What to Ask the Person in the Mirror...

in the january 2007 issue of the harvard business review, the focus of the articles is on leadership. one of the articles (titled the same as this post) by Robert Kaplan is about stepping back and asking yourself a few questions to gauge how you are doing as a leader. there is a list of 7 sets of questions to ask. the point is that having all the answers is less important than knowing what to ask.


1. Vision & Priorities

How often do i communicate a vision for the business or for the employees?
Have i identified and communicated 3 to 5 key priorities to achieve that vision?
Will my employees be able to articulate that vision and key priorities to others?

2. Managing Time

How am i spending my time?
Does it match my key priorities?
How are my staff spending their time?
Does it match the key priorities of the business?

3. Feedback

Do i give people timely, direct and actionable feedback?
Do i have subordinates who will tell me things i may not want to hear but need to hear?

4. Succession Planning

Have i (at least in my mind) picked one or more potential successors?
Am i coaching them & giving them challenging assignments?
Am i delegating sufficiently?
Have i become a decision-making bottleneck?

5. Evaluation & Alignment

Is the design of my company still aligned with the key success factors of the business?
If i had to design the business from scratch how would i design it?
How would it differ from the current design?
Should i create a task force of staff to answer these questions and make some recommendations?

6. Leading Under Pressure

What type of event(s) create pressure for me?
How do i behave under pressure?
What signals am i sending out when under pressure?
Are these helpful to my staff or will they undermine our success?

7. Staying True to Yourself

Is my leadership style comfortable?
Does it reflect who i really am?
Do i assert myself sufficiently, or have i become tentative?
Am i too politically correct?
Does worry about my next promotion or bonus cause me to pull punches or hesitate to express my views?


All leaders (even the most successful ones) sometimes have periods of their careers when they may struggle. Developing some sort of self-questioning process that you make yourself go through periodically will be a useful tool.