we assume situational leadership. Someone somewhere believes you have what it takes to become a transformational leader. Be careful; position, rank, or title only gives you authority. Authority is recognized, but leaders can not earn trust and gain respect with it. Situational Leadership is the only phase on our journey that is not earned. You should aggressively begin to exit the phase as quickly as you entered it.

In the previous blog, I introduced the Six Phases of Leadership. In this month's blog, I will cover seven ways leaders fail at self-leadership. Each phase will be a two-part series where in part one, I provide you with seven ways that leaders fail, and in part two with seven ways that leaders win.