In the early stages of their careers, many successful leaders are given plenty of guidance and sup­port. They are closely monitored, coached, and mentored. But as they move up the ladder, the sources of honest and useful feedback become fewer, and after a certain point, they are pretty much on their own. Bosses no longer give much consideration to their day-to-day actions and by the time any mistake comes to light, it is probably too late to fix them. Also, by the time their management mistakes negatively affect their business results, it is usually too late to make corrections that will get them back on course.

No matter how talented and successful you are, you will make mistakes. You will develop bad habits. The world will change sub­tly, without your even noticing, and behaviours that once worked will be rendered ineffective.

Through his experience as a management consultant and interviews with a large number of executives in a broad range of industries, Robert Kaplan has observed that even outstanding leaders invariably struggle through stretches of their careers where they get off track for some period of time. He has learned that a key characteristic of highly successful leaders is not that they figure out how to always stay on course, but that they develop techniques to help them recognize a deteriorating situation and get back on track as quickly as possible.

The best way to do that, Kaplan has discovered, is to step back regularly, say every three to six months, and honestly ask yourself some questions about how you are doing and what you many need to do differently. “As simple as this process sounds,” he accentuates, “people are often shocked by their own answers to basic management and leadership questions.”

Kaplan outlines seven types of questions that leaders should ask themselves on some periodic basis. He is not suggesting that there is a “right” answer to any of them or that they all will resonate with a given executive at any point in time. He is suggesting, however, that successful executives can reg­ularly improve their performance and preempt serious business prob­lems by stepping back and taking the time to ask themselves certain key questions.

“How frequently do I communi­cate a vision and priorities for my organization? Would my employ­ees, if asked, be able to articulate the vision and priorities?” Many leaders have a wealth of leadership talents: interpersonal, strategic, and analytic skills; a knack for team building, and certainly the ability to develop a vision. Unfortunately, in the heat of day-to-day activities, they often do not adequately com­municate the vision to the organi­zation. It is very difficult to lead people if they do not have a firm grasp of where they are heading and what is expected of them.

The second area to question is closely relates to the first: “How am I spending my time?” Once you know your priorities, you need to determine whether you are spend­ing your time, your most precious asset, in a way that will allow you to achieve them. How you spend your time is an important question not only for you but also for your team. People tend to take their cues from the leader when it comes to time management; therefore, you want to make sure there is a match between your actions, your organ­isational priorities, and your team’s activities. The key here is, whatever you decide, time allocation needs to be a conscious decision that fits your vision and priorities for the organisation.

When you think about the ways you approach feedback, you should first ask: “Do I give people timely, direct, and constructive feedback?” Most well-intentioned leaders typ­ically fail to give blunt, direct, and timely feedback to their followers.

One reason for this failure is that leaders are often afraid that constructive feedback and criticism will demoralize their followers. In addition, critiquing a professional in a frank and timely manner may be perceived as overly confron­tational. Lastly, many leaders fear that this type of feedback will cause dislike. Consequently, leaders often wait until year-end performance reviews. The year-end review is evaluative (verdict on the year) and therefore is not condu­cive to constructive coaching. The reality is that managers who don’t give immediate and direct feedback are often “liked” until year-end, at which time they wind up being strongly disliked.

As hard as it is to give effective and timely feedback, many leaders find it much more challenging to get feedback from their employees. Once you reach a certain stage of your career, junior people are in much better position than your boss to tell you how you are doing. They see you in your day-to-day activities, and they experience your decisions directly. In order to avoid your own year-end surprises, you need to develop a network of junior professionals who are willing to give you constructive feedback.

Another question that leaders know is important yet struggle to answer affirmatively is: “Have I, at least in my own mind, picked one or more potential successors? This issue is critical because if you are not identifying potential successors, you are probably not delegating as extensively as you should and you may well be a decision-mak­ing bottleneck. Being a bottleneck invariably means that you are not spending enough time on vital leadership priorities and failing to develop your key subordinates. Ironically, Kaplan believes that, when leaders believe they are so talented that they can perform tasks far better than any of their subordinates and therefore insist on doing the tasks themselves, they will typically cause their business to underperform, and, ultimately, their careers will suffer as well.

The world is constantly chang­ing. If you do not change accord­ingly, you can get seriously out of alignment. It is your job as a leader to make sure that the design of your organisation is aligned with the key success factors for the busi­ness. Ask yourself: “Am I attuned to changes in the business environ­ment that would require a change in the way we organize and run our business?”

Because leaders frequently play a central role in building and designing the organisation, it may be emotionally difficult for them to make meaningful changes. You may have to fire certain people – even people you recruited and hired in the first place. You may also have to acknowledge that you made some mistakes and be open to changing your own operating style in the way that is uncomfortable for some period of time.

Staying True to Yourself

Most leaders ask themselves whether their leadership style fits the needs of their organizations. Fewer managers ask whether their style also fits their own beliefs and personality. The question here is: “Does my leadership style reflect who I truly am?”

A business career is a marathon, not a sprint, and if you are not true to yourself, eventually you are going to wear down. As you are developing in your career, it is advisable to observe various lead­ership styles, and pick and choose elements that feel comfortable to you. Bear in mind, though, that observing and adopting aspects of other styles does not mean you should try to be someone else.

Successful leaders periodically struggle during stretches of their careers. To get back on track, they must devise techniques for stepping back, getting perspective, and developing a new game plan. In this process, having answers is often far less important than taking time to ask yourself the right questions to gain key insights. The questions posed by Robert Kaplan are intended to ignite your thinking.

BY CAPT SAM ADDAIH (RTD)