Leadership: Know Yourself and Your Capabilities
Success January 9th, 2009This next topic about leadership takes what you know from the last article (Leadership – Understanding What It Is ) and looks at how those areas of leadership can be utilized within the boundaries of your own personality and capabilities.
Don’t Fake Who You Are, Just Be You
The last thing you should do to be a leader is to pretend you are something you are not. You should never fake or display a specific personality in order to be seen as a leader. A lot of people do this thinking that leadership is automatic if you have a specific set of personal characteristics but that is simply not true. The individual person and unique personality makes more of the leader than any specific qualities or character traits. Leadership is something that has to come from the person you truly are. Now that can be changed over time which I’ll cover more in a later article but you can’t fake it without a genuine change in your core values and beliefs.
So of course bringing up values and beliefs is an important part of knowing yourself and that extends deeply into a leader’s character. One trait that I’ve learned that is common of great leaders is that they hold true their values and beliefs. This is only possible if you actually know those values, display them and let other people see them revealed by your actions. Many traits are related to this core principle and that is why I believe you cannot pinpoint specific characteristics. These 4 are the ones that stand out the most for me in someone who holds true their values:
- Integrity
- Honest
- Courage
- Confidence
“No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.” (William Penn)
Know Your Limits
Not only is it important to know some of the principles your character is built upon, it’s also important to know your limitations and what you are not. Leadership has many stereotyped expectations and there is little to gain by trying to fit some area that just doesn’t suit you. The different styles of leaders need to fit your personality and you shouldn’t force yourself to portray characteristics you simply don’t have. Yet. The limits you have now are certainly something that can change with time but leadership is hard enough in areas you are good at, let alone attempting to falsely mold yourself (mold removal North York) into areas you know are beyond your limits and capabilities.
Be Open About Your Capabilities
There is nothing wrong with being open and honest about where your leadership skills fall short. Honesty in addressing your capabilities are a sure way to gain a trusting and respectful eye from others and helps to stay far away from the perception that you have a big ego (a leader’s natural arch-nemesis). A leader will not only recognize their own limits and inabilities, they will look to find new ways to fill those gaps. A mindset to support continuous improvement and admittance of needing help with that is important as it allows a leader to accept imperfections in themselves and in people with their own shortcomings.
Self-Analysis Tools
Whether you think you know yourself well or not, it’s very helpful to use various techniques and resources to self assess where you are at as a leader, what style you have and what skills or capabilities you need to put priority attention to for improvement. Personality tools can be helpful here but since I believe that powerful leadership can occur from any personality type, they tend not to look enough at action and influence with others, which is where leadership really counts. I have found these techniques to work best for getting an accurate self assessment when it comes to leadership.
Talk to Close Friends and Family
You can always trust your closest friends or family to be brutally honest with you but keep in mind they might not ever tell you anything bad thing about you, until you ask. So, ask! Be specific to ask about leadership traits and how they see you leading. If you have little experience ask how they feel you would lead best if given the opportunity. Does it match your own ideas?
Colleagues
Ask your peers, your boss and any mentors or role models you may have for them to give you an honest opinion about how you express your values and what leadership characteristics they see and don’t see you demonstrating. Remember it’s not the knowledge, it’s the practice of what you can demonstrate. Use the same specific questions as with close friends or family here. Ask specifically about leadership. You might want to look at leadership in a specific role for your workplace or future role.
Surveys
There are hundreds of surveys available online, in books, at seminars or in courses that you can take to help evaluate yourself. Here is one simple but very useful survey I found online to help evaluate what your natural leadership style is . From the same site, here is a survey to assess how you are doing as a leader now. There are many more online if you do some searching, these are only a quick starting place.
I’d love to hear about any other tools, resources and methods you have used or can suggest to evaluate yourself and your leadership skills.
Prev: Leadership: Understanding What It Is
Next: Leadership: Skill Development
January 9th, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Mike, your first three headings in this post might be summarized with the ancient advice, “Know thyself.”
