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Take this test: How much do you inspire people to perform at their best?
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- Posted: 06 March 2015
Whether you are a formal leader with direct reports or informal leader with an influencing role, being able to inspire others to perform at their best is highly valuable for you and the organisation.
Here is a short test to get a sense of how much you inspire others to perform. Tick the statements that you agree is true for you most of the time (say more than 80%).
- I notice people addressing issues and achieving outcomes without my involvement or prompting, just getting on with it
- I see people working through complex problems and not relying on me to solve them
- I have people approach me for guidance rather than request to fix problems for them
- I see people making decisions and taking accountability rather than escalating unnecessarily
- I see people enjoying being stretched and challenged
- I am asked to provide broad directions and boundaries – sometimes they are not totally clear or things change and people are ok with that
- I am invited to meetings where it is important for me to attend and that I can contribute (ie. not too many where I feel I don’t need to be there)
- I have people proactively come to me with ideas and suggestions
- I am pleasantly surprised by the superior thinking done by others
- I sense that people tell me the whole truth without feeling the need to hide anything, including feedback for me or disagreeing with me
- I find out about potential risks and bad news quite early, even if they don’t eventuate
- I sense that people are relaxed when speaking with me
- I notice that people admit mistakes openly and take accountability for fixing and learning from them
- I have people approach me with difficulties and are able to be vulnerable with me
- I get feedback from a range of people, including my direct reports, clients, stakeholders, peers and managers
- I am regularly asked to provide positive and constructive feedback
- I see team members giving feedback to each other rather than rely on me to give the feedback second-hand
- I feel people really care about the collective goals we are trying to achieve
- I notice that people willingly put in the extra effort to deliver quality outcomes
- I notice people proactively looking for ways to improve themselves, their work and the team
So how did you go? Here’s a guide:
16-20 ticks: Looks like you are doing a great job of inspiring people to perform at their best. If you’re willing, I’d love to interview you (I’m serious). Please contact me if you’re interested.
11-15 ticks: You’re doing pretty well. It might help to look at the items that are not ticked to see if there’s a pattern there. Ask for feedback from people you trust, who will be honest with you.
10 or less ticks: It looks like you have some untapped potential. Start with 2 or 3 unticked items that surprised you – What’s the cost of people around you not behaving as the statement suggests? How might you be contributing to it?
