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Welcome to a new year of The Situational Leader!

Even when you've had a few weeks off (and I hope you managed to get at least a bit of a break), it's amazing how quickly the end of a year runs into the start of the new one. And of course, it won't seem that long before we are once again "heading rapidly towards the end of another year".  So it makes sense to attend to the principle of "beginning with end in mind" ... 

Six practical steps towards better leadership by the end of this year ...
 
I've been preparing for a workshop this week and incorporated a slide about how to consciously develop leadership skills. It's based on Richard Boyatzis's work and, in summary, it suggests that if we genuinely want to improve our leadership - and who doesn't? - we need to have some sense of what that improved leadership would look like.

Sensible enough. And pretty easy to do if you were going to identify ways for other people to improve! But what about the ways we'd like - or need - to improve in order to become even more effective in our leadership, influence and communication in the year ahead?

1. Maybe you've had some feedback, done some reflecting or just know that you need to "skill up" in some area. It's vital to set yourself a realistic, positive, meaningful goal for improvement. Boyatzis calls it our "ideal self".

2. With that established, it's important to think about what we're already doing that is helping us achieve that goal - the improved leadership behaviour - the "ideal self". Strengths. Positives. Good things.

3. Having identified the goal and what's already working will help you identify the most important gaps between the current reality (January) and the ideal (sometime before December).

4. Knowing those gaps enables you to focus your energies effectively and ensure you move in the direction you want and need to go. This focus of attention includes things like:

Training (which is a great time to think about coming along to one of our public Situational Leadership® workshops - see the dates at left ... subtle, huh!)

Reading (I'm currently enjoying Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? by Goffee and Jones - I'll have a summary ready in the next couple of weeks so just email me if you'd like to receive one info@pacific.qld.edu.au), and

Coaching or mentoring.

5. Beyond those "formal" learning situations, it's also important to put yourself into real-life situations where you can experiment and practice positive new behaviours. And get feedback.  

6. Finally and very importantly, to move towards better leadership by the end of the year, we all need supportive relationships. This is where coaching, peer networks and a culture on ongoing development is so important. Supportive, interested, invested professional relationships have enormous power to produce positive change. And every one of us has the potential and the opportunity to provide those relationships.

Which may be one of the ways to begin 2010 with the end of the year in mind ... as you look over the steps above you can probably see that each one offers an opportunity for you to contribute to someone else's development this year. What a great way to end 2010 - knowing and being able to see that you have helped someone else improve.

Remember: effective leadership is about creating the conditions for others to succeed.  

All the very best for2010! Please email or call me if you'd like to talk about leadership training and development for your team.


Aubrey Warren
Situational Leadership® Australia