Self-Assessments That Will Help You Better Develop Your Leadership Skills

[feat-img-left]Leadership is about more than evaluating the effectiveness of your team. Sometimes, leadership is about assessing your own effectiveness and making appropriate changes to grow. There are all kinds of leadership training programs available today, many have important elements around soliciting and implementing feedback. But self-assessments are also powerful tools. Here are a number of critical questions to ask yourself on your path to becoming a better leader. Answer them as honestly as you can, and consider how you can improve based on your results.

True or False: I enjoy communicating with others.

Communication is a critical part of leading a team, leading a company, or leading a movement. Your communication style should be flexible enough to share ideas with individuals and groups based on how they will be most likely to receive the message, and compelling enough to inspire them to help you achieve your vision. If you don’t enjoy communicating with those you lead, it will likely be difficult for you to do so effectively.

True or False: I take the time to see things from other points of view than my own.

When you are tasked with leading a team, a certain amount of empathy is required to help you connect with the individuals you rely on to succeed. Empathy grows from the ability and desire to see problems from the perspective of the people you employ. Only then will you be able to understand the full picture, even if you don’t always agree with their perspective or priorities.

True or False: I am highly motivated because I know I have what it takes to be successful.

Confidence is critical for a good leader. Without it, it is very difficult to inspire that confidence in others. While an overabundance of confidence can lead to closed-mindedness or an inability to take feedback, finding a healthy balance between the two extremes is what will make you a better leader. So take a moment to look at your potential for success. Is it heavily dependent on the motivation of your team? Are you able to inspire the same level of motivation in them as you can in yourself? Are you confident in their abilities to succeed as well as your own?

True or False: I enjoy planning for the future.

Great leaders are visionaries. They have dreams and more importantly plans for what they want to achieve in both the short and long term. If you don’t actively plan for the future, you are likely to only ever lead by crisis management. This does not allow for thoughtful or strategic leadership and will most likely lead to burn out (for you and for your team members). So if you are not a planner, make time to try to get ahead, then set actionable goals to help you achieve your greater mission.

Are you looking for more tips on how to develop your leadership skills?

Self-assessments are an important part of evaluating your leadership skills. For more advice on training and growing strong leadership from within your own company, reach out to the learning and development experts at Clarity Consultants today.