I had the opportunity to attend a two-day leadership training program a couple of weeks ago. It was a good chance for me to reflect on my own leadership abilities and behaviours.

In the course we talked a lot about what behaviours make a good leader. Some of the behaviours identified were:

• Has uncompromising high standards;
• Is willing to do the hard work of critical thinking;
• Accepts responsibility;
• Maintains an upbeat, positive outlook;
• Displays a pattern of good judgment; and
• Is willing to deal with difficult employee issues.

Do you think this is a comprehensive list? What other behaviours would you add?

It is always an interesting exercise to sit back and assess yourself against your company’s leadership behaviours. How do you measure up? What are your areas of strength? What are you areas of weakness? It affords us the opportunity to challenge our weaknesses and make them areas for improvement. It also allows us to look at our strengths and think about mentoring others to share our experience and knowledge.

Take the time to assess yourself against your company’s leadership competencies. It might be a very interesting exercise to have a peer and your boss assess you against the same competencies. This may give you a clearer picture of areas for improvement and identify your strengths. If your company’s leadership competencies aren’t on your intranet so to Human Resources and ask for the list.

Happy assessing! Leave a comment on what you think makes a good leader and if you take the time to go through this exercise whether or not you felt it was worthwhile.