Leading Self

  • Demonstrates self awareness through, accurate assessment and management of control of one’s own attitudes, belief systems
  • Draws on personal and professional strengths as well as areas for personal development to build your capacity.
Proficiency Levels – What it looks like

Being Developed
(BD)

Basic
(B)

Intermediate
(I)

Advanced
(A)

Expert
(E)

Maintains awareness of emotions and uses this to guide positive thinking and actions.

Demonstrates self-control and recognizes own pressure points.

Adapts approach without feeling own agenda or outcomes have been compromised.

Calms self and others during stressful times.

Draws upon self-awareness and self-control to identify and manage the emotions of others during adverse times.

Recognizes gaps in own skill set and takes advantage of learning opportunities to enhance effectiveness.

 

Acknowledges need for and seeks out the appropriate training and/or coaching.

Challenges inefficient/ ineffective work processes and offers constructive alternatives.

Comfortably handles risk and uncertainty and is decisive in ambiguous situations.

Demonstrates the capacity for self-reflection; looks back at setbacks and/or failures and identifies and applies key learnings for self and others.

Volunteers to undertake related activities and creates good work and personal habits. 

Volunteers to undertake tasks that stretch abilities.

Analyzes work errors, successes and failures and sets learning strategies to rectify and increase knowledge.

Uses setbacks in a constructive way and demonstrates a mindset of continuous learning and improvement.

Solicits feedback from a professional and personal network of experts and strategic advisors. 

Effectively organizes and prioritizes daily workload.

Possesses a strong work ethic and manages workload autonomously using creative methods to organize and prioritize ongoing workload.

Ability to adapt to changing workload priorities, effectively reprioritizing or deferring tasks in line with operational and strategic goals.

Anticipates and responds in a proactive manner to future needs that may not be obvious to others. 

Adapts easily in a continually changing environment and positively influencers others to adapt.

 

 

 

 

Ability to adapt to ever changing workload priorities and events and effectively reprioritizing or deferring tasks in line with operational and strategic goals.

 

What it doesn’t look like

  • Does not learn from errors; does not analyze one’s own contributions to problems
  • Work tasks are not completed; lack of prioritization
  • Lacking awareness of own skill set as required for deliverables
  • Producing work that does not met expectations for quality
  • Compromising standards to meet deliverable dates
  • Taking longer to achieve results than agreed

Questions to Consider

  • What is standing in the way of me delivering my best performance?
  • What steps can I take to ensure my Manager/Team Lead/Staff and I are on the same page with expectations?
  • Do I know this to be true or am I making an assumption?
  • How are the tasks that I delegated progressing? Are my staff succeeding and delivering the desired results? What questions do they have?
  • What adjustments need to be made as a result of changed conditions?

Learning and Development Activities

Choose one or two activities that support your preferred learning style

Activities by learning style

Doing

Listening

Observing

Training

Reading

Doing

Suggestions for activities you can do on the job

Self

  • Are there some tasks you know you avoid? If so, list the reasons why and address them one at a time.
  • Break down projects and tasks into smaller units, this can help ensure all steps are included (as level of detail is increased), and time to complete each task can be determined more accurately (helping ensure timelines are met). Colour code or cross off items as you complete them.
  • Review and evaluate a recent project you completed. What were the results in terms of quality, time and budget? How did the results compare to the initial forecasts? Are there areas for possible improvement?

With Peers

  • Review a project, or assignment, here it is (or was) challenging to achieve the objective. Discuss together ideas of what could be done differently to achieve the required outcomes.

With your Manager/Team Lead

  • Ensure all projects and activities you are responsible for have specified outcomes which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time defined.
  • When formally or informally reviewing your performance, focus on evaluating the results of specific outputs.
  • Discuss project progress; where things are at, what is going well, what risks exist and how you plan to manage them.

 

Listening and Observing

 

Here are some ideas that can be pursued on the job, with some coordination. Use these reflective questions to gain more from your learning experience:

  • What are three key things I have learned from this experience?
  • What will I do differently in my work as a result of this experience?

Who do you know that is effective in getting things done well, on time and within budget? Observe what this person does that makes them effective and efficient. Ask what processes they use and how they deal with unexpected events.

Training Programs

UBC Training Programs offered through Organization Development and Learning:

  • In-Powering: Making Sense of your Talents and Strengths
  • Insights into Personal Effectiveness
  • It’s About Time: Set Your Compass

For UBCO course offerings, please visit the Events page. http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/events.html

Consider working with a coach following training, to aid in anchoring your learning: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/coaching/

Reading

Choose to read one or two of the books listed below. Consider the reflective questions to enhance your learning:

  • What are the key points the author is making?
  • What are three key things I have learned from this reading?
  • What will I do differently in my work as a result of gaining this knowledge?

Staff

The Power of Personal Accountability: Achieve What Matters to You; (2004), M. Samuel & S. Chiche; Xephor Press. This book challenges us to pay attention to what really matters, to discover where you spend your time and energy then understand what works and what doesn’t and then use simple strategies change what doesn’t work.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Workbook; (2003) by S. R. Covey; Fireside. This individualized workbook teaches readers to fully internalize the 7 Habits through private and thought-provoking exercises, whether they are already familiar with the principles or not. This reference offers solutions to both personal and professional challenges.

Managers

Accountability: Freedom and Responsibility Without Control; (2002), R. Lebow & R. Spitzer; Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book shows how to get people in organizations to be more personally accountable for high performance in their work and for the success of the organization – without resorting to the traditional management systems that rely on control and manipulation. Emphasises that by gaining a higher sense of self-worth and autonomy, the quality of employee decision-making skills is greatly improved.

Creating the Accountable Organization: A Practical Guide To Performance Execution; (2006), M. Samuel; Xephor Press. A practical guide to bringing accountability into the workplace and into the daily life of managers and staff. Provides a working guide, through specific examples, of what accountability is; how to instil it within your company; and how to measure and quantify its effectiveness.

Managing By Accountability: What Every Leader Needs to Know about Responsibility, Integrity and Results; (2007), M. D. Dealy & A. R. Thomas; Greenwood Publishing. This book presents how to develop and promote the principles of accountability, responsibility, and integrity in any organization—and at every level.

Winning with Accountability: The Secret Language of high –Performing Organizations; (2008), H. J. Evans; Corner Stone Leadership Institute. This book offers guidance to you, your colleagues and your team to reach new levels of excellence and success by presenting a step-by-step guide to help improve performance by creating a culture of accountability. The strategies in this book are simple, easy to implement and the results are immediate.

Additional Questions

Please contact your Human Resources Representative with any additional questions.

Summary of Links

http://www.hr.ubc.ca/coaching/

http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/events.html