Why studying your zodiac sign can improve your leadership style

I am a fan of learning from any source I can, and of learning all the time. As a corporate leader, I strived to improve continuously. Some changes were easier to make than others. For example, learning how to present a business case is a straightforward skill. You read about it, you implement it, and you readjust as needed.

It's your character blind spots that are the hardest to correct.

I tried to tackle those with various tactics. Some were conventional. For example, I studied the feedback from performance reviews. I worked with a career coach and with my supervisor. I attended leadership workshops. I read books about leadership and management.

Other tactics were not so conventional.

I fell on my zodiac sign as a way to improve my leadership skills almost by accident. At the time, I was Executive Editor of BabyCenter en Espa?ol. We launched a fun tool to figure out how the zodiac signs of parents and children affected their relationships. It was surprisingly accurate, according to many employees who tried it, including myself. That's when the light bulb went on.

Could I use my zodiac sign to understand and refine my leadership style?

I'm not the type of person who reads her horoscope every morning, not even every week. But in my youth I had my astrological chart done twice, once by a wise man in Nepal, and the other one in Barcelona, Spain. Even though every magazine classified my birth date as Libra, both experts told me that the day and the time of birth in that particular year aligned the planets in Virgo without a doubt.

It made sense. I had never identified with Libra's characteristics, but I could recognize myself in Virgo's to a T.

Virgos have a bad rap as leaders. Most people think they are followers, and Leo and Aries are the natural bosses. I beg to differ. Just look at Beyoncé, Michael Jackson or Warren Buffet, all Virgos. But what is true is that some of Virgo's qualities can become defects when taken out of proportion. For example, the typical Virgo attention to detail and perfectionism, which produces high quality work, can hamper innovation —nothing is ever good enough so launching a new product takes forever— or derive into a hyper controlling attitude which impedes delegation.

But, for me, the biggie in terms of Virgo's negative sides was being overly critical of self and others.

When I'm happy about something, I think it's obvious, so I don't say anything. While when I'm unhappy, I make it clear. I'm not trying to be harsh, I'm trying to make things better. Of course, the people that surround me are not fortune-tellers. They can't guess what my feelings are unless I voice them or show them in some other way. As a result, sometimes they get the wrong impression.

I've had problems with this issue in my personal life. When my son was a toddler, he attended a home-based day care. I was thrilled with the caregiver and the place. I could see my son was happy. In the first couple of weeks, however, I brought up a few things that I thought could improve (more frequent diaper changes, for example, since he got a diaper rash after a few days.)

One day his caregiver came to me and said: "Maybe this is not the right place for your son. You seem to be very unhappy." I was flabbergasted. "I love your place!" I claimed, terrified that she would throw us out. "I just wrote a glowing review in the Berkeley Parents Network!" (This was 100% true. I had posted a heartfelt shining description of her daycare in a parenting recommendation site that very morning.) The caregiver was shocked.

After that, I made a point to praise all the wonderful things she did and to highlight how happy my son was in her care. He stayed for two wonderful years.

While working on the Horoscope tool, I reflected on this characteristic in Virgo's description —"overly critical of self and others." The daycare episode immediately came to mind. I realized it was applicable to my style as a leader. I remembered that one of my team members had complained that I was too critical. It surprised me, because I thought she knew how much I appreciated all she did, and that I held her in very high esteem. Obviously, this positive message was getting lost.

If all your employees hear is the criticism of what went wrong instead of the celebration of what went right, they are prone to think that you are not happy with their performance. Often, this couldn't be farther from the truth, but as a leader, I had to learn to express my satisfaction clearly and frequently. I'm not sure I always got it right, but at least I was aware of my shortcoming and I tried to correct it.

I could have read about this skill in a book or a performance review and end up in the same place, sure, but I got it crystal clear simply from reading a couple of lighthearted paragraphs about Virgo.

That's why I encourage you to keep an open mind. Take a look at a good description of your zodiac sign (not your horoscope.) Focus on the negative sides. Even if you don't believe in astrology, it will take only a few minutes. Perhaps you'll glean a few interesting insights.

Who says that all learnings need to be dead serious and hard-coming? Bring a little bit of lightness and fun into your leadership journey. As a Virgo who tends to err on the side of too much work and too little play, I wish I had heeded this advice more often.