FIVE QUESTIONS LEADERS NEED TO ASK (OF THEMSELVES)

By Edgar Papke

Self-evaluation is a powerful exercise to undertake on a regular basis. This holds true for anyone in a position of leadership. Even if you’re already stopping from time-to-time to do so, it’s likely you’re not stopping often enough to reflect on who you are as a leader and how well you’re intentionally aligned. To evaluate yourself effectively, you have to ask yourself the right questions.

I spend my time in a variety of conversations with leaders, as well as with those that are in service to them as consultants and coaches. Many of my conversations focus on exploring the key questions leaders need to ask themselves in evaluating who they are, where they are, how they got there, and what they need to focus on going forward. While a host of great questions repeatedly come up, there are five that I find to be consistently the most powerful and valuable for leaders to use in assessing their personal alignment.

I suggest you begin with these five questions. If need be, schedule time on your calendar to focus on them. You may want to record and further reflect on your responses and engage in conversation with the key people in your life. I’m certain you’ll find value in the feedback and insights you’ll gain from the conversations, as well as the quiet time you take to reflect.

In the process of answering the five questions, you may come up with additional ones to ask yourself. I suggest taking time to explore your thinking and emotions in the process. That being said, I will caution you to not add too many questions to your list. It’s often too easy to complicate things and wind up in a familiar place of adding too much to your plate. This is all too often a struggle for leaders. Remember, that keeping it simple is one of the more powerful trademarks of great leadership.

The first of the five questions of personal alignment leaders need to ask of themselves is:

1.         What is my gift?

Yes, you have a gift to offer. Every person has something to offer and contribute. Without it, you’d not likely to be in a position of influencing others and being a leader. You can frame your gift as your purpose, mission, or personal vision of what you contribute to the world and the lives of others. I suggest you give it any name you like. In the end, every person is a gift to the world. As a leader, you’re held to a higher standard in how you manifest it and the level the gift you have to offer serves others.

Your true influence as a leader emanates from what you offer the world. In spoken and unspoken terms, others expect you to make a contribution to their lives—else they wouldn’t be following you. While it may appear a bit cliché, I suggest beginning with defining your legacy. In simple terms, we all come into the world with nothing and we leave the same way. What we leave behind is our legacy. Your legacy is an expression of how people perceive the way you live, the contribution you’re making to the world, and how you treat the people you influence. Whether it’s through those close to you, or those observing your actions from afar, it’s always about your relationships and the trust you achieve by keeping your commitments and promises.

Great leaders give us gifts. By doing so, they remind us of what is possible. At any level, from a software development manager giving the gift of coaching for others to be more successful and reaching their goals, to Nelson Mandela’s gift of reminding us of the human capacity for compassion, forgiveness and personal freedom, all leaders have a gift to give the world. What is your gift and how will you live and act in alignment to it? The true meaning of leadership is to plant the seeds of possibility and inspire others to unleash their imagination. How aligned are you to what you believe and dream is possible?

The following are the other four questions leaders need to ask of themselves, each of which I’ll explore through the upcoming posts in this series:

2.         What are my key priorities to focus on?

3.         What will I start doing or do more of?

4.         What will I stop doing or do less of?

5.         Who are the people that I will engage the most?

I suggest beginning with the first question now. Explore and work toward your own personal clarity of your gift as a leader. Once you’ve done so, you’ll have a great foundation from which to begin exploring the four questions that follow. As always, you are invited to the conversation. Please email me (info@edgarpapke.com) with your questions, thoughts and comments. Thank you.