An article published on management-issues.com was based on an article by the INSEAD business school and a recent book by researchers from top business schools entitled Exploring Leadership Drivers and Blockers.
The process during which you learn more about yourself and increase your self-awareness includes amongst others questions such as the following:
- What is your aspiration? What type of leader would you like to become?
- What is your specific development objective that will get you closer to that aspired type of leadership?
- Which of your behaviours are currently preventing you from being such a leader?
- What can you start doing to achieve your development goal?
- Imagine what the opposite of the detrimental behaviours are. When you imagine yourself exhibiting these opposite behaviours, what fears do you experience? What is holding you back?
- If you were to achieve your development goal, what positive feelings or thoughts would you have?
- Which of your personal characteristics or experiences are the basis for those positive as well as negative feelings?
Recognise your blockers
Drivers are assumptions that give you a reason to act. Blockers are assumptions that force you not to change even when you rationally desire to adopt new behaviours.
Once you recognise your leadership drivers and blockers, you may develop a much more useful list of intended actions. Change is always difficult, but by leveraging your knowledge of the positive and negative psychological forces at play, you will put yourself on the path to success.
-jk-
Book: Woodward, I. C., Shaffakat, S., Dominé, V. H. Exploring Leadership Drivers and Blockers. 2019. 184 pages