This month, I’m featuring blogs for would-be and new managers. If that’s you–or even if you just want to review your skills–this is the blog for you. (The picture is there because it reminds me of the awesome advances those contestants on Dancing with The Stars make….)

As I said in an earlier blog, most managers don’t start with a job description. So, they really don’t know what to do each day. They don’t know know the priorities of the person who hired them. They don’t know what they should be held accountable to. In my coaching program (Leadership Mastery coaching), that raises a huge challenge: If you don’t know what to be accountable to, how do you know how you’re doing?

What Are You Good At? What Do You Want to Master?

To help my coaching clients assess their skills, I’ve developed an analysis tool (actually, I have developed many analysis tools) to find out what they feel they don’t need to work on–and what they do need to work on to master their craft (management and leadership).

Before I give you that assessment, write down the 5 skills you believe you are really good at–skills thatA�managers need in their day-to-day work.

Now, write down 5 skills that you want to polish–or you want to gain.

How Are You Going to Gain or Refine those Skills?

There are various methods for you to gain skills:

Training

Courses

Reading

And, best of all–coaching. Why? Because we adults have a wide variance of skill levels and needs. Training can certainly provide the basic foundation. But, to move toward mastery, we must also initiate coaching. This year, to get to the level of achievement you want, consider hiring a coach.

Click here to get the skills assessment.

What did you learn from the assessment?

General managers and owners: This is a terrific assessment to use with someone you’re thinking of hiring–orA�with your present managers.