3 Common Leadership Awareness Gaps 3-minute read Written by Psychometrics Canada How the Psychometrics 360 Helps Organizations Identify and Address Them Strong leadership has a direct impact on organizational performance, from engagement and morale to decision-making and long-term sustainability. Yet even experienced, capable leaders often struggle to improve in meaningful ways. Not because they lack skill or commitment, but because they lack clear, unbiased feedback on how they are actually experienced by others. Leaders typically receive less feedback than those they lead. When feedback does occur, it is often informal, filtered, or incomplete. Without objective data, it becomes difficult to accurately assess leadership strengths, blind spots, and development priorities. This is where clear, data-driven 360-degree feedback insights can play a critical role. The Psychometrics 360 provides leaders with data-driven insight across key leadership competencies, helping organizations understand where a leader’s self-perception aligns, or does not align, with the experiences of supervisors, peers, and direct reports. Some of the most valuable insights emerge when leadership awareness gaps are revealed. Below are three common examples, along with how they can be addressed using the Psychometrics 360. 1) I’m not a great coach Leaders who are actually great coaches can underestimate their impact on others. This typically happens for two reasons: There is more that they wish they could do and because of that, they rate themselves lower than average. They are comparing themselves to someone else who they recognize as a strong coach, and are trying to live up to these standards (which may not be realistic). When being evaluated using a 360, leaders may see that their Direct Reports rate them higher in coaching and development efforts, compared to how they rate themselves. This contrast is pleasantly surprising to these leaders, and they can use this information to shift their mental benchmark. From the 360 feedback, they will start to realize that coaching and developing others is actually a strength, rather than a development need. 2) Communication is my weakness One of the key qualities a successful leader is great communication. They are able to communicate complex information in a clear and concise manner, and they don’t leave those around them confused. However, a leader with the ability to do so may not realize that it is one of their strengths. The common reason why these leaders believe that their communication needs to improve is because they compare themselves against someone whose communication style they admire, rather than by actual evidence (such as communication breakdowns). Using the Psychometric 360, leaders may find out that their communication is much stronger than they think. This insight helps reframe their communication skills as an unharnessed strengths. At the same time, the feedback can highlight opportunities for refinement. In this case, it is possible for them to work with a training and development expert to ensure that they are covering key information that will resonate with everyone, such as: Both the big picture and the details. Both the facts, figures and rationale, as well as the impacts on people. 3) Everything is critically important If everything is critically important, is anything actually important? A leader’s role is important to the success of the organization. Effective leaders share the successes with their team, and hold themselves accountable for failures. This can naturally lead to the perception that their responsibilities are all critically important. However, this also means that they are not focusing their time where they need to. Additionally, leaders who spread themselves too thin often find themselves burning out much more quickly than those who can identify (and focus on) what is truly important. The first step to resolving this issue is to set priorities. What are the most important responsibilities? Leaders may need help from peers or experts to help identify these priorities, especially if they are stuck in the weeds. As priorities are established, how can some of these responsibilities be delegated to Direct Reports? These goals can be managed by others, leaving the leader with more time to focus on the higher priorities. Addressing Leadership Awareness Gaps in Your Organization Effective organizations are led by those with self- and other-awareness. When leaders gain data-driven insight into how they are seen, their growth begins. The Psychometrics 360 uncovers hidden strengths, challenges beliefs they may have about their own performance, and can help a leader focus on what matters the most.
