Chapter 3 – Leadership Improvement Plan
This chapter will be devoted to analyzing how my aspirations can be put into motion drawing upon the information I uncovered in my self-assessment. My leadership plan will consist of the following focuses:
- Enhancing Strengths
- Developing Areas of Weakness
- Re-evaluations
- Thinking Forward
Enhancing Strengths
The basis of the book Strengths Finder 2.0 is to identify your strengths so you can know what they are and how to utilize them to improve your career – a kind of ‘know what you’re good at and be good at it’ type of thinking.
In order to do this, of course, you need to know what your strengths are. The book, along with the other assessments I performed helped me with that. So, now, I will explain how I plan to leverage my strengths.
Relationship Building: Over the past 12 to 18 months, I have noticed my core group of clients, co-workers, and centers of influence have begun to truly flesh themselves out. That is to say, two or three years ago when I was fairly new in my current position, I probably could not define who the closest people to me in each of these categories were. I can now easily define whom my valued clients, trusted co-workers, and centers of influence are (Centers of influences can also be referred to as mentors or advocates; they actively aid in business networking and development but are not necessarily employed by the company I work for.).
I have been told and it is apparent through self-assessment, that I am gifted in developing these important relationships. In order to continue to expand my book of business, which will in turn validate me for higher-level positions, I must continue to cultivate these existing relationships and mine for new ones. Another important item to note is that development of my relationships with my co-workers develops a system of allies, which has a very big benefit when dealing with corporate politics. Having someone on your side, who can advocate for you weighs heavily on decision makers when trying to move to a higher-level position.
Big Picture Oriented: My ability to think beyond the here and now, and see how actions truly effect the overall betterment of a business needs to be constantly honed to stay sharp and ahead of my peers. If I can position myself as one who understands not only what I do, but also why I do it, then respect from my peers and even my superiors will surely develop. I feel that this is already beginning to take place, and I must continue to build upon it. At each phase, or position, in my career I will make it a task of mine to fully understand how my performance affects the company. Currently, at the branch manager level, I have a good grasp of my branch’s overall performance and how it rolls up in the corporate structure, but as I move into business and commercial banking, those performance ticklers will change – I will focus on gaining knowledge on what those drivers are either before or during my time in those positions. By knowing how my role effects the “big-picture” of our organization, I position myself as one who is capable of leading others in said position.
Disciplined: My disciplined method of thinking and working is beneficial in managerial situations. My tendencies are to think thoroughly through a situation before making a decision. This is especially helpful in banking, because one false move could send a client relationship south. It is also useful in managing others because it creates value in what you do and say. Subordinates can rely on your judgment knowing it is sound and well thought out.
I intend to use this to my advantage when managing others, now and in the future. Being known as someone who can reason through things and deliver a clear, rational message will play to my benefit as I am constantly compared to fellow associates for performance and potential promotions.
Deliberative: My deliberative qualities mimic my disciplined qualities, thus they can be used in similar means. When managing others, I must never lose focus of the project or assignment I am delivering. I must constantly be aware of potential pitfalls and how to avoid them and work around them if they come into play. This will not only develop efficient rapport with current staff, but word will spread inside the organization that I put thought into my work and I am successful in developing and executing upon given assignments. This will benefit me when being evaluated for other potential managerial positions.
Developing Areas of Weakness
This purpose of this section should be pretty obvious. If you uncover weaknesses through various studies, you should develop a plan to improve these weaknesses – perhaps improve them enough to turn them into strengths.
Not Extroverted Enough: In order to be noticed in any scene, (corporate, family, friends, etc.) one has to have an element of extroversion. Otherwise, people just pass over you because you appear to have nothing to offer the group. I feel that I have lots to offer, however, sometimes, I do not speak up enough to make myself known. This is often mistaken in the workplace for someone who is timid, or inexperienced. In my current role as branch manager, I have to be engaged with my team and my customers, but I oftentimes find myself not so engaged with my peers and superiors. Being noticed by my peers and my superiors will help me be remembered and considered if an opportunity opens up for advancement.
Conflict Avoidant: In a large company with many fellow associates, opinions will constantly differ. This is a good thing, for we do not want everyone thinking the same way, otherwise we would not have the different skillsets it takes to run a large corporation. With these different minded individuals, you can guarantee there will be disagreements. When disagreements arise, I sometimes do not like to speak my mind for fear of ruffling someone’s feathers. Good things do not get done if everyone thought like this. I recognize that, and I slowly need to begin to get used to speaking up for something when I feel strongly about it. This will take some time, surely, and I will have to know when the situation calls for it. Some situations may not have enough importance to merit a disagreement, while others certainly need one to move forward. I will study others that I know are good at this and perhaps ask for tips. This will be a work in progress, but definitely a trait I can put to good use once I have gained some footing.
