The following offers tools for you to engage in self-reflection to better understand your leadership style, strengths, weaknesses, and commitment to leadership values. By utilizing these resources, you can delve deeper into your personal motivations and how they influence your decision-making processes. Further, engaging in a comprehensive assessment of your abilities will not only illuminate areas for improvement but also enhance your ability to lead with authenticity and purpose. Understanding these dimensions of your leadership journey is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and effective environment, ultimately benefiting both yourself and your team in the long run.

1. Situational Leadership Adaptability Questionnaire

• Description: This questionnaire is designed to assess your preferred leadership approach in different situations. Consider each scenario and select the response that best reflects how you would typically act.
• Instructions: For each scenario, choose ONE answer that best reflects your likely behavior.

Scenario 1: A new team member is struggling to grasp a complex task. They are feeling overwhelmed. You:

a) Give them detailed, step-by-step instructions and closely monitor their progress. b) Explain the overall task and then allow them to figure out the best approach, offering occasional guidance. c) Ask them what they need to succeed and offer support and resources accordingly. d) Assign the task to another, more experienced team member.

Scenario 2: An experienced team member is consistently exceeding expectations on a routine task. You:

a) Publicly praise their high performance and assign them even more challenging tasks. b) Acknowledge their success and express confidence that they will continue to excel. c) Delegate the task to another team member and give the high performer a more strategic project. d) Use the extra capacity for team building

Scenario 3: Your team is facing a rapidly approaching deadline for a critical project, and morale is low. You:

a) Increase pressure and remind them of the importance of meeting the deadline. b) Focus on problem-solving, removing roadblocks, and providing encouragement. c) Let the team manage the situation themselves, trusting that they will find a way to succeed. d) Look to see what can be done to address concerns around the deadline.

Scenario 4: A conflict has arisen between two team members with differing communication styles. You:

a) Clearly define the expectations for professional communication and mediate a resolution. b) Allow the team members to resolve the conflict themselves, only intervening if necessary. c) Facilitate a discussion where each party can express their viewpoint and find common ground. d) Ask them both to take personality assessments so they can better learn to work together.

Scoring: (General Guidance) While there are no definitive “right” or “wrong” answers, the response combinations can give you a hint. If you mostly chose ‘a’’s, you have a directive style. Mostly ‘b’s, supportive. Mostly ‘c’’s, delegative, and mostly d’s, means you avoid management.

2. 360-Degree Leadership Perception Self-Assessment

• Description: This self-assessment encourages you to consider how others perceive your leadership. For each statement, rate how strongly you agree or disagree, and then consider how you believe others would rate you.

Instructions: For each statement, rate your agreement on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree). Then, in the “Perceived Rating” column, estimate how your direct reports (or relevant colleagues) would rate you on the same statement.

Statement	Your Rating (1-5)	Perceived Rating (1-5)
I clearly communicate the team’s goals and objectives.
I actively listen to and value the input of my team members.
I provide constructive feedback that supports growth and development.
I delegate effectively, empowering my team members to take ownership.
I foster a collaborative and supportive team environment.
I act with integrity and ethical conduct in all situations.
I adapt my leadership style to the needs of different situations.
I create a clear and inspiring vision for the future.
I effectively manage conflict within my team.
I create an environment where psychological safety is high amongst team members.

Analysis: Identify any discrepancies between your self-rating and your perceived rating. Significant differences may indicate blind spots or areas where your perception of your leadership style differs from how others experience it. Consider seeking further feedback to understand these differences.

3. Core Leadership Values Reflection Exercise

• Description: This exercise is designed to help you reflect on your core leadership values and how consistently your actions align with those values.
• Instructions:
  1. Identify Your Core Values: List 3-5 values that are most important to you as a leader (e.g., integrity, innovation, empathy, collaboration, excellence, service).
  2. Describe Your Ideal Leadership: For each value, write a short paragraph describing how you would ideally embody that value in your leadership practice.
  3. Reflect on Recent Actions: Over the past month, identify 2-3 specific leadership decisions or interactions that you made.
  4. Analyze Alignment: For each decision/interaction, honestly assess how well your actions aligned with your core values. Where did you excel? Where did you fall short?
  5. Identify Action Steps: Based on your analysis, identify 1-2 concrete steps you can take to better align your actions with your values in the future.

Example (For the Value of “Empathy”):

• Value: Empathy
• Ideal Leadership: I actively listen to my team members, seeking to understand their perspectives and validate their feelings. I make a conscious effort to connect with them on a human level and to create a supportive and inclusive environment.
• Recent Actions: 1) Responded to a team member’s request for a flexible work schedule due to family obligations. 2) Addressed a conflict between two team members.
• Analysis: In the first instance, I responded promptly and supported the team member’s needs. In the second instance, I focused more on resolving the conflict quickly than on fully understanding each party’s perspective.
• Action Steps: In the coming weeks, I will practice active listening techniques and consciously seek out opportunities to connect with my team members on a personal level.

This exercise is a starting point for ongoing self-reflection and a commitment to leading with greater intentionality and aligning your actions with your deepest values.

• Situational Leadership Adaptability Questionnaire: This model is associated with Hersey and Blanchard.
  • Citation: Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Management of organizational behavior-Utilizing human resources. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• 360-Degree Feedback: This is a widely used concept, however this might help for more information:
  • Citation: Bracken, D. W., Dalton, G. W., Elias, J. W., & Van Slyke, T. V. (2014). Straight Talk About Feedback. Center for Creative Leadership.
• Reflection exercise based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
  • Citation: Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Free Press.