Unveiling Your Superpowers: Discovering Strengths for Exceptional City Leadership

Welcome back, city leaders! Yesterday, we introduced the groundbreaking concepts from “Strengths Based Leadership” by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. Today, we’re diving deep into the cornerstone of effective leadership: self-awareness.

The Power of Knowing Yourself

As a city manager, you’re at the helm of a complex organization. Your decisions impact thousands of lives daily. But here’s a question: How well do you truly know yourself as a leader?

Rath and Conchie’s research reveals a startling fact: Leaders who focus on their strengths are significantly more effective than those who focus on their weaknesses. But to harness this power, you first need to identify and understand your unique strengths.

Discovering Your Leadership Strengths

The book outlines four domains of leadership strength:

1. Executing: You know how to make things happen.
2. Influencing: You can sell ideas inside and outside the organization.
3. Relationship Building: You are the glue that holds teams together.
4. Strategic Thinking: You help teams consider what could be.

As a city manager, you likely have strengths across multiple domains. The key is recognizing which ones are your superpowers.

Self-Awareness in Action: A City Manager’s Perspective

Let’s consider a hypothetical example. Imagine you’re a city manager named Alex. Through self-reflection and feedback, Alex realizes their top strengths are in Strategic Thinking and Relationship Building.

With this self-awareness, Alex can:

• Leverage strategic thinking to develop long-term plans for the city’s growth
• Use relationship-building skills to foster collaboration between diverse community groups
• Delegate tasks that require strong Executing skills to team members who excel in that area
• Seek partnerships with those who have complementary strengths in Influencing for public communications

By focusing on these strengths, Alex becomes a more effective leader, capable of steering the city through complex challenges while building strong, collaborative relationships.

The Ripple Effect of Self-Aware Leadership

When you lead with self-awareness, you create a ripple effect throughout your organization:

1. Authentic Leadership: Understanding your strengths allows you to lead authentically, inspiring trust and respect.
2. Improved Decision Making: Knowing your strengths (and limitations) leads to more informed, balanced decisions.
3. Enhanced Team Building: Self-awareness helps you recognize and value diverse strengths in others, leading to more effective team composition.
4. Increased Job Satisfaction: Playing to your strengths naturally leads to greater fulfillment in your role.

Practical Steps to Boost Your Self-Awareness

1. Take a Strengths Assessment: Tools like the CliftonStrengths assessment can provide valuable insights into your natural talents.
2. Seek Feedback: Regular, honest feedback from peers, subordinates, and superiors can illuminate blind spots and confirm strengths.
3. Reflect Daily: Set aside time each day to reflect on your actions, decisions, and their outcomes.
4. Keep a Leadership Journal: Document your experiences, challenges, and successes to track your growth over time.

The Self-Awareness Challenge

Here’s your challenge for today: Identify one strength you believe sets you apart as a city manager. How does this strength manifest in your daily work? How could you leverage it even more effectively?

Share your insights in the comments on my LinkedIn page. Let’s learn from each other’s strengths and experiences.

Remember, this journey of self-discovery is ongoing. To continue growing as a leader, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, “The Leader’s Lens,” and tune into our podcast for more insights on strengths-based leadership.

Tomorrow, we’ll explore how to recognize and harness the strengths of those around you. Until then, keep leading with strength!

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Seth Winterhalter is President of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions, dedicated to making stronger cities through stronger leaders. Through executive coaching, consulting, and the Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC), HaltingWinter helps city managers and municipal leaders transform their leadership impact and their organizational culture.