How do you measure your leadership skills against the best practices?

As a professional Project Manager, it's crucial to embark on the journey of self-discovery by assessing your strengths and weaknesses in leadership. Utilize valuable tools like the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), Situational Leadership Model (SLM), or Emotional Intelligence Test (EIT) to gain insights into your behavior, attitudes, and competencies across diverse leadership scenarios. These self-assessment tools serve as mirrors, reflecting your unique leadership style, areas open for improvement, and potential blind spots. Embracing this self-awareness is the foundation for personal and professional growth, empowering you to lead more effectively and navigate challenges with confidence.

𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀: Utilise leadership self-assessment tools and questionnaires to evaluate your skills against established best practices, identifying your strengths and areas for improvement. 𝟯𝟲𝟬-𝗗𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: Gather feedback from peers, subordinates, and supervisors to gain a comprehensive view of your leadership abilities and how they compare to best practices. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: Maintain a journal to reflect on your leadership experiences, noting successes and challenges, and analysing how they align with best practices in leadership.

As a professional project manager, one invaluable step in gauging and enhancing your leadership skills is to actively seek feedback from those you collaborate with—be it peers, subordinates, superiors, clients, or mentors. Embrace diverse perspectives by leveraging formal methods like 360-degree feedback surveys, performance reviews, or coaching sessions. Additionally, informal approaches such as seeking opinions, suggestions, or compliments create a more open dialogue. Feedback not only validates your self-assessment but becomes a powerful tool to pinpoint areas for improvement and acknowledge your accomplishments. Remember, the collective insights from others are key to your continuous growth as a leader.

Me parece esencial este paso. Es cierto que realizar un análisis de fortalezas y debilidades te suma. Pero el coraje de preguntarle a tus equipos cómo se sienten contigo; qué les aportas; cómo definirían lo que sienten al trabajar en tu equipo te dará (si pasas la prueba de la incomodidad primera) mucha información. A veces, noto que la auto percepción varía demasiado de la opinión de los demás. Algunos líderes se autoperciben, por ejemplo, como cercanos a la gente y al escuchar el feedback se dan cuenta de que quizás esa auto percepción esté basada en sus propias creencias o estándares. Siento que buscar comentarios de otras personas puede enriquecer esa amalgama entre lo que creemos ser; cómo nos comportamos y cómo nos ven los demás.

Comparing your leadership to best practices is essential for professional growth: Study model: Familiarize yourself with renowned frameworks such as the Leadership Challenge Model (LCM), Servant Leadership Model (SLM), or Transformational Leadership Model (TLM). Evaluate alignment: Assess how well your leadership behavior aligns with these best practices, considering the expectations, values, and goals within your field or organization. Set targets: Leverage these models to establish concrete, relevant developmental goals, using the benchmarks as a guide for improvement. Learn from examples: Analyze how successful leaders embody these practices in your context, extracting key insights to implement and emulate in your leadership journey.

Stay informed about current leadership best practices within your industry and beyond. This includes keeping up with the latest leadership theories, frameworks, and successful case studies. Compare your leadership practices against those of respected leaders and leadership experts. Identify commonalities and areas where you can align your approach with proven best practices. Seek 360 degree feedback from mentors, coaches, and peers. Their perspectives can provide valuable insights into how your leadership style aligns with best practices and where there might be opportunities for improvement. Learn to assess your leadership behaviors, decision-making processes, and communication styles.

As a professional project manager, fostering continuous improvement in leadership skills is essential. The third step in this journey involves comparing yourself to the best practices within your field, industry, or organization. Seeking feedback from others provides valuable insights into areas for growth. However, aligning with benchmarks, standards, or models of excellence, such as the Leadership Challenge Model (LCM), the Servant Leadership Model (SLM), or the Transformational Leadership Model (TLM), adds a structured approach. By evaluating how well you align with these models, you gain a clearer understanding of how your leadership style resonates with the expectations, values, and goals of your specific context.

