¶ … Self-Evaluation/Self-Assessment for Leaders
People are influenced by leaders. Leaders cannot affect people without understanding why people behave the way they do. Successful and effective leaders are, therefore, learners of human behavior. Good leader not only try to understand the personalities and psychology of their subordinates but they also consistently evaluate and assess themselves in order to be productive (Clawson 2001). Till date, no studies have produced a clear profile of an ideal leader; his authoritative styles, distinctive characteristics or personality traits. This makes it crystal clear that authentic leaders know who they are. They don't imitate or become replicas of others. On the other hand, they "demonstrate a passion for their purpose, practice their values consistently, and lead with their hearts as well as their heads" (George, Sims, McLean & Mayer 2007). All of us are endowed with the competence to motivate and empower others. However, one must devote himself/herself to grow and develop on a personal and professional level (George, Sims, McLean & Mayer 2007).
What is Self-Assessment?
Self-assessment is that process which provides an individual the opportunity to discover his/her strengths, weaknesses and aspects of personality which require improvements (Brereton 1996). An insightful assessment helps leaders to celebrate their accomplishments, weigh up their skillfulness and talents, use their strengths more competently and continue to set goals and reach milestones. A self-reflective leader not only infiltrates his/her professional life but his/her personal life as well. Through the process of self-assessment, he/she identifies the strengths and weaknesses in his/her professional practices (Wagner 2006).
The self-reflective practices enable leaders/managers to recognize the patterns of their performance and sketch out the next steps in their professional development. This enables leaders to become confident and this confident attitude consequently enables them to contemplate and amend their performance to better meet the diverse needs of the organization(s). The leaders used to of self-assessing or self-evaluating, work with more confidence and have unique visions; new directions for themselves and their organizations. They look for acquiring...
In short, their main concern is to find out where they are headed in their career (Wagner 2006).
Benefits of Self-Assessment
Self-assessment benefits leaders in a number of ways. When a leader evaluates and reviews his performance (collected data and information about him/her from multiple sources), he/she gets exact and convincing pictures of his/her developed skills and abilities. These, as a result, illuminate the areas for continued growth and development. Self-assessment helps a leader/manager to improve his/her communication skills in order to deliver understandable, brief and appropriate information to the staff. Every one of us is our own worst reviewer and many times, we devalue our accomplishments and development. Self-assessment practice leads to an individual, unambiguous, distinct professional development plan. Such a practice also influences the progress through the recognition of truly genuine strong points. When leaders are aware of their skill and knowledge strengths, they use them more proficiently (Wagner 2006).
Leaders can also increase their intellectual intelligence (IQ) through self-assessment. Though IQ is inherited, it can be sharpened up or made more noticeable by inquisitiveness, learning and adding an assortment of experiences to one's individual life. Similarly, the emotional control power i.e. EQ (Emotional Quotient) can also be managed through self-assessment. Evaluating one's emotions can help him/her to recognize emotions, understand them and consequently control them from being hijacked. By developing emotional skills through self-reflective practices, one can enrich his/her personal and professional life. In this regard, productive self-talk is also very beneficial. In the same way, Social Quotient i.e. SQ can be well-developed by enriching one's interpersonal skills by recognizing, understanding and managing emotions. The good thing is that there are a handful of opportunities for acquiring social skills and learning in the organizational environment. In simple words, when a leader is skilled in identifying and managing emotions, he/she "can help balance the rational content and the emotional content and influence people to make better decisions" (Clawson 2001). Last but…