Pushover: Being a pushover is similar to being conflict avoidant. I do not think others consider me a pushover, but maybe sometimes I feel that I am. This weakness could be addressed in with the same techniques as the conflict avoidant trait. I also need to clear my mind of any thoughts that make me feel like a pushover, thus yielding more confidence in my interactions with others.
Impatient: While there are certainly others who are more impatient than me, sometimes I can become frustrated when others do not complete a task as quickly as I would like for them to. This applies to both my employees and my peers. I try not to let my impatience show, and even when it does, I do not think it is severe. However, this is something I just need to constantly keep in the forefront of my mind because if I lose sight of it, my impatience could certainly become worse. Having a sense of urgency, I think is very healthy for a company and a team; you just do not want to cross the line between urgency and impatience. So, by putting this as an action item, I will strive to always keep that in mind.
Re-evaluations
The ability to re-evaluate oneself is a crucial element in growth. First Citizens does formal employee evaluations twice a year. While these are helpful, and imperative for professional growth, they are not enough. Currently in place I have self-made goals to position for my next advancement opportunity. I will continue to have these internal goals at each level of my career.
The goals I am talking about are aimed at preparing me for my next promotion. And, at the end of each year, I step back and look at what I had wanted to accomplish (these goals are in writing) to see if I was successful. This year, I was successful in accomplishing what I set out to do – that was to meet the annual sales quotas for the position I wish to be promoted into soon. Once that happens, I will formulate new personal goals, which will align me for either a larger branch, or a transition into business banking.
Thinking Forward
And so forth, and so on… at each stage in my career I will set goals for myself, put them in writing, put them into action and reflect upon them at the end of each year, or other determined amount of time. This is an important facet of my professional growth, and this plan will continue all the way up to the highest level I can, or wish to achieve.
If I do decide to branch away from the banking world in to some other area like the sports or accounting arenas, this type of constant planning and thinking will still come into play. It is not as easy to define how that would map out, but I know for certain, if I want to be successful in anything I do, I must always have a plan as to what it will take to get me to the next level – and I must always know what that next level is.
This chapter will be devoted to analyzing how my aspirations can be put into motion drawing upon the information I uncovered in my self-assessment. My leadership plan will consist of the following focuses:
- Enhancing Strengths
- Developing Areas of Weakness
- Re-evaluations
- Thinking Forward
Enhancing Strengths
The basis of the book Strengths Finder 2.0 is to identify your strengths so you can know what they are and how to utilize them to improve your career – a kind of ‘know what you’re good at and be good at it’ type of thinking.
In order to do this, of course, you need to know what your strengths are. The book, along with the other assessments I performed helped me with that. So, now, I will explain how I plan to leverage my strengths.
Relationship Building: Over the past 12 to 18 months, I have noticed my core group of clients, co-workers, and centers of influence have begun to truly flesh themselves out. That is to say, two or three years ago when I was fairly new in my current position, I probably could not define who the closest people to me in each of these categories were. I can now easily define whom my valued clients, trusted co-workers, and centers of influence are (Centers of influences can also be referred to as mentors or advocates; they actively aid in business networking and development but are not necessarily employed by the company I work for.).
I have been told and it is apparent through self-assessment, that I am gifted in developing these important relationships. In order to continue to expand my book of business, which will in turn validate me for higher-level positions, I must continue to cultivate these existing relationships and mine for new ones. Another important item to note is that development of my relationships with my co-workers develops a system of allies, which has a very big benefit when dealing with corporate politics. Having someone on your side, who can advocate for you weighs heavily on decision makers when trying to move to a higher-level position.
Big Picture Oriented: My ability to think beyond the here and now, and see how actions truly effect the overall betterment of a business needs to be constantly honed to stay sharp and ahead of my peers. If I can position myself as one who understands not only what I do, but also why I do it, then respect from my peers and even my superiors will surely develop. I feel that this is already beginning to take place, and I must continue to build upon it. At each phase, or position, in my career I will make it a task of mine to fully understand how my performance affects the company. Currently, at the branch manager level, I have a good grasp of my branch’s overall performance and how it rolls up in the corporate structure, but as I move into business and commercial banking, those performance ticklers will change – I will focus on gaining knowledge on what those drivers are either before or during my time in those positions. By knowing how my role effects the “big-picture” of our organization, I position myself as one who is capable of leading others in said position.
