The most important question to ask ourselves as leaders
As leaders, it becomes difficult to measure your skills effectively without some form of self-reflection.
According to a recent Inc. article by Leadership from the Core founder Marcel Schwantes, in order to reflect on where you stand as a leader and whether you are fit for the demands that come with the position, measure your leadership skills by asking yourself this question:
“Did I make a difference in the life of an employee today?”
In her article, Schwantes outlines how this question forces leaders to raise their level of self-awareness on how they can most effectively impact the people they serve while embodying the three tenets of effective leadership:
1. Humility
Showing humility gives your employees a real, open person to look up to and follow. As humans, it’s okay to not know all the answers. A humble leader doesn’t allow his or her pride to get in the way of gathering the information needed to achieve the best results.
2. Developing others
Schwantes mentions that developing people not only is a goal of leadership in and of itself - it's a way of being. Good leaders foster a learning spirit within the organization, sending a clear message that "growing our people is one of our highest priorities."
3. Removing fear from the atmosphere
In order to be an effective leader who preaches humility and care, employees need to feel safe to speak up, experiment, give feedback, and ask for help. By removing that element of fear in the workplace and creating a “safe space” for employees to ask questions, you’re helping everyone out.
In the end, focusing on the growth of your employees and learning to be humble leaders will only help to strengthen your organization and those that serve it.