As a long time (36 yrs) practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, what I know about myself and what I’m capable of grows quite a little bit everyday. Naturally being myself is an adventure and being open to no limits and miraculous capabilities is all part of my growing vision. But in the context of the present, God’s gift or right now, it’s wise to be sensitive to my leadership limits, capabilities as well as to have a accurate assessment of them. Thanks for all the info on how to do that.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:27 AM
This is getting better and better, I really like this series of posts. What I’m really impressed with is the fact that you manage to write a lot of content into a significantly lesser space than a lot of other bloggers. Although shorts, those posts are complete.
As for this specific one, I could add the quality of taking risks. No leader is leader if he doesn’t dare to take and assume risks. But of course, that comes from a deep and honest knowledge of one’s limits, after all.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:47 AM
I’m enjoying this series, Mike.
As for things to add as self-analysis tools, consult other leaders. Leaders are not defined by how much they know but by those they follow. Everyone follows someone. The best leaders follow the best.
Everything I’ve read and learned shows that behind any great leader is a powerful mentor. Letting other leaders evaluate your capabilities is an excellent resource. Leaders tend to be more open and honest than others (as you said in the post). So advice from them is particularly valuable in understanding your own role as a leader.
Thank you for your insights. You’re a leader in my book.
– Marshall Jones, Jr.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:10 PM
@Dhanamjaya, thanks for your thoughts on this and yes, that opening and growing everyday is a big part of become a leader.
@Dragos, I really applreciate the feedback and compliments. I am happy to be able to provide concise help on these areas from my experience. A big part of it however, is also the discussion and comments so your continual comments and those of others is why this content is useful and valuable really. One man’s opinion is not enough anymore in this great world of ideas. Thanks for keep coming back! I think you will enjoy one of the upcoming articles then on risk taking in this series. I am looking forward to your comments on that one since you’ve touched on it here as well!
@Marshall, thank you so much! Definitely that consulting with leaders is important. I love your comment of the best leaders follow the best. That is true. I’ve always said that with people when it comes to learning as well. If you want to learn, learn from the best.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:50 PM
I’m looking forward to the risk taking article, too.
On a different note, you’ve been tagged, Mike.
Check it out…
Marshall Jones, Jr.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:53 PM
The link didn’t post in my last comment so I’m trying again. If it doesn’t show up, you can also click my signature because I’m including it there as well.
http://bondchristian.com/seven-random-weird-facts-about-marshall-and-others/
Marshall Jones, Jr.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Thanks for the encouragement that each of us can be a leader.
Maybe it’s also a question of effectiveness.. And it comes down to communication skill, people skill and knowledge. Yet I believe that we have to keep improving!
Thanks for the links to the survey!
Robert
January 9th, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Mike,
I 100% agree with you on this. Two weeks ago, the last week in my previous company. I bought my close colleague a book “StrengthFinder 2.0” and we openly talked about our weaknesses and strengths and how I led her in the past. It was a great moment that I made her understand herself. She would not be a leader like me but she will be a charming leader in her own way.
Trying to totally imitate other people will not take you far. Many people started stuttering when they started following Barack Obama (luckily, I started before!). Many people wear the turtleneck like Steve Jobs, and so on. Learning from great leaders is a fantastic thing but to imitate without knowing your true self is self-destructive.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Hey Mike!
Well written post… It’s a coincidence that this week at work staff where asked to fill in anonymous survey’s on the unit manager – leadership style, qualities, stuff like that… Way to get some brutally honest responses, huh?!
I like your thoughts on self analysis – going to check out those survey links now!
All the best
-Ross
January 10th, 2009 at 12:44 AM
@Marshall, thanks so much. I am guessing you missed me tagging you a few weeks back, I should have let you know, sorry! Anyway, I comments at your site, thanks a lot!
@Robert, glad to see you back for the series! Thanks for the comment!
