You’re busy, time poor, and have little time to self-assess your leadership development needs – right? Or maybe the start of a new year is a great time for you to establish your leadership priorities.
Your team is counting on your leadership growth
To know what your next level of leadership progress is, you need to objectively assess where you’re at.
Leadership is perception
Just because you believe you’re demonstrating a competency, if no one else is experiencing it, then to others you don’t have it. That’s why leadership is hard. No one knows your intentions and how hard you’ve tried. Your results and ability to engage, influence and inspire others is what counts.
Where do you sit on the leadership spectrum?
Where you sit is a function of three key areas. Your answers to the questions below (a yes/no or a score out of 10, whichever you prefer) will give you a feel for where you’re at and where your development lies:
1. What are you taking responsibility for?
- Setting the direction for your team in a way that’s energising and exciting?
- Giving feedback on demand openly and transparently?
- Inspiring others to lift their performance and take ownership of their own growth?
2. Where is your focus?
- On the big goals or the day to day fires?
- Creating an environment where there is always trust, clarity, and care across the team?
- Noticing what’s great about someone and telling them rather than only noticing what needs to be done and what isn’t being done?
- Improving results through innovations, creativity, and exploration?
3. Where do you live emotionally?
- Always set the example you want to see in others?
- Want to be right, justify or criticise others to make yourself look better (how big is your ego?)
- Love having control all the time?
- Calm, confident and self-assured, or wound up, stressed and fear not being good enough?
Your career is your leadership growth
If you choose it that is.
Where are your stretches? What will you prioritise?
As a leader you will be judged by your results. More importantly, you’ll be remembered for who you were for others.
Why is being a leader important to you? Your why is your light at the end of the tunnel if you ever question what it’s all for. Make it meaningful and inspiring to you
Ultimately, you can be a ‘good enough’ leader or really give a damn and give it your all. It boils down to attitude. Leadership is an attitude. Your attitude about what’s on your plate, your belief about what’s possible, and what you believe you can do, will be the making of you – as a person and as a leader. Your leadership development isn’t a race – it’s small and steady steps of continuous progress.
