There are massive benefits you can enjoy from really knowing and managing yourself and allowing that to guide your leadership. Understanding yourself as a leader gives you more opportunities to elevate your career and pays dividends in workplace communication and performance.

If you're ready to get to know your leadership self but aren't sure where to start, here is my recommended four-step approach.

Step 1: Take a behavioral assessment.

A quality adaptive assessment is a great starting point — it adapts to the test-taker, which increases accuracy. It's simple to understand and easy to immediately implement. Your outcomes will be based on your open-mindedness and commitment. It's not rocket science — it's people science.

Step 2: Add a 360 assessment.

After you've completed and understood your behavioral profile and have been actively practicing what you've learned, the next rung in the leadership ladder is a 360 assessment. At this stage, I recommend using an executive coach to help you build an action plan. Just a few hours makes a huge difference.

Step 3: Invite honest feedback.

Throughout this process, share your results and ask for feedback from your team, family, friends, and mentors — people who will communicate with you honestly. The key is to remain hungry and open for feedback. Being afraid of feedback will hold you back from your real potential.

Step 4: Invest in a coach.

If you really want to add rocket fuel to your leadership development, invest in a series of coaching sessions. It's important to find the right coach — a personality and style that works for you and pushes you to be better. Don't look for a coach who's going to tell you what you want to hear. Look for a coach who's going to tell you what you need to hear.

Provided you're putting the feedback from your assessments and coaching into play, you're going to start to see a difference week-over-week, month-over-month, and year-over-year. Less employee turnover, happier customers, more referrals, and fewer employee conflicts are all examples of the changes that happen when leadership improves.

When we do a really great job as leaders who are self-aware, we can begin to cultivate a healthier culture. Our teams become more conscious and committed to outcomes. The impact is huge on both organizational health and economic performance.