Monday, May 17, 2010

2nd Boom- Leadership (5/14/10)


I just did an assessment of my leadership ability from a tool I received as part of the Life Success Course offered by PSI Seminars.  I was asked to rate myself in 15 areas that have been identified as traits of leaders.  What I discovered is that I am a potential leader.  A leader scores a minimum of 120 points out of 150 points possible and I scored 115.  I was slightly surprised at the result because I am often placed in positions of leadership.  For instance, I directed a choir for 16 years, starting at the age of 22.  However, I also know that there has been a recurring pattern of “almost” in my life.  “Almost reached the goal.” “Almost ready.” “It’s almost here.” I think that this trend is a result that shows me that up to now I have “almost” committed myself to being a leader.

For the record, the kind of leader that this assessment was speaking about might be a little different from what many people think.   Before one can be an effective leader of others, one must be a leader of self.  So, this was focused on being a leader of self. 

The areas that I rated myself lowest in were persistence and self-esteem.  The persistence part was pretty clear.  I do persist despite challenges, however, sometimes I let the challenges take over and then I have to work to get back on course.  The self-esteem part was intriguing.  It was interesting to me that there were separate ratings for self-esteem and self-confidence.  I have often seen them as similar enough to lump into one, so I hadn’t really considered them separately before. 

The tool described self-confidence as “a strong trust in your own powers and abilities.”  This area I scored pretty high.  Self-esteem was dealing with liking yourself unconditionally.  I know that I have had a tendency to beat myself up and judge myself harshly.  This is why I rated myself a 6 out of 10 in this area. 

As a result of doing the assessment, I have decided a few things.  The first is that I am committing myself to being a leader.  I am setting a goal to redo this assessment on August 8th and honestly score myself with at least 120 points.  Another decision I made is to focus specifically on building my self-esteem and being more persistent.  Shifting these two things should make a big difference in the results of the other goals I have set for myself.

So, now I’ve got to ask myself, “What don’t I love about myself unconditionally?” The answer to this question will help me determine some action steps.  Also, I am using the tools given to me by Mortonette to shift my feeling about myself.

As for persistence, I am making a goal to give myself at least 15 min of “Me” time per day.  I will use that time to nurture myself in whatever way I want – prayer, meditation, soaking in the tub, going for a walk etc. I am choosing to be persistent in giving myself the love that I deserve.

I feel very good about what I have learned through this assessment.  I am grateful that I gave myself the gift of taking this course a few years ago.  I can see that it is still paying off.  Time invested in oneself is priceless and it continues to pay off throughout our lives.  I am grateful for this understanding.

Blessings!

No comments: