The greatest leaders are not afraid to assess their own leadership skills. Grade yourself according to these five leadership checkpoints.
Talking Points:
- Credibility: Do you live out the values of the organization, or do secretly believe they don’t apply to you?
- Conviction: Do you really buy in to the mission of the organization, or are you just giving it lip service?
- Clarity: Are you clear on the vision and strategy of your organization, or are you just making it up as you go?
- Candor: Are you willing to be honest with yourself and others when the mission isn’t being accomplished?
- Candor: Are you building relationships as you work together, or is your team just a means to an end for you?
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Name a great leader in your life. What makes him or her great?
- Answer the questions in the talking points above. Which star is your greatest strength? Which one needs the most work? Explain.
- Why is missional clarity important for a leader? What can happen to a team that is unclear on its bottom line?
- What are the signs that someone has a deep conviction about the team they are leading? How can you know when they’ve lost that conviction?
- Leaders who “fake it” are eventually exposed and deposed. Give an example of a leader who was not authentic. What happened to the leader and/or team?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
