Introspective Leadership

“You may feel a slightsting.  That’s pride [messing] with you.” – Marcellus Wallace (Pulp Fiction)

One of the keys to leadership growth is honestself-evaluation and reflection. Realizing your true leadership potential means being honest enough withyourself to admit that there are areas in your performance that can beimproved.  The problem is that we equateneeding improvement with failure.  Togrow as a leader, it is important to get past this and understand that justbecause you are not perfect in every aspect of your performance does not meanthat your value is diminished.

So, one of the first priorities of self-evaluation isto admit that you are NOTperfect, none of us are.

It’sNot You It’s Me…Actually It’s You Too, It’s All of Us

“I’m surrounded by[Idiots]”- Dark Helmet (Spaceballs, the Movie)

Do you ever feel like everyone around you iscompletely incompetent?  That if everyonejust did things your way that life would be so much easier?  There have been times in my career that myarrogance has led me to that very conclusion. There are a few things that I have learned from those situations.  First, my way of doing things is not the onlyway to get the job done, there are probably numerous other alternatives.  If that is the case, it is also likely thatthere are other ways that might even be better than my ideas – are you honestenough to admit that?  Additionally, ifyou are constantly feeling like everyone else is getting it wrong and you’rethe only one that has it right, it could be possible that the problem is notwith them – it could very well be YOU!

Are you honest enough with yourself to entertain thenotion that your ideas might not always be the best, and that you can learn alot from the ideas of those around you, particularly your subordinates?  If so, good; leadership maturity requiresintellectual humility, a willingness to accept that your deep-rooted opinionson things could possibly be wrong.

WhatDo You Use as Your Performance Standard?

“There is nothing noblein being superior to someone else; progress is becoming superior to yourprevious self.” -John C. Maxwell

A phrase I often hear and have said myself is, “I knowI’m not doing everything that I should be doing, but I know I’m better thanhim/her.”  You’ve probably heard thisyourself, or you might have even said it before.  There are two major problems with this typeof logic.  The first problem is that it attempts torationalize our lack of doing our best. It’s not good enough to just admit that we can improve; we have to bewilling to take action and not make excuses.

The second problem with that line of thinking is thatwe are using other imperfect people as our standard of measurement.  If we want to really be honest withourselves, the place we should go for a measurement of our performance is tothe guidelines specified by our organizations. This is typically identified in the organization’s stated values andperformance standards.  Rather thanmeasuring ourselves to others, we should strive for consistent growth comparedto our previous performance.

AreYou Willing to Receive Honest Criticism?

“Or how can you say toyour brother ‘let me remove the speck from your eye’, and look, a plank is inyour own eye.” -Jesus of Nazareth

It is very tempting, and easy to find faults inothers.  We often look for faults inothers to mask our own shortcomings. This is where maturity comes in. If we truly expect to grow, we should focus less on the faults of othersand devote our efforts on improving our own weak areas. 

Self-evaluation will get us part of the way there, butwe must also actively seek out feedback from a variety of sources, to includeour superiors, our peers and our subordinates. We also must work to avoid some of the barriers to accepting feedback, whichinclude attempting to rationalize/justify our performance, getting defensive,or being argumentative. 

If someone is willing to take the time to give youfeedback, be open enough to receive it without argument, and be honest enoughto apply it to how you perceive yourself.

WhoAm I in This For?

  “Don’t report to practice unless you have aburning desire to play football” -Coach Bobby Bowden

If I told you that no matter how hard you work, or howmuch you improve, that you will never receive another promotion; would youstill be willing to put the effort in? The answer to that question points us to where our motives are. 

We all come from varied backgrounds and have differentvalues, and our motives can shift based on events in our lives.  I would like to offer you some things to takeinto consideration to help in your self-evaluations.  When examining your motives, think about thefollowing questions.

• Do I seek to add value to others?
• Do I seek to add value to theorganization?
• Do I focus more on team accomplishments,or my individual accomplishments?

It is important to keep our priorities in focusbecause the members of our organizations are counting on us.  The individuals we lead need and deservegreat leadership.  It is up to US to provide that to them.  The most effective way to be the leader theydeserve is to continue to grow!

Editor’s Note:  Mike Wester is a seniorenlisted leader in the United States Air Force. He is the Commandant of the Chief Master Sergeant Leadership course,located at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He is directly responsible for developing senior enlisted leaders tolead a lethal and ready force.  He hasserved in numerous leadership roles during his 27 years of military service andhas extensive knowledge in leadership development and organizationalmanagement.