124 / TAKING UP YOUR LEADERSHIP ROLE
Developing yourself
Reflecting and reviewing
The best way to accelerate your own
development and increase awareness
of yourself and of others is through
regular review and reflection. Put aside
an hour every week for self-analysis
and contemplation.
Start by reviewing your current
development needs. Ask yourself how
much of your activity the preceding week
contributed to achieving your stated
vision and objectives. Next, look at
your future development needs and
assess your progress against your
stated leadership competencies. Finally,
consider the ideas you have for the next
steps in your career; are you honing the
skills now that you know will be needed
for your career progress?
In this action-oriented world, many of us devote insufficient time and
energy to our own development. Yet dedicated time for self-development
is absolutely essential when it comes to growing your character and your
own individual brand of leadership, as well as the attitudes, skills, and
behaviors that will exemplify leadership to others.
LISTEN TO YOURSELF
Review your own progress
by questioning yourself:
are you building on your
strengths and minimizing your
weaknesses? Are you training
your team and delegating to
them successfully? Are you
scheduling time to develop
key relationships?
Tip
YOUR LONGTERM
DEVELOPMENT
As you mature as a leader,
you will need to undertake
weekly reviews of your
own development and
achievements. However,
you should also take time
to think about your long-term
goals, and your progress
toward them. How well are
you living up to your life
principles? How have you
dealt with disappointment
and adversity? Have you
managed to increase your
level of performance? Have
you fulfilled commitments
to yourself and others? Are
you happy in your career?
What are your next steps?
The more you learn, the
more you realize you
still have to learn. At
this point, you might
consider seeking advice
from a career counselor.
In focus
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DEVELOPING YOURSELF / 125
Journaling
Great leaders possess self-awareness
and character—attributes acquired
through reflection and self-analysis,
but also through dealing regularly
with real-life situations. Using a private
journal to write down what you have
learned about yourself in your day-to-
day life can be very helpful. Record, for
example, how you have helped someone
else develop and learn, and how this has
honed your own strengths as a leader.
Use your journal to make personal
observations about how you respond to
different conditions—what happens when
you are tired or stressed? The pages
of the journal can help you record and
work through relationships that you are
enjoying or struggling with, and to reflect
on the highs and lows of your moods that
you could not reveal in the workplace.
At first, journaling may seem like
a chore; and initially your journal may not
contain many connections or life lessons.
But after a number of weeks, you’ll find
that journaling becomes a habit that gives
structure to your review and thinking
time. Looking back over your journal
will reveal how your leadership has
developed, how you can trust yourself,
even in difficult situations, and what
are the recurring issues.
KEEP YOUR FEET ON
THE GROUND
Never become so grand
that you lose touch with
what it feels like to work
with a customer on a project
or to make a sale. Recognize
that your role is now to help
others enjoy this too.
Tip
ASK YOURSELF…
YES NO
1 Are your most time-consuming tasks related to
processes? Do you need to develop time or project
management skills, or planning abilities? .....................................
2 Are your most time-consuming tasks related to
content? Do you need to address a lack of knowledge
in areas like marketing, finance, sales, or IT? ................................
3 Are your most time-consuming tasks related to people?
Do you need training in recruitment, motivation,
team-building, coaching, or delegating? .........................................
About your development needs
Assess your progress
against your leadership
competencies
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