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4 Things Great Leaders Need to Know About Themselves
"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened."
All great philosphers will exclaim that wisdom comes from knowing yourself. Gaining this wisdom is critical for a leader who wants to become more effective in their role. Over the years, I have discovered the following four areas for leaders and managers to reflect on and grow in, if they want to become great.
Know your strengths and weaknesses- If you are managing talented staff, you must learn how to lead with your strengths and manage your weaknesses. Marcus Buckingham said it best in his book Now Discover Your Strengths,"When working in your area of weakness find a way to reassign, get coaching or let go of that work in your day."
Let me give you an example. As a self-employed speaker and trainer, I need to keep track of and develop financial reports on my business. I could spend several hours at a technical school learning how to use the software Quickbooks at a more proficient level. Or, I could not use any financial software and just let this aspect of my business slip. The first option is a possibility but the second option will end my business.
So, I decided to reassign this part of by business to a consultant who can do it far better than I ever will! I realize you may not be able to outsource aspects of your job that are in an area of weakness for you, but if you can, this will give you more time to work in your areas of strength. By hiring a Quickbooks consultant, I have redirected my time towards my strengths of solving employee communication problems so they are more productive.
So, how do you find your strengths? There are numerous assessments out there and I prefer the Strengthfinder 2.0 and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). Also, notice what you are doing at work that causes others to compliment you and write these down. Review your past performance evaluations to gain insights on what your supervisors felt you excelled at, and finally, ask trusted friends and colleagues for their perspective. If possible, find a way to align eighty percent of your daily responsibilities to your areas of strength.
Understand how you perceive power. Do you see your title as a way to command others to do things or do you see your title as developing others to be proficient in their areas of responsibility? Do you believe power is to be shared or held entirely by you? Ultimately, you make the final call on critical decisions, but empowering others to gain knowledge and skill beyond you in their area of responsibility will allow you to grow and prosper as a leader.
Understand how you handle conflict. Are you someone that likes to compete with others and win at all costs or do you tend to "cave" when confronted with a difficult situation? You may also choose to continually compromise or even avoid difficult situations all together. Understanding how you react under tough situations, i.e., when your desires are in conflict with others, will help you stop and learn more effective ways of dealing with confrontation.
Question for You:
Are you aware of what you do well and not so well? Are you afraid to ask these questions and discover that you cannot be great at everything? Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, do you understand your relationship to power? Finally, are you continually trying to improve the way you handle conflict?
Action for You:
Begin finding ways to align your strengths to the work you do each day and minimizing the times you need to work in your area of weakness. This may require you to change positions in your company or even leave a job for a better opportunity. If your management style is one of command and control, find a coach that will help you empower your employees by developing their strengths. Finally, become aware of the different styles of handling conflict so you are not always falling on your default style of either competing, avoiding, accommodating, collaborating or compromising.
"There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self."
Benjamin Franklin
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