Disciplined: My disciplined method of thinking and working is beneficial in managerial situations. My tendencies are to think thoroughly through a situation before making a decision. This is especially helpful in banking, because one false move could send a client relationship south. It is also useful in managing others because it creates value in what you do and say. Subordinates can rely on your judgment knowing it is sound and well thought out.
I intend to use this to my advantage when managing others, now and in the future. Being known as someone who can reason through things and deliver a clear, rational message will play to my benefit as I am constantly compared to fellow associates for performance and potential promotions.
Deliberative: My deliberative qualities mimic my disciplined qualities, thus they can be used in similar means. When managing others, I must never lose focus of the project or assignment I am delivering. I must constantly be aware of potential pitfalls and how to avoid them and work around them if they come into play. This will not only develop efficient rapport with current staff, but word will spread inside the organization that I put thought into my work and I am successful in developing and executing upon given assignments. This will benefit me when being evaluated for other potential managerial positions.
Developing Areas of Weakness
This purpose of this section should be pretty obvious. If you uncover weaknesses through various studies, you should develop a plan to improve these weaknesses – perhaps improve them enough to turn them into strengths.
Not Extroverted Enough: In order to be noticed in any scene, (corporate, family, friends, etc.) one has to have an element of extroversion. Otherwise, people just pass over you because you appear to have nothing to offer the group. I feel that I have lots to offer, however, sometimes, I do not speak up enough to make myself known. This is often mistaken in the workplace for someone who is timid, or inexperienced. In my current role as branch manager, I have to be engaged with my team and my customers, but I oftentimes find myself not so engaged with my peers and superiors. Being noticed by my peers and my superiors will help me be remembered and considered if an opportunity opens up for advancement.
Conflict Avoidant: In a large company with many fellow associates, opinions will constantly differ. This is a good thing, for we do not want everyone thinking the same way, otherwise we would not have the different skillsets it takes to run a large corporation. With these different minded individuals, you can guarantee there will be disagreements. When disagreements arise, I sometimes do not like to speak my mind for fear of ruffling someone’s feathers. Good things do not get done if everyone thought like this. I recognize that, and I slowly need to begin to get used to speaking up for something when I feel strongly about it. This will take some time, surely, and I will have to know when the situation calls for it. Some situations may not have enough importance to merit a disagreement, while others certainly need one to move forward. I will study others that I know are good at this and perhaps ask for tips. This will be a work in progress, but definitely a trait I can put to good use once I have gained some footing.
Pushover: Being a pushover is similar to being conflict avoidant. I do not think others consider me a pushover, but maybe sometimes I feel that I am. This weakness could be addressed in with the same techniques as the conflict avoidant trait. I also need to clear my mind of any thoughts that make me feel like a pushover, thus yielding more confidence in my interactions with others.
Impatient: While there are certainly others who are more impatient than me, sometimes I can become frustrated when others do not complete a task as quickly as I would like for them to. This applies to both my employees and my peers. I try not to let my impatience show, and even when it does, I do not think it is severe. However, this is something I just need to constantly keep in the forefront of my mind because if I lose sight of it, my impatience could certainly become worse. Having a sense of urgency, I think is very healthy for a company and a team; you just do not want to cross the line between urgency and impatience. So, by putting this as an action item, I will strive to always keep that in mind.
Re-evaluations
The ability to re-evaluate oneself is a crucial element in growth. First Citizens does formal employee evaluations twice a year. While these are helpful, and imperative for professional growth, they are not enough. Currently in place I have self-made goals to position for my next advancement opportunity. I will continue to have these internal goals at each level of my career.
The goals I am talking about are aimed at preparing me for my next promotion. And, at the end of each year, I step back and look at what I had wanted to accomplish (these goals are in writing) to see if I was successful. This year, I was successful in accomplishing what I set out to do – that was to meet the annual sales quotas for the position I wish to be promoted into soon. Once that happens, I will formulate new personal goals, which will align me for either a larger branch, or a transition into business banking.
Thinking Forward
And so forth, and so on… at each stage in my career I will set goals for myself, put them in writing, put them into action and reflect upon them at the end of each year, or other determined amount of time. This is an important facet of my professional growth, and this plan will continue all the way up to the highest level I can, or wish to achieve.
If I do decide to branch away from the banking world in to some other area like the sports or accounting arenas, this type of constant planning and thinking will still come into play. It is not as easy to define how that would map out, but I know for certain, if I want to be successful in anything I do, I must always have a plan as to what it will take to get me to the next level – and I must always know what that next level is.