Are you an effective leader, fit for the 21st century?

Get an indication by answering the following questions. This quiz should take no more than five minutes to complete.

Select the answer which best fits your situation. Any answers you provide are confidential.

How do people in your team typically respond to change initiatives which come from the top or centre of your organisation? Generally speaking, people:

Resist or try to ignore what’s being asked, hoping the initiatives will go away

Execute the initiatives without questioning them

Make a few tweaks to what’s proposed and then implement the initiatives

Criticise and push back on some initiatives, while executing others

Don’t wait for change initiatives to come from above. Groups come up with their own proposals, discuss how they will work and execute them

I don't know

How do you typically approach the concept of strategic planning in your role?

It’s difficult - I fit strategic planning in when I have time

I try to reserve time for this on a regular basis, but sometimes my best intentions are thwarted

Once or twice a year, my team has a strategy day

I block time in my diary each week for strategic planning. These slots are non-negotiable

I take time off-site each month to explore strategy with senior colleagues and/or my team. A little and often works best

I don't know

How well do you feel staff collaborate together within your team?

They tend to be competitive between themselves and this enables stronger team results

People often come to me with concerns about colleagues and this holds back collaborative working

It tends to be the same team members who put forward ideas while others are often defensive

It’s down to me to formally facilitate the sharing of ideas in the team

Team members readily swap ideas on a daily basis and are mutually supportive

I don't know

How would you describe your relationships with peers across your organisation?

I rarely have a reason to meet with peers from other areas

I meet with my peers at formal ad-hoc meetings arranged by others

I’ve got some reasonable working relationships but it’s not important for me to invest time in developing them, given other priorities

I can pick up the phone and discuss issues with a wide range of peers across my organisation

I enjoy proactively creating reasons to connect with peers across the organisation

I don't know

How would you describe your current approach to your personal career development?

It’s difficult to get time away from core activities to invest in my development, so it’s a bit ad-hoc

HR organise regular courses and I just pick from those when I can

I have to do one or two days training a year; it’s company policy

I aim to do three to five days training each year to advance my career

This is something I prioritise so I check the best courses, typically signing up for five+ days a year

I don't know

How important is process and/or product innovation within your team?

The fear of failure stops people from testing new ideas

We have an ‘ideas box’ where anyone can offer suggestions – but people rarely come up with anything

We run small pilot programmes before applying ideas on a wider scale in my organisation

New ideas are proactively discussed and the best applied; performance of those ideas are always reviewed

Resources are routinely set aside to test innovative ways of working; results are analysed for further improvements

I don't know

What best describes your approach to problem solving in your current role?

I’m often forced into make snap judgements based on gut instinct

I generally discuss options with colleagues but I’m a big believer in gut instinct

When I need to, I try to make the time to consider a logical way forward

I avoid making assumptions and assess the options step-by-step

I always evaluate the main arguments and take a systematic view as a way of drawing the best conclusion I can at the time

I don't know

Which option best describes your approach to boosting employee engagement within your team? (Employee engagement refers to the extent to which staff feel passionate about their jobs and their commitment to the organisation.)

Offer more financial inducements (bonus, pay rises) whenever possible

Allow team members to take time out in lieu when they work beyond the mandated hours in a working week

Offer gifts to the team on an every occasion a target is met

Find every opportunity to tell my team how much I value them

Allow team members freedom to achieve the goals we agree in whatever way they want

I don't know

If your team members answered the previous questions from their perspective, their answers would be...

Mostly different

Roughly the same

Identical

Not sure

And if your peers answered the above questions from their perspective, their answers would be...

Mostly different

Roughly the same

Identical

Not sure

Your results

These results suggest that a high proportion of extremely important attitudes and behaviours you display are likely to be hindering your leadership effectiveness.

If you answered "Mostly different" or "Roughly the same" for questions 9 and 10, consider whether there are steps you could take to identify if there are differences in opinion between you and colleagues or peers, and the reasons why. Informal methods might work best initially e.g. posing selected questions in review sessions, during one-to-one meetings, when speaking with colleagues at informal work events, or in general conversations.

Find out more in the Leadership Institute survey

Your results

These results suggest that a significant number of extremely important attitudes and behaviours you display are likely to be hindering your leadership effectiveness.

If you answered "Mostly different" or "Roughly the same" for questions 9 and 10, consider whether there are steps you could take to identify if there are differences in opinion between you and colleagues or peers, and the reasons why. Informal methods might work best initially e.g. posing selected questions in review sessions, during one-to-one meetings, when speaking with colleagues at informal work events, or in general conversations.

Find out more in the Leadership Institute survey

Your results

These results suggest you display a number of important attitudes and behaviours which are helping you operate as an effective leader in your current role.

If you answered "Mostly different" or "Roughly the same" for questions 9 and 10, consider whether there are steps you could take to identify if there are differences in opinion between you and colleagues or peers, and the reasons why. Informal methods might work best initially e.g. posing selected questions in review sessions, during one-to-one meetings, when speaking with colleagues at informal work events, or in general conversations.

Find out more in the Leadership Institute survey

Your results

These results suggest that you display some critical and extremely important attitudes and behaviours which are likely helping your leadership effectiveness.

If you answered "Mostly different" or "Roughly the same" for questions 9 and 10, consider whether there are steps you could take to identify if there are differences in opinion between you and colleagues or peers, and the reasons why. Informal methods might work best initially e.g. posing selected questions in review sessions, during one-to-one meetings, when speaking with colleagues at informal work events, or in general conversations.

Find out more in the Leadership Institute survey