5 Benefits of Leadership Self-Assessment

Conducting a leadership assessment can give you an objective idea of your capabilities and talents as a business leader. Having a strong understanding of your competencies allows you to capitalise on your strengths and mitigate the impact of potential skills gaps. The benefits of leadership self-assessments reach far beyond the individual to improve interpersonal relationships and organisational performance. 

Increase Self-Awareness

Learning more about yourself and the way you lead has a direct impact on your leadership effectiveness. An honest assessment of your leadership capabilities will reveal ways you can build upon your strengths and help you to confront weaknesses. This is not only key for your personal development, it will also increase your team’s trust in you and boost your credibility. It can be difficult for direct reports to offer candid feedback to leaders, so increasing your own self-awareness will have a greater impact on developing and sustaining leadership excellence. 

Create Goals

No matter what stage of your career you are in, a leadership self-assessment can provide insight into your abilities as a leader. There are a variety of tools that will help you to understand your strengths and performance in different areas. In developing this understanding, you will also discover the areas in which you need to focus future learning to be able to take on new challenges. For those with aspirations of becoming senior leaders, this can provide clarity and specificity on the experience and leadership training required to reach their career goals.

Progress Tracking

A lifetime career in leadership means that you should regularly be reassessing your own leadership skills. As the business landscape changes, so too should our approach to leadership. It is beneficial to both you and your teams that you stay ahead of current strategies and teachings. Undertaking leadership assessments at different stages throughout your career ensures your development remains aligned with your goals, and may even open up new opportunities that weren’t previously possible.

Clarify Development Plans

Leadership assessment tools play a critical role in the progression of organisational success when utilised as part of a leadership development plan. Assessing leadership excellence across all levels of the organisation helps executives to identify gaps within the talent pool, as well as those with the potential for senior leadership development. Opportunities for development can be prioritised to have the greatest chance of success. Leadership assessment allows individuals to gain a better sense of the part they play in the success of the organisation, and how they might expand their scope in the future.

Improve Working Relationships

Gaining clarity on your own styles of leadership and performance makes it easier to recognise in others. You can meet them where they are to develop personal connections and trust. More effectively influence their behaviours by adapting your approach. Understanding your own ‘life story’ and how to use it as a touchstone for leadership allows you to form meaningful relationships with your team and improve overall performance.

While it is important for current and aspiring leaders to gain insights into their leadership capabilities to excel in their career, they should also be aware of their impact on team performance as well. The best tools for assessing leadership excellence will have benefits that stretch beyond the individual. Role-modelling a desire to improve both personally and professionally, leads to increased levels of trust and productivity throughout organisations.

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can help you unlock performance through leadership, by supporting your leaders at every level of the organisation with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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