Skillsoft Blended Learning Resource

Skillsoft Blended Learning Resource

Key Leadership Competencies – Assessment Activity

If you're going to become the leader you aspire to be, you must start with self-knowledge and assess yourself as a leader. Through self-assessment you'll get to know those dimensions of yourself that you'll call on in order to lead others and make others want to follow you – your values, leadership style, motivators, and key competencies.

This activity gives you an opportunity to assess how well you demonstrate the four key competencies that make a good leader.

Key Competencies

Leadership competencies are aggregations of knowledge, skills and abilities that contribute to a person being a successful leader. Leaders use many different competencies, and different ones take priority at different times.

Four of the main key competencies are developing others, challenging the status quo, modeling desired behaviors, and getting the job done.

Developing others

As a leader, you encourage people to take ownership of their jobs, improve their skills and knowledge, learn to make good decisions, and take responsibility for their actions.

Challenging the status quo

Being a leader means you challenge the accepted way of doing things. Most leaders have a pioneering spirit, taking risks and showing courage in the face of adversity.

Modeling desired behaviors

As a leader, you walk the talk. You don't ask people to do things you wouldn't do yourself. And you exemplify the organization's desired behaviors for others.

Getting the job done

When you're a leader, you act. You try new ideas, create action plans, and get things done.

Key Competencies Self-assessment

Are you a good leader? Do you possess the required knowledge, skills and abilities? Use the following four tables to determine your strengths and weaknesses relating to the four key leadership competencies.

For each competency, reflect on the questions listed and make some notes. Then use the rating scale to rate your overall leadership ability for that key competency.

Ratings: 1 = Poor; 2 = Fair; 3 = Good; 4 = Very good; 5 = Excellent

Developing others

Question / Assessment
Have you ever inspired someone to perform better?
How did you do it?
Have you ever helped others become more self-confident?
How did you do it?
Have you ever developed people on a virtual team?
How?
Overall, how do you think you rate as a leader who develops other people? / Rating:
1 2 3 4 5

Challenging the status quo

Question / Assessment
Is risk-taking hard for you?
Why?
When has risk-taking provided a positive reward?
What can you do to practice taking risks?
Overall, how do you think you rate as a leader who challenges the status quo? / Rating:
1 2 3 4 5

Modeling desired behaviors

Question / Assessment
When have you shown the way in the past?
How did employees respond?
Overall, how do you think you rate as a leader who models desired behaviors? / Rating:
1 2 3 4 5

Getting the job done

Question / Assessment
Do you take action or put things off?
Why is it important for you to take action?
Do you chunk projects down and set milestones?
Are milestones important to you?
Why?
Overall, how do you think you measure up as a leader who takes action? / Rating:
1 2 3 4 5