Is Your Reactivity Killing Your Leadership Effectiveness?
Being a leader today is tough. Just look at the challenges faced — industry disruption, global competition, accelerating change, ambiguity, unprecedented situations, ever-increasing complexity and more. It’s not surprising that many leaders feel that the skills that got them where they are today are not enough to take the business where it needs to go. Yet, now more than ever, businesses need strong leaders who are capable of navigating this new world order. That is why it’s vital to understand one’s strengths and developmental gaps, and that fundamentally, there are two styles of leadership; creative and reactive, and the two are not equal.
Creative Leaders vs Reactive Leaders
Creative leaders focus on mission and purpose and creating an organization to believe in. They understand what others need in a leader, foster collaboration, inspire others, play to win, and do not depend on controlling tactics to achieve results. Reactive leaders play it safe, or “play not to lose”, default to fear as their motivator, and seek external validation for their achievements and self-worth. While this reactive mindset can still get results, it often stands in the way of outcomes that matter.
One of the best times to undertake coaching and to complete a leadership 360º assessment is during a time of crisis such as we are experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s because, under duress, even the most creative leaders can be severely tested and revert to unhelpful instincts and tendencies they had previously overcome. Further, research shows that even in the best of times, up to 75% of executives operate in reactive mode. At Forge Coaching and Consulting, we recommend The Leadership Circle (TLC) 360º Assessment to quickly provide the executive with an overview of his or her performance at a time when performance counts most.
How The Leadership Circle 360º Assessment Enables You to Unlock Your Full Potential
When was the last time you undertook a 360º assessment that made a difference? One that identified the leadership competencies you need to develop and provided clear information about your inner assumptions and beliefs, some of which may have the power to derail you. Here we set out why we believe TLC 360º Assessment is the best of its kind and why you should put it to work for you.
Examining Leadership Competencies
Your TLC 360º Assessment measures 18 competencies shown to be the most critical behaviours and skillsets for leaders, such as integrity, strategic focus, and being a systems thinker. It also examines another equally important aspect of what makes you, you, and which may impact your effectiveness as a leader — your internal assumptions.
Examining Internal Assumptions
Each of us has internal assumptions, beliefs, and habits of thought that make us unique as individuals. They determine how we see ourselves, how we behave, how we relate to others and our effectiveness as a leader. In addition to measuring the 18 leadership competencies, your TLC 360º Assessment measures 11 key internal assumptions that are known to limit leadership effectiveness, such as control, complying and protecting.
Powerful Feedback
The results of your TLC 360º Assessment are compiled in a comprehensive profile that presents the inter-relationship between your leadership competencies and your self-limiting assumptions. It contrasts how others and you perceive your ratio of creative leadership vs reactive leadership. Further, the survey examines a far broader range of core competencies than a typical behavioural performance review, providing you with a much more holistic view of yourself and how you operate.
Another key benefit of your TLC 360 º Assessment is that the combined input of your nominees can be significantly more enlightening than a simple top-down performance review from your manager. Also, unlike most performance reviews which are annual events, a TLC 360º Assessment may be taken at intervals of your choosing to establish a benchmark and then track progress in any number of areas.
An important feature of your TLC Profile is that your scores are compared to those of thousands of other senior executives around the world. This provides valuable context and enables you to benchmark your strengths, abilities, and areas for development against the best of the best. The Leadership Circle Profile delivers a powerful framework for enhancing your leadership effectiveness and development.
Putting The Leadership Circle 360º Assessment to Work for You
Completed online, the survey solicits those you nominate to anonymously provide their impressions of you and how you work. This will include their candid perceptions of your strengths, tendencies, management style, and any areas for improvement. This type of feedback, from peers, subordinates, business associates and even friends, can play an invaluable role in your leadership development. For the most meaningful results, contributors should come from a variety of places within your circle.
At Forge Coaching and Consulting, we believe The Leadership Circle 360º Assessment is the best tool of its kind for revealing blind spots in a leader’s abilities and style, and in helping to create a solid path for executive development. When the results are in, a Leadership Circle Certified coach will sit down with you to review the findings and examine how over-extended reactive traits and underutilized competencies are at play, and assist you in designing a strong developmental plan.
Your Leadership Circle Profile will become a valuable road map for your professional development and the foundation of your coaching plan moving forward.