JLBC CADET CORPS
Leadership Skills & Theories
Response to constructive criticism Opennesstochange Self-confidence/esteem
TOTALS
Final Total __________
Add the numbers in each column and total them.
A score of 27 or less probably indicates a need for counseling and coaching in several areas. A score of 54 or fewer points to the likelihood of coaching in several performance areas.
A score of 63 or better indicates that more significant results would come from mentoring.
Coaching. The key to coaching is motivation and interpersonal influence. As said before, your primary coaching targets are those subordinates who achieve average or higher performance standards. Your coaching helps them improve their performance and go beyond ‘just enough.’ Coaching is a continuous process. Just as a football coach works with his team throughout the season, a leader works with his subordinates over a long period.
It’s essential to be involved with your team – talk with them, be present while the job is ongoing, and make sure they know you’re around and a part of what they’re doing. Developing that relationship builds trust, and you’ll need that trust to guide them along. Acknowledge your team members and the contribution they make to the mission. Motivate and encourage them to perform at high levels, and inspire them to exceed the minimum standards. You want to get them to own the mission – to be innovative about finding solutions to problems and better ways to do things. Could you support them and reward them? Free flow of communications is essential – you want your subordinates to feel comfortable enough to come to talk to you. Display your core values and encourage honesty and integrity as part of your unit culture. Finally, get buy-in when you talk to subordinates about changing how they’re working, adding more to their plate, and improving their standards.
Mentoring. Mentoring is for your above-average subordinates. They are the ones you want to groom to replace you or take on higher-level leadership roles within the organization. Mentoring involves teaching new skills and developing the ability to consider different outlooks on how the organization operates. Mentoring is an opportunity to instill the organization’s core values into an up-and-coming leader.
Mentoring involves the whole person and is much deeper than coaching or counseling. A mentor is growth-oriented. A mentor teaches by giving advice, relaying stories of what has happened in the past, by sharing their wisdom. A mentor leads the mentee into learning situations and lets them explore problems they will eventually deal with.
Mentoring is a time commitment involving trust and sharing. In addition to leading the mentee through new information and situations, sharing personal goals and feelings about the organization and work is essential. It takes a lot of patience to provide this long-term leadership.
Counseling. With under-performers, a leader’s approach is mostly through counseling. Counseling involves confronting and correcting people. You must be willing and able to talk with the person about the behavior or performance causing concern. You don’t have to be aggressive about it –
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