Great leaders are built, not born. In other words, leadership can be taught and trained.

While it may be easier for people with certain personalities to lead in certain contexts (e.g., an extraverted sales manager), the formula for great leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. But great leadership also doesn’t happen by accident. Becoming a stand-out leader requires intentionality and thoughtful reflection.

In this post, we provide a self-reflection and action planning activity to help you become a better leader. So, take out a pen and paper, or something else non-distracting, to take notes with. Once you’re ready to reflect, keep reading.

Understanding Your "Why"

Great leaders are driven by purpose and a commitment to their values, principles, and goals. But many leaders fail to reflect on and revise their "why" statements over time—those clear and succinct statements that help communicate to others why and how they want to lead. Doing so requires asking:

• Why do I want to be a leader?
• What type of leader do I want to be?
• Why am I driven to have these qualities as a leader?
• What does leading in this way help me to achieve?
• Why is achieving that outcome important to me?
• What do I hope my leadership legacy will be?
• Why is it important to me to create that legacy?

After reflecting on the questions above, try to write some of your own "why" statements to communicate your leadership purpose to your team members.

Setting Goals

Leaders need to set goals in order to self-improve. But first, they need to know where self-improvement is most needed.

Think about your "why" and the leader you want to be. What do you need to get better at in order to achieve your ideal version of leadership? Or what do you need to keep doing to make sure you capitalize on your strengths? When you get feedback at work, what strengths are identified that make you successful as a leader? How can you make sure you’re doing more of those behaviors?

On the flip side, all leaders have room for improvement. What has always held you back or made you less successful as a leader? How can you put safeguards in place to make sure that those behaviors don’t derail your leadership?

As you reflect on your leadership strengths and weaknesses, think of concrete strategies that you can deploy to ensure that you capitalize on strengths and avoid being harmed by weaknesses. It’s important to set goals that are specific. For example, instead of saying you will try to be more friendly and open as a leader, you might set a goal to greet at least five people in the office before lunch each day. The more specific and concrete you are, the more likely you will be to follow through on your goals. Try setting three concrete goals for improving your leadership now.

Gather Your Resources

Leaders don’t have to operate on an island. What resources will you need to achieve your goals? Perhaps you need an accountability partner. Or maybe you need a mentor to give you advice about how to be successful in attaining your desired outcomes.

Sometimes you need the right people around you to ensure your success. But those people may not know they can help unless you tell them. Who do you need help from as you set out to achieve your goals? Ask those folks if they’re willing to assist you at key points along your goal achievement journey.

You may also need other resources to achieve your goals. You might need financial support to attend a training program. Or you might need additional time to further your education outside of the office. Maybe you need extra headcount to assist with tasks that are better completed by others.

Whatever your needs are, reflect on them and write them down. Make a plan detailing who you’re going to ask for those resources (if needed) and how you’ll secure them.

Details Matter!

Finally, and incredibly importantly, solidifying details around when and how you’ll achieve goals is critical for completing them.

What are the first steps you need to take to get started on each of your three goals? Maybe you need to organize a meeting with someone. Perhaps you need to do some research on a tool or resource you’d like to acquire. Or your first step could be that you need to find an accountability partner to share your goals with.

Whatever your first steps are, it’s key that you schedule them. This makes it more likely that you’ll follow through on your goals in the future.

Finally, put each of the first steps associated with your three goals on your calendar. Frequently engaging in this process of self-reflection and action planning is a great way to continuously improve your leadership.

Leadership Essential Reads

If you enjoyed this activity, check out more detailed, research-based approaches to leader self-reflection on our website.