The most successful leaders share a variety of qualities that help
them in becoming the best kind of
Leaders who have a strong understanding of their true self have a
greater ability to motivate staff, serve as role model, build effective teams
and relationships, and to reach personal, professional, and organizational
goals. Equally important for exceptional leadership is recognizing and managing
one’s own inherent personal risk factors. Tapping into one’s true strengths, while
managing one’s risk factors productively, allows the leader to build positive relationships
with staff, clients, senior leaders, and all other key stakeholders.
What can happen to the leader who is unaware or is unwilling to look
squarely at themself? Derailment,
job-hopping, sub-par performance, high turnover, alienation
of staff, are common occurrences. Or, the results can be as simple as rejection
of feedback and the failure to accept responsibility that can erode trust and
credibility. The latter is a slower road
to derailment or lackluster performance results.
When members of the C-Suite get the boot, it is not because of their
intelligence or lack of knowledge.
Typically, it is because of their lack of self-awareness and ineffective
behaviors gone unchecked. They lack the ability and humility to build and
maintain appropriate relationships with the right people. Leaders who lack personal self-awareness are
generally not good at being keenly perceptive about others and tend to lack
objectivity.
For example, imagine the CEO who has strong Egotist tendencies and surrounds
himself or herself with Pleasers. This
is not healthy from the outset. Egotists tend to see themselves as infallible and do not accept
feedback well. Pleasers are yes people
– so they are unlikely to push back. Egotists see themselves as superior and
smarter than everyone else. Often, this
comes with a sense of self entitlement too. In
this type of group scenario, the Egotist CEO tends to bully or run slipshod all
over the team. So the lack of
self-awareness, in this case, is devastating to the organization. In operating
or plant environments, this dysfunctional team can pose safety or
environmental risks. Keep in mind Egotists play up well and are
often charismatic, so the Board of Directors, may take a long time, if ever, in
realizing what is going on and the damage may be done.
There have also been executives who, after going through self-awareness
coaching say, “We’ll that is who I am they will just have to live with it.” One
such CEO was a Perfectionist to the highest degree and required constant
updates from all executives that were not necessary in the retail
industry. His executives never had a
full day off. Burn out was rampant and
he refused to back off – even though he knew his demands were not required for
the business, but merely to satisfy his comfort level and need for excessive
information. He did not yield to the feedback and eventually lost his position
due to his micro-management and rigidity.
Self-aware leaders are clear about their strengths – even the nuances
of their capabilities and are able to leverage those. Then, they are humble and open about their
short sides and risks and work each day to keep those from interfering with
relationships and bottom-line performance.
They welcome the differences of each team member and work to cultivate
and maximize the diverse team strengths while neutralizing risks and gaps. Exceptional leaders are authentic leaders who
are willing to look at themselves and others with clarity, compassion,
objectivity and courage.
Since 1998, CDR Assessment Group has been focusing on helping our
clients to increase their self-awareness through leadership coaching feedback
CDR 3-D Suite of assessments.
The CDR 3-D
Suite is
a robust leader/talent development tool that provides specific tangible
performance and development suggestions measured through:
•
Character leader acumen, strengths, best-fit role, emotional intelligence and
more
•
Drivers, intrinsic motivation,
aversions, and values
•
Risk factors that can impede effectiveness, damage relationships and lead
to derailment
If you want to know your true self, email cdrinfo@cdrassessmentgroup.com or call 918.488.0722 today to get started. We have CDR certified executive coaches available globally to debrief your confidential assessment results to heighten your self awareness. Go to www.cdrassessmentgroup.com to learn more. Your calls are welcomed!
