The 3 Game Changing Ways to Understand Yourself as a Leader

Over the years as a psychologist and business coach, I’ve had many CEOs come to me wanting to better understand themselves and the leaders on their team. A common question is why there’s such a difference in team performance from one leader to the next? Through my experience, I’ve identified three game-changing ways to help answer these questions and understand yourself as a leader.

Today, I want to share with you the three game-changing ways to understand yourself as a leader and ultimately become better for it.

1. Self-Assessment

Self-assessments like Working Genius, DISC, and Myers-Briggs provide personal insights, but they are subjective and often leave us blind to how we truly impact others. The pro is that they’re inexpensive; however, the con is that they don’t test reality.

For example, think of Shirley, a highly driven executive who always gets results. But without feedback, she doesn’t realize she’s burning out her team and micromanaging them. While she thinks it’s her team’s issue because they’re slacking, under-performing or quitting, the reality is that it’s her leadership style causing the problems.

2. 360° Feedback

The second approach is 360-degree feedback, which gives you a real, objective perspective by gathering feedback from bosses, colleagues, and employees. This method reveals blind spots and helps leaders improve by providing honest insights from those around them.

360-degree feedback blends self-assessment with the perspectives of others, allowing you to understand your true strengths and weaknesses. Some tools even map out how your skills undermine or support your success, giving you a clear path for improvement. However, this method costs more than a simple self-assessment because you also need someone to manage the surveys and analyze the responses.

3. Professional Coaching

Finally, the third and most impactful method is professional coaching. Coaches help leaders process the feedback from both self-assessments and 360-degree reviews while also asking powerful questions that encourage reflection and accountability. According to Fortune magazine, executives receiving more than 3 hours of coaching per month boost goal attainment by 78%.

A great coach acts like a personal trainer for leadership skills, keeping you on track and cheering you on. They help you uncover blind spots and turn feedback into actionable steps that lead to real improvement.

So What’s the Best Approach?

While professional coaching offers the highest level of investment, it also provides the greatest return. With a coach in your corner, you’re more likely to stay on track and reach your leadership potential.

Shirley, from our earlier example, might realize through coaching that she needs to encourage a better work-life balance and give her team more autonomy. As a result, she’d spend more time on high-level tasks, reduce turnover, increase employee satisfaction and buy-in.

No matter how much time or money you have to invest, choosing one of these assessments can help you become a game-changing leader who significantly impacts your team’s performance and your company’s bottom line.

Get Your Free Leadership Game Plan

If you want to learn more about developing yourself as a leader, I have a free leadership game plan linked in the description. It’s a personalized playbook to help you lead your team more effectively, define your goals, and develop a clear plan to become the leader you need to be.

Download it for free and start your journey towards becoming a better leader today!