Building your leadership skills shouldn’t be left to chance. Do you know how to seek out the job assignments that will teach you what you need to learn?
Below, we share Part 2 of an article that ran in the January 2011 issue of Leading Effectively. In “Job Assignments That Matter Most,” CCL’s Jean Leslie explained that different kinds of job assignments teach different leadership skills.
Leslie and her colleagues mapped out activities to help leaders develop the 16 critical skills that are measured by Benchmarks, a 360-degree assessment that was recently updated by CCL.
The following ideas for developmental job assignments address eight of the 16 critical leadership competencies; the other eight competencies were featured in last month’s article. To learn more about the research behind these skills and assignments, read Benchmark Your Leadership.
To Develop… | You Need… | Assignments Could Include… |
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Compassion and Sensitivity Shows genuine interest in others and sensitivity to employees’ needs. |
Experiences in which empathy and understanding of others enhance success. |
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Putting People at Ease Displays warmth and a good sense of humor. |
Experiences that require connecting with people on a personal level. |
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Respect for Differences Values people of different backgrounds, cultures or demographics. |
Experiences that expose you to the value of diversity and difference. |
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Taking Initiative Takes charge and capitalizes on opportunities. |
Experiences in which you and others need to find new solutions to problems or bring fresh perspective to a situation. |
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Composure Demonstrates self-control in difficult situations. |
Experiences that can be chaotic and outside of your control. |
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Balance Between Personal and Work Life Balances work priorities with personal life. |
Experiences in which you seek more fulfillment outside the workplace or practice keeping balance amidst competing demands. |
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Self-Awareness Has an accurate picture of strengths and weaknesses and is willing to improve. |
Experiences in which people more readily give you feedback because you are new to the work or are trying to change or improve a situation. |
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Career Management Uses effective career management tactics, including mentoring, professional relationships, and feedback channels. |
Experiences that provide opportunities to use career-management tactics. |
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Learn more: Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences without Changing Jobs, by Cynthia D. McCauley