The start of a new year is a time when most people pause to take inventory of the landscape of their lives. We reflect on the last year’s experiences, lessons learned, and the different ways we adapted and grew. Each of these elements guides us toward answering a greater question: who are we becoming?

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As we reflect on the past year from a personal perspective, we should also take the time to reflect from a leadership perspective. Evaluating our leadership landscape can help us answer another question: what kind of leader am I becoming, and what kind of leader am I created to be?

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We have to be students of leadership. As we set our minds on what the new year will bring, we can position ourselves to be influential and effective in the areas God has called us to lead. There are three key areas we should evaluate to determine our leadership landscape.

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1. LEADERSHIP MINDSET

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First, we need to look introspectively at our mindsets. Our mindsets, or mental models, are based on our viewpoints and beliefs about leadership. These mental models shape our ideas about how leaders should act. It’s intentional that we evaluate this area before any other — our thoughts determine our decisions, and our decisions determine our actions. Every action is born out of a thought, so it’s vital that we first take inventory of the mental models that shape our leadership.

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Evaluating our mindsets helps define our leadership framework and determine our beliefs about the purpose of leadership. There are a few key areas to assess.

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1. How did the last year influence your mindset around the purpose of leadership?

2. What areas of your leadership are helpful and resourceful to the people around you?

3. What areas of your leadership are missing the mark?

4. What gaps exist in your mindsets, and how can you close those gaps?

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The answers to those questions will help define our leadership role and decide what to bring with us into the upcoming year.

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2. LEADERSHIP STYLE

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Leadership style is something we talk about often as leaders. Because we are all unique in how we are designed, the style we use to lead others will vary. How we present ourselves as leaders is a combination of a few things:

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1. Who we are — personality, values, and character

2. Our life experiences — background, family, childhood experiences, and cultural experiences, plus the decisions we’ve made about all of these

3. Our habits and preferences — the way we operate

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In the same way we differ as leaders, the people we coach are unique in the way they receive leadership. It’s like parenting — a parenting style that works well with one child might not be as effective with the next. Part of good leadership is recognizing that different people need different coaching.

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Not every leadership style will come naturally to us, and that is okay. We can lean into the leadership style we are graced in and still identify styles we can improve. We can look at how we present ourselves as leaders, the habits that inform our leadership style, and how our teams respond to the different styles we utilize. When we see the areas where we have room to grow, we can determine what avenues will best educate and sharpen the styles where we lack.

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3. LEADERSHIP SKILLS

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Leadership skills represent what we are able to do. This includes hard and soft skills. Soft skills lend more to leadership styles such as empathy or servant-mindedness, while hard skills are more tangible, like how we manage time, people, and projects.

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After some time, our leadership skills can start to feel familiar or routine, so we must pause to evaluate the skills we lead with. For example, leadership is communication. How can we sharpen our ability to communicate clearly? Leadership is seeing further. How are we challenging ourselves to have foresight and get ahead of potential obstacles? Leadership skills are specific competencies and abilities we can develop.

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Romans 8:29 tells us that we are being “conformed to the image of his Son,” meaning that we are always being transformed to look more like Jesus. We are continually on the journey of “becoming” as individuals and leaders.

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We are walking this road together. We're believing this year will be our best year yet!