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Mirrors and Milestones: Unlocking Leadership with Self-Assessment · The Science of Leading

• 0:00
  Hey everyone, welcome back to The Science of Leading.
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  I'm Claire Monroe-joined by the voice of reason himself,
• 0:05
  Edwin Carrington.
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  Okay, Edwin-today's topic is a big one.
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  We're digging into self-assessment and how it's basically the difference
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  between just managing and, like,
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  actually leading.
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  And I'll admit it-"self-assessment" used to sound kinda...
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  I don't know, corporate-y to me?
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  Like some checkbox thing.
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  But the more I've read,
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  the more I'm realizing-it's kind of a cheat code.
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  Right?
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  That's actually a fair way to put it,
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  Claire.
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  And you're not alone-people often assume self-assessment is just
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  some fluffy ritual or personality test.
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  But in practice?
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  It's the backbone of great leadership.
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  The most impactful leaders I've
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  worked with-and the ones data consistently points to-they all have this
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  one thing in common: self-awareness.
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  When done well,
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  self-assessment shines a light on how you communicate,
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  how you decide, how you influence.
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  It exposes both strengths and blind spots-especially the ones that hide
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  in plain sight.
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  Harvard Business Review even found that leaders with high
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  self-awareness are more trusted...
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  and their teams actually perform better.
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  So,
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  yeah-it's not window dressing.
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  It's foundational.
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  I love that-"shining a light." That's...
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  exactly how it felt for me, honestly.
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  So,
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  quick story-when I got my first manager gig,
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  I was so ready to prove myself.
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  We wrapped up this big project,
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  and...
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  yeah.
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  It flopped.
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  And I remember thinking,
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  "Wait-I followed the plan!
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  What went wrong?"Turns out...
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  I had left half the communication in my head.
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  My team was lost, and I didn't even realize it.
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  That was the moment I
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  stopped treating feedback like an insult and started seeing it as-like-GPS
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  for getting better.
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  And ever since,
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  I've kind of been hooked on self-reflection.
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  Not to be perfect, just...
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  to be better.
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  Not busier-better.
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  That's a great example.
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  And honestly-it's something we've touched on before,
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  right?
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  Self-awareness is the foundation of trust,
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  of learning, of growth.
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  This-what you just described-is the how.
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  Self-assessment
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  snaps you out of autopilot.
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  Instead of operating from assumptions,
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  you start mapping reality.
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  I tell leaders all the time,
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  "If you're not confronting your blind spots-they're confronting you.
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  Quietly.
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  Every single day."And the leaders who build this into a habit?
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  Lower turnover, higher engagement,
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  stronger teams.
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  But here's the key: when a manager models self-assessment,
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  they don't just grow themselves-they shift the entire tone.
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  It tells the
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  team, "Hey-growth is normal here.
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  Feedback isn't scary-it's how we roll."So it's that shift from reacting
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  to leading with intention.
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  Like-it's what keeps you from becoming,
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  uh, "Joe." You know, that guy from the story-the one who blames everyone
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  else and somehow can't see he's the common denominator.
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  Exactly.
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  Self-awareness
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  is the thing that stops a rough patch from turning into a rough career.
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  If
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  you want to inspire...
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  adapt...
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  communicate-frankly, if you just want to stay employable-you've got to
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  get comfortable holding that mirror up.
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  Regularly.
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  Okay-so now that we've sold everyone on why self-assessment
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  matters...
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  let's talk about what it actually uncovers.
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  Specifically-your leadership
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  style.
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  I mean, there are like, a million styles,
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  right?
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  Coaching, authoritative, democratic,
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  laissez-faire...I swear, I bounce between three of them before lunch.
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  But
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  the research shows-most of us have a default mode.
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  Like a pattern we fall into.
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  Yeah?
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  That's right.
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  And it's more than just labels.
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  Your style impacts everything-from how
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  you make decisions to whether your team dreads your Monday emails.
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  But
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  here's the thing: most leaders think they know their style.
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  Then we bring
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  in actual tools-360 feedback, behavioral assessments-and suddenly?
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  The curtain drops.
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  I worked with a CEO once-swore up and down he was this
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  super collaborative "democratic" leader.
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  The data?
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  Said otherwise.
