Navigating Leadership Challenges: Empowering Growth and Development

In a recent engagement, I found myself immersed in a thought-provoking conversation with a client facing a compelling leadership puzzle. Amidst a recruitment phase, the client encountered a striking dilemma with an internal candidate. While brimming with confidence, ambition, and eloquence, the candidate faltered when confronted with "critical feedback." Despite diligent attempts to coax a response, silence prevailed, leaving the client puzzled. This scenario prompted deep contemplation on effective leadership approaches to foster individual growth while maximizing potential.

He was puzzled, and I could see why.

What are the best practices for a leader to implement to help someone see their weaknesses, and at the same time see their potential areas for development? 

Exploring Potential Challenges:

1. Lack of self-awareness.  A prevalent barrier in leadership evolution, insufficient self-awareness can obstruct the assimilation of constructive feedback. It entails comprehending one's strengths, weaknesses, and their implications across varied contexts.

2. Communication barriers.  Despite earnest communication efforts, barriers such as misinterpretations or internal distractions may impede genuine engagement. When internal dialogues overshadow verbal exchanges, effective communication becomes elusive.

3. Arrogance. Often intertwined with pride or self-absorption, arrogance can lead to a dismissive stance towards feedback. In this scenario, the candidate may acknowledge feedback superficially but fail to internalize its significance.

4. Perceived omniscience. While expertise is invaluable, perceiving oneself as all-knowing can hinder growth. Leaders must tread cautiously to avoid overestimating their knowledge and embracing learning opportunities.

5. Self-Regard Deficiency. Embracing one's entirety, including imperfections, is crucial for personal growth. Distorted self-perceptions can hinder acknowledgment of areas needing improvement, stalling progress.

Cultivating Growth Opportunities:

In leadership roles, embracing feedback and seizing growth prospects are indispensable. Reflecting on introspective questions such as "What constitutes my personal development opportunity?" fosters self-awareness and progress. Candid introspection empowers leaders to identify areas for enhancement and strive for heightened effectiveness.

Give these inquiries full breadth and stretch yourself a bit. Get honest with yourself and ask, "What do I need to work on that will allow me to be a more effective leader?"

How Do You Solve This Leadership Problem?

Several years back, I had a fascinating conversation with a client who had an unusual problem. His organization was hiring for an upcoming position and the internal candidate was confident, driven, and articulate during the interview process. However, when he asked her to explain the different ways she’s handled “critical feedback,” she was silent. My client asked the same question in a different way and framed the query with how she normally handled “personal development opportunities.” Still no answer.

He even used an example of something he had observed in their workplace interactions and it still didn’t induce a clear answer on her part.

He was puzzled, and I could see why.

What are the best practices for a leader to implement in order to help someone see their personal weaknesses, and at the same time see their potential areas for development? 

Here are some ideas of what may be happening when your team member can’t seem to see their own development opportunities:

1. Lack of self-awareness.  They don’t know themselves enough to receive constructive feedback and how to process the information. A lack of self-awareness is actually quite common in leadership development. Self-awareness means understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the leader and the effect these have on others in different situations and contexts.

2. Poor listener.  Even though my client asked the same question in different ways, it is possible that the woman didn't understand what was being asked. In any dialogue, there are three conversations happening. The first is between the two participants, and the other two conversations are the ones that each participant is having within themselves. If their interior monologue has a “higher volume” than the verbal conversation, active listening is not happening. The conversation energy ends up being internal, going toward preparing what to say next when the other person stops talking.

3. Arrogance. It is common for leadership literature to call this arrogance. Other common descriptions are pride or being so self-absorbed that previous feedback rolled off their backs. In this particular case, it seems like the woman heard the feedback, but she rejected it.

4. Omniscience. A high level of knowledge is often seen as a positive quality in a leader, as knowledge and experience are valuable commodities. However, a leader who believes they are all-knowing can be on a slippery slope.

5. Lack of self-regard. Self-regard is the ability to be able to accept yourself for who you are. It is the appreciation for your positive attributes and your perceived negative traits, while still feeling good about yourself. With my client’s interviewee, it was possible that her personal view of self was so low or distorted, that admitting any fault would have appeared as weakness.

As leaders, it is vital we learn how to receive critical feedback.

It is also important to capitalize on any potential personal growth opportunities. So, how are you doing on answering the question, “What is your personal development opportunity”? or “How do you solve this leadership problem?”

Give these inquiries full breadth and stretch yourself a bit. Get honest with yourself and ask, "What do I need to work on that will allow me to be a more effective leader?"

How Do You Solve This Leadership Problem?

A few years ago, I had a fascinating conversation with a client who had an unusual problem. His organization was hiring for an upcoming position and the internal candidate was confident, driven, and articulate during the interview process. However, when he asked her to explain different ways she’s handled “critical feedback,” she was silent. My client asked the same question in a different way and framed the query with how she’s handled “personal development opportunities.” Still no answer. He even used an example of something he had observed in their workplace interactions and it still didn’t induce an answer on her part.

He was puzzled, and I can see why. What’s the best practice, for a leader, on helping someone see their personal weaknesses and potential areas for development? 

Here are some ideas of what may be happening when your team member can’t see their own shortcomings:

1. Lack of self-awareness.  They don’t know themselves to receive feedback and how to process the information. A lack of self-awareness is actually quite common in leadership development. Self-awareness means understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the leader and the effect these have on others in different situations and contexts.

2. Poor listener.  Even though my client asked the same question in different ways, it is possible that the woman didn't understand. In any dialogue, there are three conversations happening. The first is between the two participants, and the other two conversations are the ones that each participant is having with themselves. If the interior monologue has a “higher volume” than the verbal conversation, active listening is not happening. The conversation energy is going toward preparing what to say next when the other person stops talking.

3. Arrogance. It is common for the leadership literature to call this narcissism. Another common description is pride or being so self-absorbed that previous feedback rolled off her back. In this case, it seems like she heard the feedback, but rejected it.

4. Omniscience. A high level of knowledge is often seen as a positive quality in a leader, as knowledge and experience are valuable commodities. However, a leader who believes they are all knowing is on a slippery slope.

5. Lack of self-regard. Self-regard is an ability to be able to accept yourself for who you are. It is the appreciation for your positive attributes, and your perceived negative traits, while still feeling good about yourself. With my client’s interviewee, it’s possible her personal view of self was so low or distorted, that admitting fault would appear as weakness.

As leaders, it is vital we learn how to receive critical feedback and capitalize on personal growth opportunities. So, how are YOU doing on answering the question, “What is your personal development opportunity”?

Give this question full breadth and stretch yourself a bit? Get honest and ask, "What do I need to work on that will cause me to be a more effective leader?" Let me know what you find out about yourself and how I can encourage you on your journey.