Organizational Leadership Assessment

Organizations must view decisions about leadership just as seriously as decisions about business strategy, customers, finances, or infrastructure. A leadership strategy outlines the actions an organization must take to ensure it has the leadership talent required to drive performance, both now and in the future.

Answer each of the questions below on the 1-5 scale (1=never, 2=sometimes, 3=often, 4=usually, 5=always). Then click Submit.

Where Do We Want To Be?
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1. We have defined the specific capabilities our leaders must possess to successfully execute our strategy.
2. We know the characteristics of leaders we'll need in coming years (how many, where, what skills, etc.), based on projected turnover and growth.
3. We are clear on the leadership culture (how leaders interact, make decisions, influence others) that will ensure our success.
Where Are We?
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4. We have identified the leadership roles that are most important to our success.
5. We conduct yearly leadership talent reviews that result in decisive action to attract, develop, engage and retain great people.
6. We engage in succession planning to identify short and long-term successors for key roles.
Closing the Gap: Executive Commitment
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7. Our executive team is clear on the leadership culture we're trying to create and regularly reviews our progress.
8. Our executive team models the behaviors and values of our desired culture.
9. Our executives personally execute our leadership strategy and don't "pass the buck" to Human Resources.
Closing the Gap: Leadership Performance
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10. We regularly assess our leaders' performance against required capabilities.
11. We hold our leaders equally accountable for focusing on people and driving results.
12. We have processes that allow all key leaders to receive regular feedback on how they're doing.
Closing the Gap: Leader Attraction
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13. We have a recruitment strategy to ensure we hire leaders with the skills and characteristics needed to support our current and future performance.
14. We have a competitive and clearly-defined answer to the question: "Why should I work here?"
15. We support newly-hired leaders to ensure they successfully assimilate into the organization.
Closing the Gap: Leader Development
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16. We focus on developing the specific skills leaders need to execute the business strategy.
17. We hold our leaders at all levels accountable for developing and coaching their direct reports.
18. We provide leaders with robust development opportunities including leadership programs, coaching, mentoring and structured developmental assignments.
Closing the Gap: Leader Engagement
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19. We motivate leaders through intrinsic rewards like development, meaningful work and career progression (versus extrinsic rewards like money).
20. We regularly solicit feedback from leaders to learn what's working, what isn't, and what they need to be successful.
21. We give leaders autonomy to decide how their work gets done.
Closing the Gap: Leadership Retention
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22. We regularly recognize the contributions of key leaders.
23. We conduct regular "stay interviews" with key leaders to ensure they aren't in danger of leaving.
24. We have practices and resources to help leaders reduce stress and maintain balance.
Assessing Impact: Summary
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25. We use qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess progress in attracting, developing, engaging and retaining leaders.
26. We monitor the strength of our leadership bench.
27. We track the impact of our leadership strategy on key business outcomes.