Self-Assessment of Leadership Qualities and Skills

Self-Assessment of Leadership Qualities and Skills

A. The Qualities of Leadership

Instructions: For each of the statements below, indicate how full your cup is.  That is, on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being full to overflowing, how do you measure against your own sense of the optimum?

Empty to low                  Half full                  Full to overflowing

        1         2         3         4         5

   1. I know myself, my values and skills, my strengths and weaknesses. ___3___     2. I am confident of meeting most challenges and emerging intact and feeling good about myself. __3___

1. I have a vision of where we ought to be going as a group, community, society, and people.  ___3___
2. I call my group, community or organization to act out of values that transcend the day-to-day, business-as-usual, garden-variety norms of operation. ___1___
3. I possess above-average intelligence; I have lived long and perceptively and use that intelligence to create wisdom, and my actions are tempered by judgment. 3______
4. The learning process constantly excites me.  ____3__          
5. I am constantly renewed by what I learn and by my interaction with others.  _3_____    8. I am constantly amazed at how I pick out the very broadest implications of enterprises and projects that others see in narrow terms. ___3___

1. I see events today along a continuum in time, with major trends and the sweep of history propelling change. _____3_
2. I see the way to success is through steady coalition building. __3___
3. I see great wisdom in building the capabilities of others, empowering them, motivating them to do    their best. ___1__
4. I possess stamina, energy, tenacity, and enthusiasm for my work. __3____  
5. 13. I have the courage to take on what I know is right, regardless of my critics and detractors. _____5_

1. I possess high integrity and intellectual honesty. __3____
2. I have high moral character, I know what is right and wrong, and act accordingly.  __5____
3. I am willing to take risks for something I believe in, whether for people or ideals.  ___5___
4. I am an active, effective listener; people seek me out as a listener. ___3___
5. I present my ideas logically, forcefully, and effectively; my ideas are often adopted.

____3__

1. I understand the nature of power; I exercise and respect power. __3____
2. I translate authority as responsibility and assume my share of it. __5____
3. I achieve results through concentrating on clear goals over time; I build small successes into something larger. ___5___
4. I have a healthy sense of humour; I laugh at myself and keep cynicism and sarcasm in rein. ___5___
5. I keep perspective; I know where we are in a process, how far we've come, how far we've got to go, what's important in the short run and the long. __5____
6. I am known for my flexibility, responding to a variety of situations with appropriate skills, styles and perceptions. ___1___

B. The Skills of Leadership

Instructions: The following skills have been identified as important to Leadership.  Use the scale to rate your skill level.  

Low Level of                  Often Practice Skill                  Confident and Capable

Competence         In order to Improve

        1         2         3         4         5

Personal Relationship Skills (working with others):

1. I listen actively to colleagues and those with whom I work; I hear their words and their feelings. 3______
2. I maintain an open, warm relationship with others, encouraging them with praise and genuine respect of their views and feelings. ____3__
3. I provide others with clear feedback, reinforcing positive contributions, clarifying and confronting as is helpful. __3____
4. I elicit information and ideas by asking open-ended questions. __1____
5. I mediate for others, helping them find and reinforce the common ground on which solutions can be built. ____1__                   
6. I facilitate interpersonal and group relationships, teaching by example; and by making these relationships visible I provide both knowledge and skills about productive behaviour. __3____
7. I help groups maintain discipline and direction toward a3chievement, while suggesting ways in which all members of a group can participate. ___3___

Task Accomplishment Skills (getting the work done):

1. I initiate ideas, actions, solutions, and procedures. __3____
2. I elaborate on ideas, using examples and definitions. ___5___
3. I communicate ideas effectively. ___3___
4. I coordinate ideas, activities, relationships, making sense out of the piece. _3_____
5. I seek information and clarification to shed light on ideas and suggestions. ___3___
6. I provide information, bringing a base of understanding to the subject at hand.

__1____

1. I analyze the idea, task or process, developing an understanding of each piece and its relationship to the whole. ___1___
2. I diagnose the sources of difficulties. _____1_
3. I summarize for the group, offering information, alternatives, or perspectives for consideration. _1_____
4. I evaluate progress, process and products, holding them up to comparison with standards or expectations. ____5__
5. I manage, using a combination of planning, task assignment, and guidance to meet goals. _3_____

Review each section (The Qualities of Leadership, Personal Relationship Skills, and Task Assessment Skills), underline three or four which you feel are your strongest assets as a leader and three or four on which you wish to work.  Use these as one basis for writing goals and objectives for your PLP.