Know Thy Self

Leaders need to have an understanding of their own strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and limitations. In fact the level of success that a leader has in influencing others in proportional to the amount of self awareness they possess. There are distinct ways in which leaders can develop self awareness. The first in self evaluation, often called reflection. This is accomplished by reading books and articles, reviewing past experiences even journaling. Many leaders participate in some form of self evaluation. But when feedback comes from a single source there are limitations, especially if the source is based on your own perspective. So, I suggest two more ways to gain greater self awareness as a leader, they are having a mentor and using a coach.
Mentors take the self reflection one step further in that they provide the external feedback necessary for real growth. A trusted mentor can help promote new thoughts and insights. Their encouragement can provide the motivation for lasting change. The final resource leaders can use to get feedback is through a coach. Coaches are great because their purpose is to cause personal change. Coaches challenge the personal status quo by making assessments and then helping the individual focus on measurable goals.