Last week I focused on the idea that “…no leader needs to personally or inherently have all of the gifts needed to lead. Rather, they must have an ability to do an honest and accurate self-appraisal. And then, just as vital to their success, must be able to identify others who bring additional core talents to the team.”
Utilizing the language of our modern tech-enabled world, I wrote, “Every leader who wants to be effective must have the humility to capture, observe, and embrace an accurate ‘selfie.’ ” Of course, a “selfie” is a photo taken by oneself - and of oneself…which is then often posted on one or more social media platforms for all the world-wide-web to see.
As we each pursue a path toward accurate self-evaluation, here are several ways we can gain what we have termed as, “a sane estimate” of our own abilities:
- Personal Joy: We can ask ourselves, “What do I naturally enjoy doing?” Often those areas where we are strong are consistent with good or great performance attributes. Make a list of things you enjoy - and then check to see if indeed these are strength areas.
- Personal Bummers: This is the same principle as above, only in reverse. Often we do not enjoy doing things because they are not an area of strength…double check to see if this is true for you.
- A True Friend: Those who know us well can be a great source of helping us gain an accurate appraisal of our core strengths. The key is to ask a friend who will be honest and who will not slip into sloppy flattery because they “don’t want to hurt us.” Therefore, only ask the true friends – the ones who will speak the truth to us.
- Job Evaluations: The world of employment can provide a great proving ground to ferret out our core strengths. What have you learned from employer responses – from both formal and informal feedback? Take note of strength areas.
- Mistakes: Yep…even our mistakes. Sometimes we learn the most from our mistakes – and what we learn is usually what our strengths are not. And mistakes can hurt. So we should milk them for all we can. Many – if not most – valuable insights can be salvaged from our biggest mistakes. If not for you, this is at least true for me. Big time.
Certainly there are formal tests, psychological evaluations, online assessments, and so forth. The goal here is not to provide an exhaustive list. Rather, it is to encourage those who lead to be comfortable in the skin God gave each of us…and then for each of us to build a leadership team that brings to task a group of leaders with skill-sets that are complementary to our own.
For this reason, an accurate “skill-set-selfie” can be a valuable component in the life of every leader.