@Viriya. Strengths finder is awesome, I definitely agree there! Putting those same techniques in place with your own involvement and feedback to find strengths is immensely valuable and shows great leadership yourself! Great job! Good points as well about what you see as imitated leadership, some of those traits are the areas most people think now when it comes to leadership. I for one, really do not think Steve jobs is much of a leader of people. He is an awesome marketer, hyper and promoter but not one who does much to instill capabilities in others, in fact he tears up others to do it his way and he always has to be right. I’ve read many humorous articles about how he reacts when he doesn’t get his way and just his decisions about people working with him, well, he prevents that really. That is bad leadership in my books. Sorry for the short rant, you got me started! 🙂
@Ross, it’s too bad they are anonymous. I think that anonymous surveys hold much less value because you have no opportunity to discuss it, solicit more feedback and examples and to then work with individuals on areas of concern or strengths. If you dare to step out on the thin branch, if you have any to submit, put your name on them. Invite those people to come talk to you about the response, that opens lines of communication to better know your capabilities (or for them to if it’s for them).
January 10th, 2009 at 4:23 AM
Hi Mike,
Like Ross, I have recently completed something similar at work. I am taking part in an outside leadership development program. As part of this, a 360 degree report was prepared for each of us (and we received it this past week…). The 360 degree report is based upon us soliciting the input from our manager, our peers, and our direct reports. Plus, we also did this ourselves on us. The purpose – to get a look at what people perceive, from many different angles. The peer and direct report parts are anonymous. I see your point about knowing who submitted something vs. an anonymous submission. I think the reasoning for the anonymous part was to get honest feedback. I chose the people who filled out the survey. So, I know the six people I could go and talk to if I do have questions, in my case. And I’m comfortable enough with all of these people to do that. I think the real benefit of this is that what we think, and what others perceive may not always be in alignment. And the key is the idea of perception. Even if it’s not the truth, what people perceive is what they believe. And…I’m seeing a couple of areas where I can improve upon…
I also like the idea of talking to close friends or family. My wife is someone I trust, who will not sugar-coat what she thinks — and that can be a great resource, and a truer look than asking some others who may not want to hurt my feelings, or think it might be confrontational.
Great stuff Mike!
January 10th, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Hi Mike
I am very interested in the aspect of leading according to your strengths and capabilities. I don’t think of myself as a leader AT ALL, but your writings are giving me food for thought in this arena. Perhaps there are ways to cultivate my leadership abilities in my style.
I also think respect is valuable in a leader.
I’m enjoying this series. I’m contemplating somehow sending it through to some of the bosses at the company where I work 😉
Cheers
Juliet
January 10th, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Awesome stuff Lance. Ya, I understand how those are often anonymous. I am a big believer in continual feedback about anything in an open honest way so I always encourage named, direct feedback and discussions for that type of thing. I know some people I’ve worked with though are never comfortable with it.
Juliet, thanks so much, it’s a great compliment to hear you want to share the series with others! You are definitely a leader Juliet in many ways, I have seen it in your writing and in your interactings with me and others online. Each person has their own style and you are absolutely right, there is a way that you can learn to hone those skills in your own style. That was the point I wanted to make in this whole series and so glad you made that comment.
BTW: I will be making this whole series as a pdf once its done in my free resources page so you can wait for that if you need an easy way to share or distribute the whole thing in one document! My other series are there already if you want to know what it will be like.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Hi Mike.
The point about not faking who you are can be a tough one to make use of, when results don’t come out as hoped for. When you try being less fake in an aspect of your representation, and are partially put down by another person due to it, it tends to stay in the mind as a discouraging remnant of the attempt. However, as you alluded to in your description, keeping composure to move past the put-down, while still remaining more truthful to your own character in that aspect, would be the way to build up leadership in one component of your character. It is almost like the problems that come up when being more truthful are a required entity on the way to adding a certain percentage of leadership know-how.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:44 AM
hi friend! nice blog U got here..would U mind if we xlinks? pls let me know..thx 🙂
January 11th, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Armen, you are right about the drawbacks of taking your own path as a leader and not going after the seemingly obvious copied ways for quick success. There are certainly some sacrifices and considerations to make when putting your own flavor on all your leadership areas. This ultimately, will give you much deeper understanding of how your leadership fits your own capabilities. It will also allow you to be far more honest and genuine in your actions which will leave you with much more satisfaction from successes and provide much more desire and motivation to get through a tough time. A leader needs that and if you are faking it, you will have a greater tendancy to shy away from first failures and not get back on track. You can’t keep something going through tough times if you don’t really believe it yourself and are just faking it.
