Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
THIS DOCUMENT WAS PRODUCED BY THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM. IT IS POSTED BY THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES FOR PUBLIC
USE. THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE CONTENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO THE USERS GUIDE.
UNIT 1: BUILDING SELF-ASSESSMENT SKILLS
INTRODUCTION
Beginning the journey of leadership
The qualities of leadership are numerous. One writer offers
this list of qualities central to effective leadership:
_ Self-knowledge/self-confidence
_ Vision, ability to infuse important, transcending
values into an enterprise
_ Intelligence, wisdom, judgment
_ Learning/renewal
_ Worldmindedness/a sense of history and breadth
_ Coalition building/social architecture
_ Morale building/motivation
_ Stamina, energy, tenacity, courage, enthusiasm
_ Character, integrity/intellectual honesty
_ Risk-taking/enterpreneurship
_ Communication, persuasion, listening
_ Understanding the nature of power and authority
_ Ability to concentrate on achieving goals results
_ Sense of humor, perspective, flexibility
That list, to paraphrase Emily Dickinson, is a list you can
tip your hat to. When those who aspire to leadership meet this
list of qualities, their whole being rings with affirmation. Those
who yearn to be led, stand up and shout "Yes, I'd follow someone
like that!"
And notice what perches at the very top of the list of
leadership qualities: self-knowledge and self-confidence. Eastern
and western philosophy alike counsel the first side of that
equation: "Know thyself." And the second part is echoed in
thinkers like Thoreau: "What a man thinks about himself...is what
determines or rather indicates his fate," and Rollo May: "it is
self-affirmation that gives staying capacity and depth to ones
power to be."
One way to know ourselves is to spend years of study and
reflection, and there is no short cut to that marvelous process of
self-discovery. But recognition of the "market" has generated a
whole array of self-assessment instruments and techniques. Indeed,
the whole basis for adult and life-long learning, (the so-called
androgogical school) is that the learner is in charge of his or her
own learning, that is, knowing what he or she needs to know, that
learning occurs inside the learner and is activated not by a
teacher but by the learner.
Given these principles of learning, we encourage you to begin
your leadership education with you: who you are, your strengths and
values and preferences, your current leadership styles and skills,
and where you want to improve.
As you begin, you might want to keep in mind some thoughts
from the empowerment work of Gail Straub and David Genshon. One of
their concepts is called the growing edge, which suggests we look
at the creation of personal power in a joyful and positive way.
Using the metaphor of nature, consider a tree with branches
alive and growing. Committed to the health of its being, think of
the tree firmly rooted in the earth, the trunk with its bark for
protection and its branches with the very tips where growth takes
place. These are the growing edges, the places that are quite
vulnerable, defenseless, and open. Here is where the tree changes
most. Here is where the tree is most dynamic, most alive.
We are very much like the tree and we have growing edges in
all parts of who we are. Our growing edges are our gifts, our
opportunities, our teachers. They are the places in our lives that
feel a little scary, where we are taking risks, feeling vulnerable,
growing.
The way we view the growing edge is crucial. If we judge
ourselves, we tighten up and contract and pull back from the
growing edge. The growth stops with judgment.
We need to view our growing edges with compassion, asking
simple questions as a detached observer: What is it that I am here
to learn? It is important to learn from what we see and integrate
that into our next risk.
It is important to remember not to allow others to judge you,
either. Both positive and negative judgments cause you to pull
back from the growing edge and lose power. Remember that the tree
never judges. It simply grows from where it is.
Good luck with your work in this first unit of the Creating
Personal Power module, developing the skills of self-assessment.
ASSUMPTIONS
_ Self-knowledge is the basis for all learning and
change; if we know who and where we are, we can
more easily figure out where we want to go and how
to get there.
_ How we believe, how we interact with others, and
how we perceive relationships are based on the
images we hold of selves--on our self-esteem.
_ Knowledge of our own values is an important ally in
growth and change. Values are life-guiding beliefs
chosen freely from among alternatives after
thoughtful consideration of the consequences.
Values are prized and cherished, they are affirmed
and used when acting upon choices.
_ Leaders are people who know who they are and where
they are going.
_ Leadership consists of an upward spiral of
self-improvement, self-knowledge, and
self-actualization which leads to action.
_ Effective leadership in an age of uncertainty
demands self-confidence, with a dose of self-doubt
and humility.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Learners will:
l) Understand the basis for self-knowledge as an important element
in leadership.
2) Understand their strengths, values, and preferences.
3) Increase awareness of personal leadership characteristics,
skills, and styles.
4) Evaluate directions for growth, change, and self-improvement.
5) Practice a variety of self-assessment skills and use a
variety of self-assessment instruments.
6) Incorporate specific goals and objectives for personal growth
and improvement of leadership skills into a learning contract.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98