Improving Leadership Skills: A Self-Assessment Guide

1 3-2 Leadership Skill Vickybethza Diaz Southern New Hampshire University MBA 530: Leading People & Organizations Instructor: Dr Kimberly Bogle Jubinville Date 5/4/23

2 Self-Assessment-Rank Lowest A self-assessment was performed in order to measure 5 key leadership behaviors; Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision. Challenge the Process, Enable others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. In this assessment, I was able to determine that the area where I ranked the lowest was in Encourage the heart. This area, based of the Ten Commandments of Exemplary leadership, defines this as recognizing contributions by showing appreciation for individual performance. This behavior to me signifies much of the same. It is taking the time to recognize great work and making that recognition individualized. Self-Assessment: Improve Skills related to Leading Others The area of Encouraging the heart is significantly important for a leader to demonstrate. Leaders can find themselves busy in their day to day responsibilities and often times overlooking a job well done. Everyone in some selfish way desires to feel valued and recognized for their hard work or achievements. A leader not taking the time to recognize their performance can lead to disengagement and lack of drive. For myself, and other leaders needing to improve in this area, I would suggest making intentional efforts to provide positive feedback to your employees at least once per week. It would also be important to not simply generalize the recognition but to personalize it to the specific individual and their accomplishment. This will demonstrate appreciation, motivate the employee and allow them to feel valued. Self-Assessment Rank Highest

3 The area where I rank the highest was Challenging the Process. This to me means that the leader find way to improve processes and challenges themselves to think outside the box. The leader can focus on each area and the most efficient way to make gradual but significant wins. Developing processes but also having the ability to pivot when the process does not yield the desired result is a highly important skill for any leader. When looking at the Ten Commandments of Exemplary Leadership, it defines this area as a leader that searches for opportunities by seizing the initiative and looking outward for innovative ways to improve. I agree with this and can see the value that this behavior can have. Self- Assessment: Being an Effective Leader For a leader, Challenging the Process, can be a very effective behavior and tool. Managing any level of operations takes structure, oversight and efficient processes. With every business, times will change, and processes will need to be challenged and modified. A leader that can effectively exude confidence and be willing to challenge and improve a process while leveraging the perspective of their employees, will gain their employees trust and promote efficiencies. In a business, lack of efficient processes can result in lost revenue and unnecessary costs and overhead. Continuing to be innovative and seek the best possible way to manage the business and/or operation will lead to a successful, viable organization that is ahead of their competitors. Adaptive Leadership Toolkit: Leadership Behaviors The employee survey results that were provided, show that leadership is a large area of opportunity. In the questions that involved the supervisors, feedback and support, were an area

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4 that the employees did not appear to be satisfied. The employees had overall satisfaction with the company and enjoy working for the organization, but they do not feel supported or recognized by direct leadership. Based off these results, the area of Encourage the Heart, Enabling Others to Act and Model the Way. The focus area in the results related to Recognition and Praise showed a decline over the past 4 years. If the leader can focus on providing feedback, encouragement and taking the time to share positive accolades, they may find that the employee will feel more engaged and valued. This feedback can also provide them the structure they need to understand how they are performing overall. Enabling Others to Act focuses on fostering trust and facilitating relationships. One of the questions in the survey specifically asks if the employees trust their supervisors and the decline over the past 4 years was the most significant. Rebuilding trust with the leader and creating positive work relationships can help the employee feel apart of the team. This can foster engagement, confidence in providing their perspective and knowing that their thoughts and ideas are valued. This can provide overall improvement in job satisfaction which was a focus area that has shown a consistent decline. Act and Model the Way is another positive way that the leader can demonstrate the actions and qualities that will set the example for the culture that the organization desires. Aligning shared values can bring the team together towards one common goal and mission. These changes can lead to improved employee engagement and overall retention. Adaptive Leadership Toolkit: Managing Relationships The employee satisfaction results show a positive trend in the overall satisfaction with the company. The employees enjoy what the company stands for and how they are valued, however, the concern is their direct leadership. It appears the leaders are doing well at demonstrating the

5 behavior of Inspiring a Shared Vision. The employees found that the company cares about their clients and fulfilling employee and family obligations. They employees also feel that they have clear quality goals that they need to accomplish. These areas are likely showing higher in their scores on the survey as the leaders have provided the goals and vision of the organization. The leaders have also demonstrated that they share a vision of an organization that promotes a work- life balance and strives to excel in satisfying their clients. This behavior is important in managing the relationship between the leader and the employee by providing an aligned vision and creating a culture where employees feel they have a work-life balance. The employee and the leader are also working towards the same overall goal and can create a stronger connection and obligation to one another. It would be valuable to maintain this behavior and simultaneously improve in the others to promote overall job satisfaction and employee engagement.

6 References: Kouzes & Posner. (n.d). Ten Commandments of Exemplary Leadership. Self-Assessment. LPI Self-Assessment-Reviewing Your Scores (wiley.com)

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