Monthly Archives: October 2021

improve leadership skills

Using a 360-Degree Evaluation to Improve Leadership Skills and Performance

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A 360-leadership competency assessment is a great tool to improve skill development for leaders and managers.


There are many tools on the market but in this article, I will explore the one from SurveySparrow who contacted me about making a video on their software.


Leadership Competencies can vary from one assessment to another, so it is best to use competencies that you know come from a trusted source. Some assessments come with pre-determined competencies that cannot be changed, while others give you the option to use your own.


I decided I would test the SurveySparrow tool on myself, and my first inclination was to use competencies that I had written for my paper version of a manager skill assessment. However, after reviewing the default leadership competencies of the SurveySparrow tool, I decided to use those to keep things simple.


The important thing to keep in mind is that a 360-degree evaluation survey is a development tool, not a performance assessment. You need to approach this from the perspective of using the tool to increase self-awareness and learn where improvement is needed.


There should be a high level of trust between all contributors so the person being surveyed feels that this is being done in their best interests.


The 360-degree survey can be used for any position but the most common is leadership and management.


Competencies

The SurveySparrow 360-degree survey for leadership is divided into 7 sections with several questions in each. The sections are:

  1. Leadership Skills
  2. Communication Skills
  3. Team Skills
  4. Organizational Skills
  5. Creativity Skills
  6. Interpersonal Skills
  7. Organizational Alignment

A 360-degree assessment is designed to get feedback from all those who work with the person being evaluated. The participants would be the person themself, their boss, their peers, and direct reports.


The SurveySparrow tool allows for complete customization. This includes the number of competencies and the scoring levels.


At the end of each section there is a place to add text explaining your reasoning for the scores you gave. I found this very helpful feedback.


There is also a section at the very end to type in your development plan of action. This can be done by the boss after discussion with the person being evaluated. Or it could also be a coach hired by the organization. You can try SurveySparrow for free and should you decide to subscribe to their software, here is a code to receive a 25% discount StephenSurveySparrow25


improve leadership skills
discover your interests

Discover Your Interests & Motivation for Satisfaction at Work An Interview with Guest Expert Dr. Sarah E. Brown, author of the Book of You®

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Becoming clearer about your interests and motivations and aligning that knowledge with your strengths is the key to greater satisfaction and performance at work.


Dr. Sarah E Brown discovered that this knowledge was previously only accessible to C Suite executives who worked with executive coaches.


Her purpose now is to make this knowledge and process available to anyone and she is on a mission to reach over 250,000 women with her method.


In this interview Sarah explains her approach that she calls self-coaching. Learn more about Sarah Brown and explore some of her free resources at the following websites.


TheBookOfYou.comSarahebrown.com


volunteering

Volunteering is a Great Way to Engage Employees and Build Teamwork

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I have been doing volunteer work for many years with a variety of organizations. I was thinking of the benefits I get from these activities and thought of how it could also help companies better engage employees and generate teamwork.


Many companies spend a lot of money on team building activities, which are fun events, but the effect may wear off quickly. Volunteering can cost less and be an ongoing experience.


Key benefits:

  • Rally employees around a good cause
  • Create a spirit of giving and helping
  • Explore shared values
  • Build comradery
  • Help strengthen the local community
  • Show corporate leadership in the local community
  • Build business network
  • Team building opportunity
  • ROI – business brand and respect

Steps

  • Appoint a project champion
  • Form a steering team made of employees from various departments
  • Decide on a community project or organization to contribute work with
  • Form a task team to map out a plan and act
  • Communicate project to all employees
  • Encourage employee involvement
  • Measure results
  • Employee satisfaction survey
  • Use social media (Facebook page etc.)
  • Make a video (optional)

Every business relies on their local community for skilled workers, suppliers for products and services, financing, access to markets and more. The healthier the local community is the better resources your business will have to grow and succeed. Having a volunteer program supporting and strengthening the local community will pay itself back to your company in more ways than one and is something that every business, large and small should consider.