Competencies I Need

In a college Leadership Class I recently took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan. 

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan. I'm not sure yet if I will post all of them here or not.

1. Knowing Myself
2. Knowing my Past
3. Vision & Mission
4. SMART Goals
5. Mentors
6. Skills (Competencies) I Need

This assignment was: Skills (Competencies) I Need:

• The top 20 competencies I will need to lead effectively
• A Plan for how to get the counsel I need.

Webster’s defines coaching as, “to instruct, direct, or prompt as a coach.” I believe that I will strongly needed this competency as I plan to coach those that I am called to share with as a part of my vision & mission in life. I will ask one of my mentors a couple of questions on Coaching that I believe will get me on the right track to accomplishing the competency of Coaching. These questions will be ones like, “What are the characteristics of coaching that have been the most helpful to you as an individual? What are some of the books & audio materials that have helped you develop the skill of coaching? What is your history as a coach and how would you best instruct me in the skill of coaching?”

Webster’s defines listening as, “to hear something with thoughtful attention, to give consideration.” One of my mentors has shown me this competency by his life example. I plan to ask this mentor a few questions on listening to develop this as a competency in my own life. A few of the questions that I will ask are ones such as, “What are the techniques of listening that have proved most helpful to you? What are three things that are essential to become a good listener? What are some areas that are detrimental to becoming a good listener?”

Webster’s defines counseling as, “professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.” I plan to ask  one of my mentors questions like, “How did you become a counselor? What led you to become a counselor? What do you think is the most critical to become a good counselor?”

Webster’s defines managing as, “to handle or direct with a degree of skill.” I will ask Don Beachler questions like, “Share with me your experience as a manager in your business? What would you do differently now in hindsight? What was the best decision you made as a manager?”

Webster’s defines writing as, “the act or process of one who writes.” I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “What are the techniques of writing that are the most critical to be a good writer? What are the best resources on writing that you know of? How strongly do you feel that good writing is critical to success as an individual? Why do you feel this way?”

Stewarding is being a manager of the assets that God has entrusted to us. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “Share with me the experiences you have had as a steward that you wish you could go back and redo? What are some of the experiences that you have had as a steward that were strong points? Why were they strong points? How strongly do you feel that stewardship is critical to success as an individual? Why do you feel this way?”

Gratitude is the state of being grateful. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “What are the key points of Gratitude that you believe would best influence and shape me into being a Grateful Person? Do you have an example of when you were not grateful you could share with me? How did this affect your life? Do you have 2-3 examples of when you were grateful that you care to share with me? In what way did this influence your life?”

Wisdom is best found in the life of Solomon. Solomon was an extremely wise individual. An individual that I think has a lot of the same characteristics is another one of my mentors. I plan to ask this mentor questions like, “What is critical about wisdom to the success of an individual? What are three books that you find to be the most helpful on Wisdom? Share with me some ways to become a wiser person from your own life example?”

Operating is the process of being a good operator. I plan to ask  one of my mentors a few questions about being a good Operator. A few of the questions that I plan to ask are, “What are three of the most helpful techniques I should spend time on to become the best Operator at any given operation? What is the most important aspect of being a good operator that you know of to be a successful person in life? Tell me about your history of being an operator and how you became a Good Operator?”

Implementing is the process of putting different ideas into practice. I plan to ask  one of my mentors questions on implementing like, “How is implementation critical to being a good leader in life? What do you find to be the best way to be able to implement some new procedure or process? Do you know of any good resource that would be beneficial to me on implementation?”

Webster’s defines guiding as, “one that leads or directs another's way.” I will ask  one of my mentors some questions on Guiding like, “Share with me some strong points in Guiding / Shepherding that is critical to good Leadership? Do you have any examples you can share with me? What are the most detrimental things to Guiding / Shepherding that I should avoid? Do you have any life examples? What has been the best resource that you have found applicable to your life on Guiding / Shepherding?”

Webster’s defines structuring as, “the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other.” I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “What are the techniques of structuring that are the most critical to be a good leader? What are some of the best resources that you have found on Structuring that would be helpful to me? What do you find to be the best way to be able to structure a new project or restructure an old one?”

A tendency of Anger is having a bad temper. As leaders we must control our temper. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “How is having control of your temper a key aspect of Leadership? Do you have an example of when you lost your temper that you care share with me? How did this affect your life? Do you have 2-3 examples of when you were able to control your temper that you care to share with me? In what way did this influence your life?”

Being able to socialize with other individuals in a positive manner is a key part of being a good leader. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “What is critical about Socialability to the success of an individual? What are the areas of being Sociable that I need to be careful & Cautious of? How did you become a socialable person that others enjoy to be around?”

On the flip side, we must be people of strong personal character as leaders. We need to be people who are able to develop key areas of personability to be able to connect one-to-one with others. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “How is being personable to others key to becoming a good Leader? In what ways have you demonstrated the competency of being personable to others? In what way did this affect you? In what ways have you not demonstrated the competency of being able to be personable to others? How did this affect you?”

Availability is the quality or state of being available. Availability is a key part of leadership. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “What pointers can you give me as to why Availability is key to becoming a Good Leader? Why is this essential? When is too much availability detrimental to becoming a Good Leader? Do you have any examples in your life that you care to share with me on the quality of Availability?”

I believe that Boldness & Courage are also key parts of leadership. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “Why is Boldness key to becoming a strong Leader? Is there a time when you can possibly be too bold? Is this detrimental to your success as a Leader? Do you have any resources that have been key in your life that have helped you to become bolder?”

Contentment is a quality that all individuals should have but especially me as a leader. I will ask  one of my mentors questions like, “How is contentment critical to being a strong leader in life? Do you have any tips on how to become more content in life? Are there any examples from your life where you care to share how that contentment affected you?”

Creativity is the process of creating new things. I will ask  one of my mentors questions on creativity like, “What are ways that you would recommend that I could become more creative in my approach to different obstacles? What resources have you found to be helpful that you would recommend to me as I pursue creativity as an aspect of my life? Share with me some experiences that you have had at being creative? How did this affect your life?”

Humility is recognizing that it is actually God and others that are responsible for the achievements in my life. I will ask  one of my mentors questions on Humility like this, “In what way is Humility a key aspect of Leadership? What have you found to be the best resource on Humility? Do you have an example of when you were not humble that you care share with me? How did this affect your life? Do you have 2-3 examples of when you were humble that you care to share with me? In what way did this influence your life??

Purity is a key quality before God and other men. I plan to ask  one of my mentors questions like, “Why is Purity key to becoming a strong Leader? What resources have you found to be helpful that you would recommend to me as I desire Purity to be a central aspect of my life? What would you say is the most critical point in continuing in purity? How does this affect me as a Leader?”