January 11th, 2009 at 6:16 PM
These are great suggestions for work or play. I think being true to yourself will help you succeed and will inspire others to listen to your authentic voice.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:02 AM
Great post Mike! Thanks for reminding us that we need to learn more about ourselves. I learn something valuable today.
Oh by the way, there’s an award waiting for you. Kindly check it out: http://jedchan.com/lucky-2/
Thanks! More Power!
January 12th, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Thanks so much Stacey and JeD for your comments. I’m happy to know you’ve learned from and enjoyed the series so far. Please come back for the rest as well!
January 13th, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Very interesting post, Mike. Most of us certainly have leader figures and often we try to imitate the leadership style.
You are right, we have to be someone we are and integrity as you mentioned above is the first character that a leader must have.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:30 AM
I’m enjoying the series – glad others are too.
stumbled 😉
January 13th, 2009 at 8:56 AM
very intresting and usefull website.
January 17th, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Great articles Mike. About self analysis tool, I’d like to share my best friend bad experience: he wanted to analyze himself, so he asked one of his friend about his weakness. Unfortunately the friend is his rival, and then she made up weaknesses he didn’t really had. When he sadly told me about that, I responded “What were you thinking? She is your rival, of course she makes those things up. I know you better then her, and it’s not true. She don’t want you to get any better. If you want to analyze yourself, ask your best friends who care about you.” Yeah, that’s ridiculous. Anybody has the same experiences?
January 26th, 2009 at 2:07 AM
Mike, keep on writing posts like these and people will keep on reading. In my experience, not all people can be leaders and that the sad fact.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:31 AM
Rich Life Carnival #28…
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February 9th, 2009 at 12:59 AM
I like self analysis tools presented here,I think highly of them and try to apply in different situations,getting new experience in life.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:14 AM
Thanks for this post, Mike. I would like to add that while it is so very important to be yourself, the essence of development is to grow to be what you are capable of becoming. This is often done by modeling ourselves on others who have been successful -without losing our personal identity.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Thanks everyone for the additional comments and I’m glad some of the self analysis tools are useful.
@Prem Rao – I see your point on this subject and how my article could be taken as a limit on oneself. I certainly agree that it is wise to look also at who you want to develop into, especially when it comes to improving your leadership skills. However, usually people don’t look to change their core and instead try to act as a leader, based on what they think it should look like instead of putting good leadership practices into place in a way that fit’s who they truly are. That person can shift, but it’s a longer process and the leadership to get their is as much about leader oneself as it is about leading others. You can’t fake it, that’s all I mean by that.
February 10th, 2009 at 6:18 AM
Great post – especially the part on feedback. Kevin Eikenberry @ Remarkable Leadership had a great post on this recently – where to get feedback, what to do with it, etc.
February 17th, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I completely agree with the statement that Leadership is all about knowing yourself and your capabilities. Lately, I have read an informative article on this issue written by Med Yones, an Economic Expert who sees Leadership as the most important competitive advantage of a company. Moreover, he provides managers and leaders with the necessary information to implement a cure for poor organizational performance and its negative workplace politics. Further facts can be found by following this link
http://www.iim-edu.org/associates/medyones/executiveeeducationleadership.pdf
February 17th, 2009 at 9:13 PM
@Helly, if only more companies would actually do training on leadership and management instead of just wishing it would reveal itself and come automatically.
April 29th, 2011 at 1:49 AM
I am enjoying this series. Thanks for the Post.