你的领导力需要“充电”吗

2020年悄然而至，回首过去的一年，你觉得自己的领导力展现得如何？哪些地方做得比较完美？哪些地方还有所欠缺？“往者不可谏，来者犹可追。”回望过去、总结经验教训才能更好地出发。著名领导力专家苏珊娜·马德森（Susanne Madsen）列出了八个问题，帮助各位项目领导者从三个方面（领导别人、领导自己、领导项目）审视自己的领导力，从而找出新的一年需要改进的地方。

这八个问题分别是：

（1）在激励团队成员充分参与方面，你做得如何？

（2）支持、鼓励和倾听团队成员之外，你还需要挑战他们并让其承担责任，这方面你做到什么程度了？

（3）你在“定制型”沟通方面做得怎么样？

（4）自己才是自己最大的敌人，你是否具备成功思维模式呢？

（5）你的时间管理能力如何？

（6）你控制冲动的能力如何？

（7）你是否擅長进行项目回顾？

（8）你是否了解商业背景并开展过充分的项目论证？

苏珊娜·马德森不仅给出了领导力自检的八大问题，针对每个问题她还提供了解决方案。一起阅读下文，给自己2019年的领导力打个分吧！

A new year is upon us. What better time to consider how you can continue to develop as a project leader and sharpen your saw.

A good place to start is to look back at what happened last year. What went really well on your projects and what achievements are you most proud of In which ways did you successfully collaborate， lead and add value Its important to take time to savor the sweet moments and pad yourself on the back， as you cant be sure that anyone else will do it. Look back through your calendar and notice all the things you did. Reviewing your achievements reminds you of how far you have come and what you have learnt. It will give you renewed energy for the year ahead.

At the same time， you also need to consider what didnt go so well. What feedback did you receive – directly or indirectly – from clients， colleagues and bosses What does it tell you about the areas you need to improve on The feedback you received shouldnt be seen as negative but as an opportunity to grow and continue to develop. We all have areas we need to improve on and its much better to be conscious about them as that means you can do something about it.

To continue to develop your project leadership skills， have a look through the eight topics below. They are grouped into the categories of leading others， leading self and leading the project. Read through each of them and score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10. The areas where you score the lowest are those that you need to focus on the most going forward.

Leading others

Q1. To what extent are you able to fully engage and motivate others

Are you paying sufficient attention to how you motivate your team and make each member feel appreciated and included Studies show that high performance occurs when all members of a team communicate and contribute in roughly the same amounts – something that is made possible when people feel safe to express their views and ideas without being criticized or dismissed. During team meetings， encourage people to share whats on their mind and close the meeting by inviting those who havent yet contributed to share their thoughts and feelings. You can also encourage team members to speak up during your one-to-one meetings. These meetings shouldnt be spent just tracking progress and talking about tasks and assignments. They should also address how you work together. Ask the team member if they feel that the delegation and escalation process between you is working and if they are getting the support and guidance from you that they need. In the new year， begin to initiate these kinds of honest and direct conversations and really value your team members input.

Q2. How good are you at holding people to account

As much as you need to support， encourage and listen to your team members， you also need to challenge them and hold them to account. Otherwise， high performance is unlikely to happen. It can be truly motivating to have clear performance targets， so mutually agree measurable goals and objectives for all assignments. Remember that its not your role to singlehandedly set the targets. Ideally targets and SMART measures should be set by the individual team member based on their own analysis and estimates. When team members set their own targets in terms of when a task will be delivered and how quality will be measured， its much easier for you to hold them to account. On the contrary， its almost impossible to hold someone accountable to something they have not been part of agreeing.

Q3. To what extent do you tailor your communication

Do you understand who all your stakeholders are and do you tailor your approach and method of communication to each of them Some people say that you have to treat people the way you would like to be treated yourself， but its far better to treat people the way they would like to be treated. Everyone has different communication preferences. Some of your stakeholders would like you to drop them an email， informing them of what is happening. Others would like you to inform them at your regular face-to-face meetings or they want you to escalate to them via a weekly status report. Dont make the mistake of treating everyone the same. Instead， ask your most important clients and stakeholders how they would like you to keep them informed. Some may need a bit of time to consider your question， as they may never have been asked before.

Leading self

Q4. To what degree do you have a mindset of success

Are you able to focus all of your energy on being the best leader you can of your project， or do your thoughts from time to time sidetrack and sabotage you What are some of the stories you are telling yourself Perhaps a little voice inside of you is saying that you are not experienced enough， not technical enough， not old enough or perhaps too old to effectively lead a project Studies show that up to 75% of peoples thoughts tend to be negative， which means that we are our own worst enemy. To be a successful project leader， you have to manage your thoughts and remove the negative ones. If you feel your knowledge is not up to scratch， sign up to a course or find a mentor， but dont beat yourself up with self-deprecating thoughts. Simply become conscious about what you are thinking and deliberately substitute any limiting beliefs with a set of more empowering ones. If youre unsure how to do it， find a coach who can help you.

Q5. How good is your ability to manage time

Are you working proactively and do you get through most of your scheduled tasks during a workday To be as effective as you can in the new year， you must take control of time and manage it well instead of letting time manage you. If you feel that youre not getting enough work done， block out some time in the morning where you work uninterruptedly on your most important tasks. Resist the temptation to clear the small items first and be careful not to multi-task， as it will dramatically lower your focus and productivity. If you manage to get most of your big tasks done early in the day， it doesnt matter that the remainder of the day is consumed by interruptions， meetings and urgent issues.

Q6. To what degree are you able to control your impulses

There are many situations on a project that can trigger your emotions， and if youre not careful， they can cause you to overreact and to do or say things that you will later regret. When a team member hasnt completed the work they said they would， when a stakeholder changes their mind about a requirement or if an unexpected issue crops up， it can cause you stress and trigger an emotional reaction. Noticing your emotions is a good thing， but reacting unduly or overreacting because you feel angry， upset or afraid should for the most part be avoided. Form the habit in the new year to become aware of how you feel about a situation and consciously choose how you want to respond. Never send an email or give instructions to a team member when you feel angry. First find a way to calm yourself down so that you can think clearly. You can do that by slowing down， breathing deeply or going for a walk.

Leading the Project

Q7. How good are you at scheduling retrospectives

Do you regularly take time out to validate that your project is headed in the right direction and to assess what you can improve and change going forward Having regular retrospectives is an essential part of leading a project because it enables you to course correct and engage the team in the process. Some of the questions you can ask of the team are：

What is working really well for other teams and in other industries that we can replicate What does our gut tell us about the project Which bad decisions have we made that need to be reverted What would we do differently if we bet our own money on this What do our customers and executives keep complaining about What can we do about it What are we not seeing that is new or different

Q8. How certain are you that the project has a strong business case

The purpose of your project is to deliver specific outputs and outcomes to your client or project sponsor， right Well， thats partly right. The ultimate purpose is for those outputs and outcomes to add value and deliver the business benefits. Many project managers conveniently forget this last step as they believe that its the sponsors or clients responsibility to ensure that a valid business case is in place. But project leaders are more than happy to co-own the business case and actively take an interest in helping to realize it. How good are you personally at understanding the projects ultimate purpose and the wider business context If you feel that this is a weak spot， make it a priority this year. Few things are more powerful on a project than understanding the business aspect.

Now that you have carried out your review， choose three areas to work on this year. Dont overcommit yourself by setting too ambitious goals. Taking small， steady steps is the best way to move forward and set yourself and your project up for success.