Does a Leader Reflect Back From Your Mirror?



Good morning! Rise and shine. Get yourself together and do a last check in the mirror. Is a leader staring back at you? Self-assessments are important to better ourselves and ensure that we are growing in a positive manner. You should assess often. Not just in the morning, but take stock in who you are, what you do and how you interact with others whenever possible. Reflect on it. Do other people view you as positive? Engaging? Motivational? If the answers come back in a negative way, you should take stock in what has been said or offered and consider it.
Consider this quote:
"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves." - Ray Kroc
Do you set high standards for yourself? Have you said this to yourself: "I am my own worst critic?" As a leader you are reflecting out to others especially those you lead. Your organization, your team and your clients/customers all view you while you operate... are you refracting, deflecting or reflecting? If you reflect, does it show an image you would be proud to endorse?


Self Assessment
There are many ways to self-assess your leadership abilities and how your leadership affects others. First, consider looking within. To review oneself and take inventory says a lot about a person. There are many who would be quick to blame, deflect or criticize others but it takes a hell of a person to reflect within to find things to fix. There are a few ways to accomplish this...
Consider situations - do you act differently under stress? Specific situations (even being with specific people) change our leadership ability so when doing an assessment, find when your leadership becomes an issue to yourself and others during these moments. See if you can make changes such as being 'aware' of them and trying to act differently and/or avoiding situations that are in fact avoidable.
Keep a journal - keeping a journal of any activity is extremely helpful. For those who exercise a journal helps to keep tabs on your progress and even your diet plan. Doing a write up of leader 'items' while trying to become a better leader helps you organize and take note of specific issues you may want to make an adjustment to.
Consider upcoming reviews and past reviews - taking a look at patterns always help. Just like when you look for patterns in data to find a trend, do the same with your self-assessment and see where you continue to make the same error. Attempt to solution it with a positive change and practice it.
Next, look outside yourself.
Analyze yourself from a different perspective - knowing how your boss views you, your team or other organizational leaders and team members can help you with your goal. If you want to get the skinny on how others view you there is on prerequisite: trust. You need to know that those you speak to you will give it to you straight otherwise this is pointless. Consider perspectives... they are very helpful if they are honest.  
Gain feedback and analyze - you can request assistance from others in gaining a perspective however the best way to do this is to do it in a way where is structured. For example, you may want to do a 360 review where you can get positive or negative feedback.
Journal activities - you can use the same journal to review how others see you.   

Making Changes
One you have done an assessment, do you see a leader looking back at you in the mirror? If not, then you can make some simple adjustments. Adjusting your style or delivery is important to a leader.
 Consider the points made in the assessment phase: did you get negative feedback? Did you trace this down to a predetermined byproduct of a stressful situation? Is it unavoidable and requires you to change your behavior? If you have drilled down this far, the next step to make is to change.

I know, easier said than done - however, as leaders we are required to give 110% of ourselves and if a change is needed than a change must be made. Consider the game of chess. Long periods of time assessing the board, waiting to make a strategic move that brings you closer to victory.
If we view ourselves the same way (assessing, analyzing, strategy and change) we will get closer to a positive result (win). Nothing good comes easy and some of the most rewarding things in life come from real work. Time to put the work in... do you see a leader looking back in the reflection of your self-assessment? If you do not, analyze what needs to change and lay out a plan to make those changes. It will be rewarding when you see the positive results and it will be even more rewarding when those you lead acknowledge it with a strong followership.  

Summary
In this post we discussed the plan required to do a leader self-assessment. Take any negatives and turn them into positives. It may require work but as a leader work is required to be better. To be a better leader that work needs to start within. Take inventory of who you are and how you lead and make those changes starting today.

                  Robert Shimonski , 7 July 2015

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