Do you feel like you're lacking in any particular leadership qualities? If so, you may not be living up to your leadership potential. If you know your limits but are not sure what to do next, executive leadership coach Lolly Daskal has some insight. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share her tips for moving beyond your leadership limits.

Change the lens through which you view yourself. We tend to see ourselves as we always have, so we judge ourselves on our past and not who we are in the present. If you're stuck in your own past, it's important to update your view of yourself and the way you think and talk about yourself. Daskal recommends reflecting on the things you've accomplished and the positive feedback you've gotten to connect with your potential in the here and now.

Know what you need to change. Daskal says people who come to her for coaching sometimes can only say they need a major overhaul. That's not helpful or productive. Treat yourself as you would a member of your team. Weigh your strengths and weaknesses as objectively as possible—maybe with the help of a colleague or your boss—and prioritize the areas where you most want to improve.

Be willing to do the work. While it's good to be aware, Daskal notes that awareness benefits you only if you're willing to put in some effort. Breaking through your limitations means spending time addressing your belief systems and rethinking your assumptions. Nothing will happen on its own. Reaching your potential requires hard work.

Identify and remove any obstacles standing in your way. We all put obstacles in our own path-some we're aware of and some we can't see. Figuring out your obstacles and working to remove them is an important part of the process.

Leverage your limits. Most people would tell you to concentrate on your strengths to reach your potential. Daskal has a different view. In her book The Leadership Gap, she discusses the need to leverage your weaknesses as well as your strengths, because what you don't own ends up owning you. Learn what you don't do well, what things you consider your weaknesses, and leverage those traits. Connecting with your full potential means making the most of everything within you—your weaknesses as well as your talents.

Lead from within. As a leader, you have control over who you want to be. Do you choose to lead by limits or your potential? Or do you work with both? The choice is always yours.

Daskal says there are lots of things you can do to move closer to reaching your potential. Even if you don't remove all your limits, understanding yourself is a key to great leadership. That's where the true power lies—in changing what you can, doing the work where it's necessary and always thinking of yourself as a work in progress.

Source: Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds of companies. She's the founder and CEO of Lead From Within and her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post and Psychology Today, among others.