Leaders have to deal with challenging dynamic environments which is often what makes being a leader so satisfying to those who seek the role out. Part and parcel of this is the need to constantly ascertain whether you are providing the best leadership you are capable of. Good leaders appreciate the need to take frequent stock of how well they are performing. Here are three things to remember when evaluating your leadership qualities.
Be Tough On Yourself
When getting evaluated it’s tempting to take the easy route but this is a mistake. Don’t think of it as something to be feared, or an opportunity to get a pat on the back. Instead think of it as an opportunity for improvement. Having a regular feedback mechanism is essential to ensuring continual improvement. Simply optimizing your leadership style and leaving it at that is not enough, as the successes gained will erode over time if you do not aim to stay at your peak level.
Get A Bigger Perspective
All too often performance evaluations of a leader are made in comparison to their past performance or to a previous occupant of the role. While it is certainly important to get a sense of how effective your leadership is in the context of your company’s history, this is a narrow viewpoint. You also want to understand how you are performing compared to external peers. More broadly, you want a comprehensive evaluation that examines the fundamental aspects of leadership. Many of the skills you possess and are looking to improve further are universal in nature, and should be judged on their own merits and not just in relative terms by comparing to past individual performances.
Seek Out An Expert Evaluation
The fact is there is no better way to get an honest independent evaluation of how you are performing as a leader than to get an outside entity that specializing in this critical task to assess you. Experts are able to provide an accurate assessment that is generally true and not specific to your particular company. That means it applies to how you are performing relative to the relevant market sector and not merely to past company performance. The use of an outside assessment also avoids interpersonal pressures that can hinder a robust evaluation.
Don’t neglect the opportunity to maximize your leadership qualities by subjecting yourself to an honest independent evaluation. It can make a great leader even better still.
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