Everyone promises that you can ‘improve your leadership immediately’. It really is true! The challenge is having the courage to take action right now to do it.

At Training x Design we have had the privilege of working with a range of people in some of South Australia’s most amazing companies. The best companies are driven by leaders who know they have room to move.

The leaders who know that their style isn’t working are the ones who will go on to grow and run incredible companies.

It sounds so simple. But the only way you can understand this is through feedback.

1. Improve your leadership immediately by deciding to look at the gap between intention and action

Nearly all of us have good intentions. And as leaders, we intend to help our team members to perform at their best. But sometimes our intention doesn’t come out as the right action.

As leaders, we spend our time looking at other people. We evaluate other people all day long: Are they performing well, what are they doing that is good or not so good, how can we get the best out of them. We are often so busy that we don’t get the luxury of sitting down and reflecting on our own work. And, sometimes, our leaders assume that we are doing a great job and we don’t get the support we need to really push our own boundaries.

Unless something happens to shake you out of your business-as-usual – like a consistently underperforming team, or consistently poor results – you will tend to continue on your merry way without much reflection.

Leaders tend to have blind spots

If you have ever run training for your team members, you feel like you know how well it’s gone. You tend to think that people get quite verbal when they don’t like things, and assume that “it must have been good because I didn’t hear anything”.

It’s an assumption that may not be right. And yet some research tells us that the number one predictor of leadership success is self-awareness.

Do you think that all of this assumption is going to help you improve your leadership? You’re right! It’s not likely.

As leaders, how do we get clear pictures of ourselves?

The GenOS Emotional Intelligence Assessment

The GenOS Emotional Intelligence Assessment is a 180-degree assessment, in two parts. The first is a self-assessment, which asks you to reflect on your leadership. Your results describe your leadership style against the six pillars of the GenOS model: Opportunity, culture, nature, nurture, motivation and relationships.

The second part is your team’s feedback. That, too, is reported against the six pillars of the GenOS leadership model.

The overall results of the assessment show you where your self-perception is in line with your team’s perception, and where there are any gaps. By applying yourself to address those gaps, your leadership style will develop more effectively, more quickly. Adapting your leadership style in this way will directly contribute to a more positive workplace.

At Training by Design we are accredited GenOS Assessments providers. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you.

2. Improve your leadership by being able to approach problems strategically

As leaders, we are out the front of the pack, reading the landscape, identifying and solving issues and problems. When we are good strategic problem solvers, we make better decisions. And when we make better decisions, our teams perform at a higher level because they follow our lead.

Great leaders are able to identify and define the problem clearly. They can challenge the assumptions they face in trying to solve it, are able to use facts to get to the solution, and know when (and how) to find and solve the root cause.

If you can’t identify the real problem, then any solution you bring to the table won’t remove it. You may solve it temporarily, but you’ll find yourself addressing it again in three months, six months, or a year’s time.

You can create a positive workplace by developing strategic, emotionally intelligent leaders

The Training x Design Leadership Development program is a two-day training program. The program gives your leaders the opportunity to develop their emotional intelligence and strategic thinking skills. These two sides of the leadership coin are what will improve their business decisions, their leadership skills, and the effectiveness of their teams.

The program includes material that ensures that your leaders:

• go through the GenOS 180-degree assessment
• learn about the power of feedback
• learn how to become personally resilient
• learn how to define and approach problems strategically.

Importantly, your leadership team will emerge with an understanding of how to create, develop and maintain great teams.

Contact us today to learn how you can develop the people leading your business.