ON TOPIC

WHO ARE YOU AS A LEADER?

We teach regularly scheduled leadership classes at my workplace and I always find it interesting that so often our students have never really thought about who they are as leaders. One of the first tasks we give our students is to have them do some self-reflecting about their personal core values and the things in their lives that are really nonnegotiable for them This helps them think more directly about who they are, fundamentally, allowing them to begin to set a course for exploration of self.

From there, we focus on how we believe others see us as leaders and how those perceptions may or may not be valid

Finally, we talk about how we'd like others to see us, and the words we'd like to be known by when it comes to leadership.

by Sheila Farr SHRM-SCP Business Strategist

In our February issue, we asked our readers to tell us who they are as leaders, and we wanted to share a few of the replies we received Again, this question always seems to take others by surprise, but some of the answers we received include:

"I am the responsible one."

"As a leader, I am the person who has the privilege of teaching others the best ways to accomplish their tasks"

"It is my job to guide and inspire..."

We love getting feedback from our readers, and these responses to our question help us know that we are on the right track when it comes to helping new leaders really think about who they are as leaders.

When it comes to developing your own personal leadership philosophy, where are you in the process? Have you given it much thought at all? Do you simply go to work each day and do your tasks without giving much thought to the development of your team, the improvement of your processes, or growing yourself as a leader? If this sounds like you, it might be time to stop and take a new direction when it comes to leading others.

One comment that we frequently hear is that employees don't leave bad companies, they leave bad leaders. In order to become the best you can be as a leader, it truly is important to take some time to evaluate who you are and what you are doing If you are ready to make positive changes in the way you lead, we will meet you right here in our April issue as we share our "formula" for developing a new leadership philosophy. It will make all the difference in how your team responds to you and in the way you feel about the work you do!