How deep is your understanding of the external environment?

Think about outside influences that may pose a threat to the success of your team or organization. How much do you know about those influences (e.g., how they behave, what drives them, how you can mitigate them)? If you are not thoroughly knowledgeable about them, initiate a conversation with someone who is so that you can deepen your understanding.

Think about a technology your organization uses frequently that is either broken, outdated, or otherwise impedes the efficiency of the process for which it is used. This technology might be software, hardware, or machinery. Go online and spend 20 minutes researching an alternative technology solution or upgrade that would better accomplish the task.

Think about a problem you have been trying to solve but have been unsuccessful at solving. Invite a group of four to five people who have nothing to do with the problem and may not have any experience or knowledge related to the problem to spend an hour with you talking about ways to address the problem. Provide these invitees with some relevant, brief background about the problem prior to the discussion. (If you can’t find four people, start with just one or two! One is better than none!)

Think of three individuals you have emailed in the past who have different writing styles (e.g., direct, analytical, detailed). How do these styles impact how they like to receive communications?

Think about the interests and agendas of key decision-makers and influencers in your organization. Can you think of ways that you are or could be supporting their interests? Go to at least one of these decision-makers and find out how you can more actively support them. This might involve offering up some staff time or expertise, providing feedback, facilitating a meeting so that this person can be more actively involved in the discussion, etc.

Think about what most influences the way you view the world right now. Is it your age, gender, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, or some other aspect of your identity? In what ways do you think you see or experience work events a little differently than others because of this factor? Notice how these same factors might be affecting others around you.

Who is your best direct report? When was the last time you talked with that person about learning needs? Schedule a one-on-one meeting and specifically ask how this person is experiencing the job currently and if there are things you could do to help build greater success for this person. Identify one or two goals this person would like to work on.

Make a list of your internal customers. Sort the list into two categories: 1) those who are satisfied with your team and 2) those who are not satisfied. What observations can you make about the dissatisfied customers?

Consider how you normally interact in meetings. As an experiment, try to behave in a way that is unlike yourself at your next meeting. For example, if you are normally fairly quiet, speak up more, ask more questions, or be more definitive in your opinions. After the meeting, reflect. Did behaving in a different way improve your ability to get your point across? Did others listen more attentively? How well did the style you chose fit the situation?

In your interactions today, notice the percentage of time you are listening and the percentage of time you are advocating your own ideas/advice. At the end of the day, make a note of your observations. If the percentages were different with different people or situations, analyze why that might have been. There is no “right answer” in terms of these percentages; however, we do know that great leaders are great listeners.