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  Turns out, under pressure,
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  he defaulted to command-and-control.
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  It was stifling his team without him realizing it.
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  Oof.
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  That's like thinking you've been harmonizing,
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  only to find out you've been way off-key...
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  for years.
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  It's the curse of gut instinct,
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  right?
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  You miss the patterns everyone else sees.
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  Exactly.
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  That's where tools like
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  OAD's assessment come in.
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  They don't just give you a personality profile-they
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  show you what actually shows up in meetings,
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  under stress, in your delegation style.
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  It's a mirror,
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  but it's also a map.
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  And once you have that map?
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  You can start adjusting course.
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  You can lead based on what's real-not
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  just what feels true.
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  And that's the big unlock,
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  right?
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  The best leaders-they flex.
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  They shift styles when the situation calls for it.
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  But you can't do that
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  if you don't know your default.
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  Like-I thought I was super collaborative.
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  But every time things got hectic,
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  I'd go into "just let me handle it" mode.
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  Seeing that...
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  made it real.
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  And once it was real, I could work with it.
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  Not just hope it'd change.
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  That's the power of self-insight.
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  And here's
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  the ripple effect-when you know your own mode,
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  you become more consistent.
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  And that consistency builds trust.
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  Also-when
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  you bring structured assessments into your org,
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  it's not just one person growing.
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  You build a shared language.
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  Feedback becomes normal.
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  And leadership development stops being abstract-it becomes scalable.
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  That's
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  how you move from "good contributor" to "leader who creates other leaders."Okay,
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  I love that.
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  But let's get real...What trips most people up isn't learning who they
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  are-it's actually doing something with that info.
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  Like-Edwin,
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  I'm guessing you've seen this.
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  Someone gets their results and goes,
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  "Okay, I need to delegate more..."And then...
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  nothing changes.
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  Yes-and I've seen it a lot.
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  Here's the truth: Insight
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  without action?
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  That's just decoration.
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  The leaders who actually grow pick two or three
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  focus areas-let's say communication,
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  decision-making, delegation-and they make a plan.
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  They don't just "try
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  harder."They build SMART goals-Specific,
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  Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,
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  Time-bound.
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  And then?
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  They follow through.
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  One exec I coached-we did monthly check-ins for a
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  year.
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  The feedback was tough at first,
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  but he stayed with it.
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  Over time, it didn't just change his performance-it changed how people
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  talked about him across the company.
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  That part-feedback-is still the hardest
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  for me.
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  I mean, I go through phases.
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  Sometimes I'm all in...
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  and then something hits a nerve,
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  and suddenly I'm like, "Okay, let's not do that again."But every single
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  time I lean into it-even when it stings-the growth is...
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  exponential.
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  Especially when there's mentorship involved.
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  Like someone
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  who's rooting for you and willing to call you out.
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  That's the winning combo:
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  self-assessment plus outside feedback.
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  Because internal honesty is great-but
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  you need that external mirror too.
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  Add in mentorship or peer accountability?
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  Now you've got momentum.
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  And even the big blockers-imposter syndrome,
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  resistance to change-they start to loosen up.
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  You've got data,
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  you've got habits, and you've got people in your corner.
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  And that's when
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  leadership stops being a job title-and becomes a way of showing up.
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  Everywhere.
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  That's such a hopeful way to think about it.
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  Like-leadership
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  isn't this mountain you climb once.
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  It's this winding path, and the more aware you are,
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  the more intentional each step becomes.
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  And you don't have to do it alone.
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  Honestly,
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  that's why I love this podcast.
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  It feels like a shared mirror.
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  So-if today gave you something to chew
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  on, or something to try-tell us!
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  And Edwin-thank you,
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  as always, for being the guy who points out the mile markers without
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  making them feel like cliffs.
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  Always a pleasure,
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  Claire.
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  And for those of you wondering how to start putting this into
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  practice...You can actually test out OAD's tools-like our behavioral
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  assessments-for
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  free at o-a-d-dot-a-i.
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  It's one of the easiest ways to improve hiring fit
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  and team alignment-by starting with better self-awareness.
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  So good.
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  Thanks,
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  Edwin.
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  And thank you for listening to The Science of Leading.
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  We'll see you next time-take care!
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  Goodbye,
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  Claire.
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  Goodbye everyone.