Please respond to the discussion post below. Discussion Post: The gaps or oppor

Please respond to the discussion post below.
Discussion Post:
The gaps or opportunities for improvement in my leadership competencies, skills, and behaviors that I need to work on are Emotional Intelligence – Mindfulness, Coaching, Stepping out on the Balcony more, and becoming a consistent servant leader. I am very good at some parts of Emotional Intelligence, and there are major opportunities for improvement in other parts. One big area that needs work is practicing Mindfulness. “Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment without interpretation or judgment” (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). I do not practice mindfulness regularly at all. I need to work harder at practicing some exercises and make this become a habit. The issue I have is that I tend to feel like I have so much to do that if I am sitting doing nothing, I am wasting valuable time that I could be getting other things completed. The only times I have been able to practice Mindfulness is when two different situations occur; when my brain has become so overwhelmed that I cannot think or focus on anything or I am about to get very angry about something and explode. On both of these occasions, I am very good at reading the signs and making myself step away to clear my mind. I need to work on practicing Mindfulness daily so that I will be less likely to be in either of those situations again.
The next gap for me to work on improving is to provide more meaningful coaching to my team, as well as, coaching more consistently. When we are at a slower time at work, I am able to think about taking time to coach my team. I am extremely bad at following up when we are busy. My focus shifts to an evenly distributed workload and that the work is being completed successfully. I feel like this goes back to my thinking of taking time out of the busy day to talk and coach the team, is time that could be focused on getting the work done, so that no one has to stay late to complete the tasks.
I also want to work on integrating the GROW model to make our coaching more meaningful and productive for the person being coached. The right model will ensure that everyone is performing at their most effective and efficient levels; no matter how new or long-term the employee is. “When GROW is utilized, the culture of the organization allows growth for all employees, starting with leaders. Establishing a coaching culture helps hold people accountable for their actions in all directions” (Miller, 2020). I need to work on making sure the team knows they are a priority to me and that their career goals and personal visions are important as well.
I need to work on “stepping out onto the balcony” more. I am very good at taking that step at critical times, but I need to improve on this. I feel like if I am able to do this more frequently, I will be able to develop stronger skills in seeing any potential issues that might arise before they become a larger problem. As stated by Heifetz et al, I will be able to honestly address any elephants in the room, if I keep an open mind and get out on the balcony more frequently.
I feel like the more I am able to improve in these areas, the closer I get to becoming a Servant Leader. I feel like I dabble in Servant Leadership, but consistency is needed. I fully understand a good leader is able to switch between different types of leadership as a situation needs. However, this is not what I mean by not being consistent. I tend to focus on this when I am less stressed and in less busy times. I need to become consistent in staying focused even in busier times. The key to all of this is my being able to improve my own Mindfulness. If I can do that and be able to become more focused and clear-thinking, I will be able to focus more on being consistent and improving the rest of the areas.
References
Heifetz, R., Grashow, A.,& Linsky, M. (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Harvard Business Press.
Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Mindfulness exercise: See how mindfulness helps you live in the moment. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356
Miller, Kelly (2020) What is the GROW coaching model?Positivepsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/grow-coaching-model/