To Be a Highly Effective Leader

I have the greatest admiration for leaders with humility, with the principal that “Yes, I may be a good leader, and I want to know how I may be even more effective.”

Humility is the foundation of growth, and we all have areas of potential improvement. In fact, everything can be improved.

I have facilitated more than 100 leadership assessments, often referred to as 360s. In virtually every case,  the leaders received important learning and advice from their colleagues, who are asked to be honest in sharing their perceptions.

The assessments are anonymous. The thoughtfulness and honesty of the perceptions are most helpful to the leaders.

It is important to know that a leadership assessment via conversations with the leader’s selected paricipants is way more informative and helpful than the established, common way of online questions.

I am particularly excited that just recently, two outstanding Catholic priests asked my wife, Kerry, and me if we would facilitate 360s for them. It was coincidental as these two priests do not know each other. One is a pastor in the Diocese of Joliet, the other is about to become a pastor in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

I said they are outstanding priests, and they absolutely are, and yet, there is important learning for each, learning that will help them be even more effective as leaders in their conversations, relationships, helping with the vitality of their parish, and deepening the faith of their parishioners.

Some of the learning of a 360, including for me when I had a leadership assessment when in my former business career, are no surprises. I often hear, “Yes, I expected that.” These are usually long term, ingrained habits. A good example in my case was that I am conflict avoidant. I knew that, yet when it is in writing from people who worked closely with me, it is powerful, and I committed to change for the better, and my coach, Mary Mavis, helped me.

We can also have blind spots. Again, in my case, I learned the perception was that I play favorites. My reaction was that is simply not true, I do not. Mary said that is the perception and is that what I want people to think? Of course, I didn’t, and so I made changes in my everyday leadership.

The point is we may have blind spots.

Bless these priests for having the humility to want to learn the perceptions of staff, volunteers, parishioners and, if there is a school in their parish, students, parents, and teachers, of what they are doing very well and how they might be even more effective.

The leadership of our priests, ministers, rabbis and all religious leaders has never been more important than it is today, and will only be even more important going forward with all that is going on in our world.

And bless the business leaders who have the humility to request a 360. They, too, will grow in serving their colleagues.

In virtually every case I have been involved with, there has been important improvement in leadership and in some cases, it has really been transformative.

Be assured, striving for continuous improvement is the path to success!