Leaders (self-)reflect!

Do you?

I heard a story about an online feedback survey from employees and how the positive feedback was not anonymous and how the negative feedback given to the boss was.  Surprised?  I bet not.  After all, many employees are afraid of giving their bosses negative feedback.  Leaders need to reflect on this kind of negative feedback and not feel “hurt” by it.  It may be a place to change and grow.

When we talk about professional leadership, we are talking about leaders who do certain things and not act just “intuitively” (eg, “born leaders”), but they can think and: 

1.     Give a reason for what happened and why they did something

2.     Reproduce the outcome more than once

3.     Teach others to do likewise

This kind of leadership activity requires:

·      Self-analysis (with thought on the three points above)

·      Self-reflection (using theory and concepts to explain the three points above)

·      Methods that are chosen to fit the goals and individual setting of the leader (so the leader is able to understand and use the methods)

So, let’s take the example of the previous online survey.  A Good Self-Reflected Leader would take the criticism to heart and ask:

·      Why did they say this?  Where is the truth I need to hear?

·      What can I do to change the behavior, if I believe it to be bad?

·      How can I communicate to the employees that I have heard them and am working on myself?

·      Then I put into motion a plan for change that is transparent to the employees.

What goes around comes around

Do you know the needs and care for your employees in a way that helps them, or do you see them as a commodity to toss away when they do not perform as you have expected.  Who is to say that that kind of work culture does not get rid of their leadership, too, when the leaders do not perform as expected?  There is a lot of this kind of practice going on at the moment in the business world, but just as it is cheaper to keep a paying customer than to find a new one, it is cheaper to train and care for a present employee than to find and train a new one.  Even if you are not really a socially-minded leader, you should consider the cost of just letting someone go- and realize you may be the next to go.

A Good Look at Yourself

You need to work on yourself first of course: your social (interpersonal) competency, your character, your leadership competency, your ability to work in and with systems, and your skills that have to do with your particular position.  How well are you doing on them and when was the last time you had a good look at your skills and competencies?

When you (self-)reflect, you can take the time to make a plan for growth and move onward and upward.

This is what I help leaders (and employees) do.

Have a great start to the summer!

Patricia Jehle   patricia@jehle-coaching.com