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.

Mentoring Important for Jr and Sr Leaders

Leadership is about having a vision focused on the possibilities of the future.
And one way leaders can shape the future is through mentoring the next generation. Mentoring is a critical aspect of leader development.
Mentoring is an activity that mutually benefits junior and senior leaders because the mentoring relationship creates a safe learning environment through feedback.
Junior leaders benefit from the time and attention of more senior leaders as they glean wisdom from another person’s experiences without having to live through the same events. While at the same time senior leaders benefit by sharing their philosophies on leadership and listening to different perspectives on leadership issues from those they mentor.
Mentoring relationships can take on many forms. They do not always have to be formal, long term relationships. In fact great mentoring often occurs in rather informal settings.
But the best mentoring is guided. Guided mentoring provides an outline or theme, which facilitates discussion and encourages both parties to focus their attention to a defined topic. This method certainly is not meant to limit, rather like farming it helps to “loosen and prep the soil” of discussion, resulting in an enriched discussion and deepened development.

Leader Talent

Leadership is a talent and just like every talent there are two kinds of people: the ones who are naturally talented and the ones that are not. We all know someone that has a sort of gift, a special ability, something that just comes naturally to them, sometimes they don't even realize it. Well some people are endowed with the talent of leadership. They've got the "it"; people are attracted to them, they enjoy challenges, working in divers and ambiguous situations motivate them. These folks are natural leaders, they are like Mozart, Picasso and Da Vinci so to speak within the art of leadership.
Then there is the larger more common group of individuals, who have key attributes, but their leadership ability is developed over time and through practice. These leaders are excellent at what they do, because of the effort they invest. Within this group are professionals that take pride in pursuing excellence and influencing others to achieve high standards. They are like great athletes, musicians or artisans. Because they build upon the natural abilities they possess and seek opportunities to strengthen personal weaknesses. This group of leaders develop their talent, just like a great jazz musician, through trial and error, testing boundaries and discovering best practices.
Lest someone reading this becomes discouraged because do not feel like a natural leader, fear not, because like anything worth pursuing, becoming a good leader can be achieved. It takes practice, concentration and dedication. This does not mean one should stop what they are doing only to pursue great leadership qualities; rather in being dedicated and through practice the leader emerges from the experience. In essence you become the leader in doing, not simply by pursuing leadership.
This why so many leader development programs fail, they pool together the important skills, attributes and qualities of leadership, but they fail to allow for leadership to take place and consequently fail to develop a good leader. If you are truly interested in becoming a better leader, reflect on what you've got and what you need. Then in the moment of truth act appropriately, soon you will find that your leader attributes will be strengthened and your leader influence expanded.