Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Leadership, You Are Here!
Leadership development, at any level, within any environment, starts when you take responsibility for who you are and who you'd like to become. The process is similar to that of a journey; you have to identify your starting point. And in this case a good place to start is by identifying your gifts and talents.
To help you on this journey, I 've identified a few self-awareness questions below that you can reflect upon as a first step. The second step would be to ask these questions of others (friends, spouse, family, co-workers, etc.). Of course, you will have to alter a few of the words such that it is clear you are asking a question of someone other than yourself. This process shouldn't be too painful, as we are seeking to discover the best of who you are. This approach gives you an opportunity to build on that which you are already good at.
Unless your gifts or talents manifested themselves in such activities as sports, dance, singing, etc. they probably went unnoticed during your childhood years. Gifts that can easily go unnoticed and thereby underdeveloped include things like administration, communication, marketing, logistics, numbers, strategy, research, and many others. Just think about it for a moment, if any of these were your gifts from an early age, how would they have manifested themselves in such a way that your parents or caretaker would have know to provide you with extra support during your early years.
On the contrary, if you were gifted at dance, or a natural athlete someone was a) encouraging you--telling you how good you were, and b) signing you up for any after school program that would give you a head start. You would have heard words like "you're a natural" or "you're going to be a star some day". Which brings me to my point, we are all naturals at something. It's just that our caretakers are not as gifted in helping us identify what those gifts consist of early on. It's hard to know what to look for. Thereby, most of us begin the journey of discovery and honing much later in life.
Here are a couple of key tips before you get started:
1. If others hold a view of you that you don't agree with you have to resist the urge to defend who you believe yourself to be. Your ultimate response should be a polite "thank you" with a sincere show of appreciation. You can stew over it later, if you must.
2. After you've collected enough data, analyze the information and see if you can identify a common patter or theme that speaks to who you are.
3. If you see a pattern developing, reflect on your earlier childhood days, as early as you can remember, in an attempt to identify the earliest point in time where you may have utilized these gifts or talents.
Self Awareness Questions:
1. When have you felt most successful?
2. What are some of the things you enjoy doing and why?
3. I feel most creative when?
4. I'm constantly seeking opportunities to find better ways to...? (be specific)
5. I feel passionate about?
6. I do the following things really well.
7. I am driven by the desire to?
8. I could spend all day ____ and not grow tired?
9. What words would you use to describe who you are other than specific titles (mom, dad,...)?
10. When you find yourself lost in time what type of activities are you engaged in?
11. What three things do you find it hard to say "no" to if asked to participate?
12. What topics do you appear to know more about than most people?
13. What would you say you have been successful at in the past?
14. What would you say you do well?
15. When you've been at your best, what three unique strengths contributed to your success?
16. What are some of the things that you feel come easy to you?
17. What are some of your dominant characteristics?
18. If you could get better at two things that you are already good at what would they be?
19. What type of information or assistance do others turn to you for?
20. What do others appreciate most about you?
"With a world crying out for effective leaderhsip you need to begin with the most obvious source--yourself." - Ken Blanchard
To help you on this journey, I 've identified a few self-awareness questions below that you can reflect upon as a first step. The second step would be to ask these questions of others (friends, spouse, family, co-workers, etc.). Of course, you will have to alter a few of the words such that it is clear you are asking a question of someone other than yourself. This process shouldn't be too painful, as we are seeking to discover the best of who you are. This approach gives you an opportunity to build on that which you are already good at.
Unless your gifts or talents manifested themselves in such activities as sports, dance, singing, etc. they probably went unnoticed during your childhood years. Gifts that can easily go unnoticed and thereby underdeveloped include things like administration, communication, marketing, logistics, numbers, strategy, research, and many others. Just think about it for a moment, if any of these were your gifts from an early age, how would they have manifested themselves in such a way that your parents or caretaker would have know to provide you with extra support during your early years.
On the contrary, if you were gifted at dance, or a natural athlete someone was a) encouraging you--telling you how good you were, and b) signing you up for any after school program that would give you a head start. You would have heard words like "you're a natural" or "you're going to be a star some day". Which brings me to my point, we are all naturals at something. It's just that our caretakers are not as gifted in helping us identify what those gifts consist of early on. It's hard to know what to look for. Thereby, most of us begin the journey of discovery and honing much later in life.
Here are a couple of key tips before you get started:
1. If others hold a view of you that you don't agree with you have to resist the urge to defend who you believe yourself to be. Your ultimate response should be a polite "thank you" with a sincere show of appreciation. You can stew over it later, if you must.
2. After you've collected enough data, analyze the information and see if you can identify a common patter or theme that speaks to who you are.
3. If you see a pattern developing, reflect on your earlier childhood days, as early as you can remember, in an attempt to identify the earliest point in time where you may have utilized these gifts or talents.
Self Awareness Questions:
1. When have you felt most successful?
2. What are some of the things you enjoy doing and why?
3. I feel most creative when?
4. I'm constantly seeking opportunities to find better ways to...? (be specific)
5. I feel passionate about?
6. I do the following things really well.
7. I am driven by the desire to?
8. I could spend all day ____ and not grow tired?
9. What words would you use to describe who you are other than specific titles (mom, dad,...)?
10. When you find yourself lost in time what type of activities are you engaged in?
11. What three things do you find it hard to say "no" to if asked to participate?
12. What topics do you appear to know more about than most people?
13. What would you say you have been successful at in the past?
14. What would you say you do well?
15. When you've been at your best, what three unique strengths contributed to your success?
16. What are some of the things that you feel come easy to you?
17. What are some of your dominant characteristics?
18. If you could get better at two things that you are already good at what would they be?
19. What type of information or assistance do others turn to you for?
20. What do others appreciate most about you?
"With a world crying out for effective leaderhsip you need to begin with the most obvious source--yourself." - Ken Blanchard
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