How Self-Awareness in Leadership Can Boost Productivity
Posted on November 20, 2014 by Deirdre Sanborn, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
How Self-Awareness in Leadership Can Boost Productivity
Think fast: What’s the single most untapped competitive advantage that any leader can gain access to?
The answer is simpler than you think. It’s teamwork.
Often, teams and their leaders need to learn how to make the most of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and determine how those traits can be fit together in the most effective way.
But when you’re part of a team—or at the helm of one—it can occasionally be tough to take an unbiased step back. Sometimes, it takes an outsider with an objective perspective to help you get a clearer sense of the big picture.
A smart, simple way to achieve that? Personality and team assessments. These easy-to-implement, yet in-depth assessments help leaders and their teams gain a more objective view of their strengths and weaknesses, both individually and collectively. Through coaching and facilitation, you will learn how to make the most of the insights gained from these assessments to build understanding and more effective relationships with your colleagues, employees and customers.
Three practical, proven assessments that I provide to my clients:
1. Individual Team Member Assessments: Everything DiSC
This assessment is based on the DiSC model, which scores individuals on four key workplace traits: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. How an individual scores on these traits offers insight into the priorities that she employs in her work that affects her relationships with others.
For instance, a leader or team member with a mostly conscientious style will typically focus on delivering accuracy, working carefully to maintain stability, and analyzing and challenging new ideas. Someone with a steady style will focus on making connections and collaborating with co-workers, maintaining enthusiasm and an upbeat attitude, and meeting people’s needs and offering support.
All styles have their pluses and minuses. But it’s only after you objectively understand your unique operating style that you’re able to fully take advantage of them and maximize productivity.
Everything DiSC assessments may be tailored to optimize performance depending on your team’s objectives:
For leaders, the tool provides tangible steps directed at leading a group or organization toward desired outcomes.
For managers, you will learn how to bring out the best in each employee in a one-to-one relationship.
For salespeople, the assessment teaches your team how to connect better with their customers.
2. Group Assessment: Five Behaviors of a Team
“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” – Patrick Lencioni
The Five Behaviors of a Team assessment is based on “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book that outlines the five behaviors that are essential to a healthy, well-functioning team: building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability, and focusing on results.
By showing your team how they score as a group on key components like trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results, this assessment can help them to better understand their unique dynamic. Members can use that information to thrive as a cohesive unit, function at a higher level, and increase productivity.
3. Leader Assessment: Everything DiSC 363 for Leaders
To steer a team effectively, it’s essential for leaders to understand how they are viewed by team members. In this multi-faceted assessment, you’ll elevate your leadership skills through feedback from a group of raters (managers, direct reports, peers, and even customers) regarding your skills and opportunities for growth.
Unlike other 360 assessments, this assessment provides a structure that eliminates the opportunity for raters to make snide remarks. Open-ended comments are replaced with a comment-selection tool that provides constructive, actionable feedback.
The result? You’ll walk away with actionable, personalized strategies for greater leadership effectiveness—and a more powerful, productive team.
Are you ready to learn more about your team’s strengths and enhance its productivity? Schedule a consultation with me. deirdre@deirdresanborn.com.
