Great leaders are not just born; they are sculpted through self-awareness that gives them the ability to adapt their style to fit each situation. This involves recognizing your unique set of traits, understanding what a situation demands, and knowing when to dial up or dial down certain aspects of your personality. The key is to strike a balance in your responses so that your team can focus on the process and achieving results, rather than on how you reacted as the leader. Because, just like everything in life, more is not always better.
The Power of Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership. It involves a deep understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and how your behavior impacts others. Connecting with this awareness allows you to adjust your approach to the needs of the moment.
Consider this: You might have a natural tendency to take charge, an asset in many situations. But there are times when the best next step is back, enabling others to step up to lead. The ability to make these adjustments is what separates good leaders from great ones.
Assessing Your Leadership Traits
One of the most effective tools for developing self-awareness in leadership is the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI). The HPI measures your day-to-day personality traits that serve as indicators of how you are likely to behave in various situations, whether you’re leading or following.
For example, here are two HPI scales: Adjustment and Ambition.
Adjustment: This scale measures emotional stability and composure. Leaders with high scores in Adjustment tend to be calm, resilient, and confident under pressure. They rarely get rattled, making them ideal leaders in a crisis. However, in everyday situations, this high level of composure can come off as lacking passion or energy or seeming unenthusiastic. This might lead a team to feel disconnected from a leader who seems unapproachable or uncommitted.
Ambition: This scale assesses how drive a person is to achieve and lead. High scorers are competitive, energetic, and eager to take on leadership roles. While this can drive a team toward success, it can also create an overly intense environment in which a team is pushed to achieve goals at the expense of collaboration and positive interactions with other leaders or departments, leading to decreased morale and commitment. The “I’ll just do it myself,” type scores high here.
Both Adjustment and Ambition are valuable traits, but their effectiveness depends on the context. A leader who scores high on Adjustment might need to turn up the dial on urgency in a fast-paced environment. Similarly, a leader with high Ambition might need to dial down their drive to lead, allowing others to shine in collaborative situations.
Knowing When to Dial Up or Dial Down
There is no one-size-fits-all leader. It’s about understanding the situation and adjusting your behavior accordingly.
I once coached a leader who was very self-aware and recognized their tendency to micromanage when under stress. Earlier in their career this earned them the reputation for ensuring success no matter the obstacle. However, as a Ieader of a team of seasoned professionals, they needed a new approach to ensure success. We discussed what they needed from their team so that they could rein in their desire to get overly involved. They identified the need for regular updates on key performance metrics. When issues arose, they wanted their team to follow a simple formula: explain what happened, what actions were taken, what results are expected, and what the plan is moving forward.
This enabled the leader to understand the full context of the issue and then they were able to provide insights based on the needs of the business instead of diving in deeply and attempting to solve the problem themselves.
Using some common Hogan scales, here are some examples of when to dial up or down on certain traits, and why:
- During a Crisis:
- Dial Up: If you score high on Adjustment, your calm demeanor is crucial. Use it to stabilize the team and navigate through the crisis with a clear head.
- Dial Down: If you score high on Ambition, resist the urge to take control of every decision. Instead, delegate and trust your team to handle specific tasks, which can prevent burnout and foster a collaborative environment.
- In a Creative Brainstorm:
- Dial Up: If you score high on Sociability, bring your energy and engage the team in open discussions. Encourage the sharing of ideas and keep a positive atmosphere.
- Dial Down: If you have high scores in Prudence, which measures attention to detail and structure, loosen up a bit here. Creative sessions thrive on spontaneity and fluidity, so allow the process to get messy even if it makes you uncomfortable.
- When Building Relationships:
- Dial Up: If you score high on Interpersonal Sensitivity, use your empathy to connect with your team members on a personal level. Show understanding and build trust.
- Dial Down: If you score high on Inquisitiveness, which indicates a curiosity for new ideas, be mindful of not overwhelming others with too many questions or creative ideas. Focus on listening and understanding and then offering practical solutions.
The Balance Between Strength and Overuse
While it’s essential to recognize and leverage your strengths, it’s equally important to understand that overusing them can be counterproductive. This is where the concept of “too much of a good thing” comes into play and self-control can save the day. For instance:
I recently coached an executive who, when under stress, has a strong instinct to take charge and act. While this can be the right approach in some situations, they faced a particularly sensitive issue that required more listening and reflection. When the leader asked for my guidance, I cautioned them to take a more measured approach as immediate action may cause further damage. Initially, they resisted, feeling that action was necessary. However, when I explained the potential unintended consequences. At first, they resisted a more measured approach. When I further explained the unintended consequences of their actions and how their urgency might prolong the situation they wanted to resolve, they agreed to take a more cautious approach.
Learning when to push forward and when to pull back, when to assert your ideas and when to let others take the lead, requires practice. Adopting these habits regularly can help you increase your self-awareness and adaptability, making the most of your leadership traits:
- Reflect on your actions and decisions. Ask yourself how your behavior affected both your team and outcomes of any effort.
- Encourage honest feedback from your peers, direct reports, and mentors. Use this feedback to adjust your approach.
- Take assessments with a qualified and licensed professional. They can provide insights into your personality traits and help you understand your natural tendencies as a leader.
- Consciously practice dialing up or down certain traits based on the situation. Flexibility is a skill that improves with intentionality.
- Pay attention to how other leaders adjust their styles. Learn from their successes and mistakes.
Leadership is not static; it’s a dynamic process that requires continuous self-awareness and adaptability. By understanding your unique set of traits and learning when to dial them up or down, you can lead more effectively and guide your team to succeed.
