Good leadership begins with an honest question
The turn of the year is a good opportunity for managers to reflect on themselves. Our new Success Impulse shows how you can test your own leadership skills with just a few questions.
There is something peculiar about the turn of the year. Outwardly, it appears to be a time for planning, evaluation, and setting new goals. Budgets are finalized, strategies adjusted, presentations prepared. And yet, the most important thing at this time of year is rarely a number. It is a question—a question that many managers sense, but few consciously ask: «Was I the kind of leader this year that I would have liked to have had myself?»
A different yardstick
It is remarkable how different this question is from the usual self-assessments. It does not ask about perfection, success in the traditional sense, or flawlessness. It aims deeper. It asks about attitude, clarity, and one's own expectations of leadership. After all, the real yardstick is rarely the market or the environment. It is usually already there—internal, quiet, but very precise.
That is precisely why this question is uncomfortable. It cannot be answered with key figures. It forces us to take a closer look: at our own behavior under pressure, at decisions that have been postponed, at situations in which we have reacted rather than shaped events.
Three questions for self-reflection
If we are honest, everyone knows those moments in the year. Moments when operational hustle and bustle takes precedence over leadership. When you get a lot done, but achieve little. When energy is lost, not because you can't do enough, but because there is too little clarity. The turn of the year offers a rare advantage: distance. And with it, the opportunity to take stock without rushing into action.
Three questions are particularly helpful in this regard—not as self-criticism, but as professional reflection:
- Where did I function more strongly than lead?
- Where would 10 % more clarity have made a noticeable difference—for me or my environment?
- What decision have I postponed, even though I already knew what I wanted to do?
The basis for good leadership
These questions don't require an hour or a specific method. Two honest minutes are often enough to recognize patterns that get lost in everyday life.
Conclusion: Good leadership does not begin with new resolutions, but with clarity about one's own aspirations. Those who use the turn of the year to reflect honestly on themselves lay the foundation for effective decisions – not louder, but more conscious. And that is often the difference between doing a lot and truly leading.
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
