Elevating Leadership Effectiveness by Building Self-Awareness of Inner Dynamics

Abstract

By improving self-awareness, leaders can elevate their effectiveness. Focusing on one’s inner dynamics constitutes a practical approach that offers a useful framework for leaders themselves as well as all the others who support them on their path towards better results for their teams or organizations. The objective of this article is to outline two models that offer such a framework. Both models can be regarded as hypotheses that shed light on the key drivers of leaders’ behaviors and show their impact on leadership effectiveness. These models are supported by observations, interviews with leaders and their associates, and, partially through statistical data derived from a 360 research tool. One of the models, the Core Quadrants model created by a Dutch consultant, Daniel Ofman, can be applied by everyone who focuses on his/her self-development. In the case of leaders, its potential usefulness is amplified as their self-development affects the effectiveness of their teams and organizations. The second model, the Versatile Leadership, was created by US-based psychologists, Robert Kaplan and Robert Kaiser, and focuses on a specific concept of leadership. In both models, inner dynamics point to psychological pitfalls that are associated with leaders’ strengths. If positive attributes are applied excessively, they become weaknesses that negatively affect leaders’ effectiveness. Better awareness of mechanisms and/or triggers that are behind excessively used strengths help leaders minimize associated negative impact on their relations and communication with the people with whom they works on achieving collective and individual goals. This results in improved leadership effectiveness.

Keywords

• leadership
• core quadrant
• versatile
• inner dynamics