Developing Your Leadership Style
There are lots of leadership books out there, and that is great. We are not anti-book, and there is certainly a lot of helpful information available that could help you become a better leader. Looking at external sources for inspiration, however, has its drawbacks. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of leadership books, courses, and styles. Whether it's books and courses that you turn to, or observing your fellow nonprofit leaders, you can be left feeling that a particular style is not quite you, or that mimicking somebody else’s style is disingenuous.
Additionally, the leadership responsibilities that you take on in the nonprofit sector can be extremely stressful. The workload can sit heavily on your shoulders and manifest in feelings of inadequacy - you just don’t have what it takes, you should be every kind of leader imaginable, or you have to work 12-hour days, 7 days a week. So here is a plug for May is Mental Health Month, and a reminder that self-care is important.
But also, clarifying what type of leader you are will take that stress and burden off your shoulders. We have no judgment about which path you take, leadership development is a daily activity. Engaging in personal reflection is good starting point to determining your leadership style. It is as important as consulting those external leadership resources.
If you have read our previous blogs, you’ll know that we utilize a strengths-based approach in our work, rooted in positive psychology. This approach is effective at the individual and organizational levels. One of our favorite tools is the S.O.A.R. analysis (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results). S.O.A.R. can be used in multiple ways and is an ideal approach to grounding yourself in your own leadership style. We’d like to invite you to use this approach to guide your process. The activity prompts you to consider the following types of questions:
Strengths: What are your leadership strengths?
Opportunities: What opportunities exist for you to utilize and develop your leadership strengths?
Aspirations: What type of leader would you like to be?
Results: What results will you achieve by applying your leadership strengths to your work?
Interested? Check out this tool that we’ve adapted to provide you with more guidance and encourage deeper thinking about it (see SOAR for Leadership handout).
We want to sign off with two thoughts:
As consultants, we are privileged to work with many leaders in the nonprofit world. Their leadership styles vary tremendously, and they are united by their commitment to the missions of the nonprofit organizations they lead. We acknowledge and celebrate your work, and remind you again of the importance of self-care (see previous blog): Wellness For Nonprofit Leaders.
When you are completing the S.O.A.R. activity, you don’t have to be modest. In fact, you’ll find the activity more effective if you push yourself to include everything. Don’t worry, nobody will see what you have written. This activity is to help you. Mind you, this activity is also a highly effective way of building strong teams. Make sure you read our second May blog on Shared Leadership. You might just decide to share the results of your activity as a way of inspiring the team you lead.