I recently read an article by Jennie Nash entitled ‘The Difference Between Writers Who Meet with Success and Those Who Don’t.’ (Thank you, Anna Fox, for sending it to me!)
Aside from being so helpful to me as a creative writer, this advice also led me to reflect on how it is equally applicable to leadership.
I could have changed the word “writers” to “leaders” edited the content, and had a great article on leadership!
This was the paragraph that stopped me in my tracks:
‘The Difference Between Writers Who Meet With Success And Those Who Don’t Is Self-Awareness
The ability to look objectively at your work is the key to writing success.
It means you can think about what you want to write before you write it, consider your goals, and approach the work with intention.
It means you can step outside of your own experience as a writer and consider the experience of your future reader — why they might come to the work, what they might get out of it, why they might be grateful for it.’
I run training programmes in EQ, and I am always banging on about self-awareness, but I hadn’t thought about it in this way.
Step outside yourself and objectively look at your leadership style.
What type of a leader are you? The challenge is in being objective. We are so invested in our perception of how we ‘think’ we lead. But are we correct?
Self-awareness is the key to good leadership. It’s not just about what type of leader you are, but how you lead. Do you see yourself as a visionary leader? Or are you more about developing people and use the Coaching style of leadership?
This is where the leadership report from EBW comes into its own. It is a free additional resource when you take the Advanced Business EQ Report from EBW. Full details on that report can be found at the end of this article.
The leadership report adds another layer to the Business EQ report because you can see where you sit on the scale in each of the six leadership styles.
For example: The closer Jane’s score is to the green area of the scale the greater level of comfort she will have with this leadership style.
So, you can see from the sample leadership report below that Jane is a 78% match with the ‘Visionary’ leadership style.
The EBW gives you the key to unlocking your leadership potential by not only showing you what your predominant leadership style is but also by showing you how you measure up in all six of the leadership styles.
Here is a bit more about each of the leadership styles:
- Visionary Leaders
Mobilising people towards a vision. This style is great for when moving in a new direction; it may struggle when motivating highly experienced staff. - Coaching Leaders
Developing people for the future. A style that works well when building up long-term capabilities, this is least effective when teammates are defiant and unwilling to learn. - Affiliative Leaders
Creating emotional bonds and harmony. Not to be used exclusively, this can work well alongside visionary leadership and is used to best effect in times of stress or when building trust. - Democratic Leaders
Building consensus through participation. Excellent for co-creation and inspiring collective ownership, this style may not be best suited for emergency situations or those requiring rapid decisions. - Pacesetting Leaders
Expecting excellence and self-direction. Perfect for highly motivated and skilled teams, this can provide quick results but suffers when people need extra guidance or lack drive. - Commanding Leaders
Demanding immediate compliance. This style is most effective in times of crisis or when employees do not respond to other leadership styles. But it can stifle motivation innovation and flexibility.
As if that wasn’t enough, the EBW Advanced report will also give you a measurement of where you are concerning the 8 traits that predict success (see end of article.)
As a leader, you need to be adaptable and resilient, if you are stuck in one leadership style this report gives you the opportunity to understand the areas you can develop to make you a more effective leader.
More about the leadership styles of coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding can be found here:
https://www.ebwglobal.com/articles/what-is-your-leadership-style
Further information on the EBW advanced assessment can be found here.
The Business EQ assessment is a trait-based psychometric assessment that measures Business Emotional Intelligence. It measures and raises awareness about the underlying emotional and behavioural traits that drive performance. https://www.ebwglobal.com/business-eq-assessment
During April, you can book an EBW assessment (with the leadership report) consultation and 1 follow-up coaching session with me at a 25% discount.
For further details on how to avail of this offer, please email me at justine@proactivecoaching.ie
