Finding yourself in a frustrating or difficult situation? Not sure how to handle it? If you can remember to ask yourself the following two questions, it will help reveal and clarify what action to take.
The reason: in order to fully examine the situation, you must first look inward and figure out what meaning you are assigning and how you are contributing to the situation. Are there assumptions that you are making? What are you believing to be true? Did you communicate clearly and enough? Etc.
The benefit: examining our own thoughts and behaviors and taking ownership and responsibility of our role will allow us to make appropriate adjustments on the path forward. It starts with ourselves. Doing this also models this behavior for others and builds trust and respect.
Self-awareness, self-examination, and self-reflection are crucial to your success as a leader. In fact, self-awareness is listed as #8 on a list of top 10 skills rising in importance – and it’s a big part of what I include in my leadership coaching.
Do I have a responsibility to others here? In what ways will my path forward affect other people (my team in particular)?
The reason: as a leader, it’s not just about yourself. When you’re making a decision about how to handle something, factor in your team and think about how this is affecting others – or could affect others.
The benefit: Thinking about your role as a leader and obligation to others will provide you with a zoomed out perspective of the situation and another lens to view it through. This might lead you to view things differently than you otherwise would have.
A pitfall for leaders is when they get stuck with tunnel vision and overlook (intentionally or unintentionally) the fact that they lead others and have an obligation as a leader; recognizing this might lead them to take a different path forward than they would take for just themselves.
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