Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Mark Askren, Executive Leadership Coach with MOR Associates, and former Vice President for IT at the University of Nebraska. Mark may be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.
Given the current challenging context, leadership is more important than ever. The uncertainty persists regarding what will come next and for how long. This environment can be discouraging. Yet we can provide tremendous value for our institutions and the people we work with during these times by continuing to focus on leading effectively from where we are.
It can be helpful to periodically do a leadership check in and reflect on your leadership fundamentals. Here are several examples of areas to consider when doing a self-assessment. How do you rate your current capabilities in these areas?
Developing your team
For those in a supervisor role, success is directly tied to your team’s performance. As the leader, it is your responsibility and opportunity to help team members develop both individually and collectively. Practicing feedback and feed-forward with team members is an excellent first step. Having this practice in place will support the sharing of feedback and feed-forward between team members. Having direct group meeting conversations about what you need from the team, what the team needs from you, and what the team needs from each other can also provide a practical and constructive framework for working together.
Demonstrating and emphasizing accountability
Being accountable is a component of your reputation. We’re all on stage, and people who work with us know if we can be counted on or not. If you aren’t satisfied with your reputation in this area, think about what is getting in your way and what actions you can take to improve. If you aren’t sure about how others perceive you, then ask a few trusted individuals for feedback.
Engaging in challenging conversations when needed
Most of us face situations where we’re dealing with difficult circumstances involving others we work with. As you have likely experienced, these situations rarely get better when not addressed. As a coach, I often hear from leaders that their taking the initiative to have these conversations results in better outcomes than expected. Whether we find them comfortable or not, addressing challenges in working with others is essential to our role as leaders. A quote often attributed to Jackie Robinson is ‘Life is not a spectator sport.’ And neither is leadership.
Continuing to build your network
As we know, it’s crucial to establish the practice of continuing to invest in and broaden our network throughout our careers. This is especially the case if your network is mostly those you work with most closely. Initiating and inquiring of colleagues on what they perceive to be opportunities and challenges in their areas is valuable. This practice demonstrates curiosity and will strengthen both your brand and your institutional knowledge to help you lead more effectively.
Conclusion
How did your self-assessment turn out in these areas? As always, it’s valuable to recognize your strengths and to continue to invest in them. And also to identify growth opportunities. Consider what you can do in the next 6-12 months to take your performance to the next level. Be sure to schedule a regular leadership check in for yourself.
Our work environment continues to change, and the pace is accelerating. Appreciate the challenges and opportunities this context presents. And keep stretching and challenging yourself. Your future is worth the effort.
In which dimension of your leadership check in do you feel you could use the most work in the time ahead?
Last week we asked how your habits could use the most work
- 31% said thinking more strategically.
- 23% said investing more in relationships.
- 22% said empowering others more.
- 15% said achieving results that matter.
- 10% said my habits are working well for me.
It’s noteworthy that roughly one in three of us want to think more strategically while only about one in six of us want to working on achieving results that matter. Our ability to think strategically – to determine what results matter – is foundational to our ability to achieve results that matter most to our organizations. Whatever habits or dimensions of your leadership you want to work on most, that change happens with the momentum of one step at a time, day after day. What one step can you take today?