Here's another perspective for measuring your leadership skills using best practices in your field: Identify Core Competencies: Understand essential leadership competencies within your industry or organization, focusing on areas that drive success and value. Self-Reflection: Engage in introspection, assessing your alignment with these core competencies, and recognizing your leadership strengths and areas for improvement. Peer Feedback: Gather feedback and insights from colleagues, mentors, or industry peers to gain an external perspective on your leadership capabilities and effectiveness. Adaptation: Identify relevant best practices that resonate with your leadership style, adapting and integrating them into your unique approach.

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: Compare your leadership skills and behaviours to established best practices by researching industry standards and exemplary leaders in your field. 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴: Create a skill map that lists best practices in leadership and rate your proficiency in each area, highlighting gaps and areas for improvement. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Identify specific best practices that you need to adopt or improve upon and seek out training, workshops, and resources to help you develop these skills.

As a professional project manager, consistently monitoring your progress and results is the fourth crucial step in gauging your leadership skills. Utilize indicators like the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or Return on Investment (ROI) to track your achievements in meeting leadership objectives, enhancing competencies, and influencing your team, organization, or society. These metrics provide valuable insights into your effectiveness, efficiency, and overall value as a leader, helping you make informed decisions to continually improve your leadership journey.

The fourth step in assessing your leadership skills is to track your progress and results over time. Utilize indicators, metrics, or outcomes like the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or Return on Investment (ROI) to gauge how effectively you're achieving leadership objectives, enhancing competencies, and influencing your team, organization, or society. These measures help evaluate your proficiency, resourcefulness, and value as a leader, providing insights that can guide your ongoing development and drive continuous improvement.

As a professional Project Manager, one crucial aspect of measuring your leadership skills is embracing a dual approach to successes and failures. Celebrate your achievements with rewards, recognition, or a simple thank you note – tangible gestures like the Employee of the Month Award (EMMA) or the Leadership Excellence Award (LEA) can not only acknowledge your successes but also inspire and motivate both yourself and your team. On the flip side, view mistakes, challenges, and setbacks as opportunities for growth. Utilize tools like the Failure Analysis Report (FAR), the After Action Review (AAR), or the Lessons Learned Log (LLL) to analyze errors, overcome obstacles, and continually evolve as a leader.

𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: Regularly recognise and celebrate your leadership successes, both big and small, to build confidence and reinforce positive behaviours. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: Analyse your failures and setbacks to understand what went wrong and why, using these experiences as valuable learning opportunities. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀: Develop action plans to address the lessons learned from both your successes and failures, ensuring continuous growth and improvement in your leadership skills.

As a leader, I believe that the greatest way to evaluate my performance is to always challenge myself to grow and improve. I am a member of many leadership programs, including LTP, LMN, and the Leadership Development Plan (LDP). You may keep up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices while enhancing your knowledge, skills, and talents via these outlets. I am able to increase the reach, impact, and efficacy of my leadership by taking part in such endeavors. Adopting a growth mindset allows me to adapt to new situations and motivates those in my circle to make good changes, so I can keep my position as a leader fresh, competitive, and inventive.

As a professional Project Manager, fostering continuous improvement and development is the sixth and pivotal step to gauge and enhance your leadership skills. Utilizing avenues like the Leadership Development Plan (LDP), Leadership Training Program (LTP), or Leadership Mentoring Network (LMN) presents invaluable opportunities to boost your knowledge, refine skills, and augment your abilities as a leader. Engaging in such initiatives not only exposes you to new trends and best practices but also provides a platform to expand your professional network and influence within the leadership realm. Embracing a culture of continuous improvement ensures you remain relevant, competitive, and innovative in your leadership journey.

Best practices are good guides to refer to. But there is one simple thing that can easily tell you if you are being a good leader. Are your skills bringing people closer to you or pushing them further. Your conscience will be able to tell you which of the two reactions your skills cause. If you are pushing people away, you need to improve your skills. You can do that by following best practices, reading books and above all finding a mentor who can find your blindspots. If you're effortlessly bringing people closer to you, people love hanging around you and you make people feel special about themselves, then you're on he right path. But don't settle there! Get a mentor who can help you harness the best version of you and keep reading!

A couple of areas not included in are: 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: Seek guidance from mentors or leadership coaches who can provide expert advice, support, and perspective on your development journey. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱: Keep abreast of the latest trends, theories, and best practices in leadership by reading relevant literature, attending conferences, and participating in professional networks.