RESOURCES
Self-Assessment: Stepping Up
One of the most critical aspects of harnessing the power of personal responsibility is taking stock of how you are presently showing up. The assessment below is a sort of temperature check on your current level of stepping up. As you respond to each statement, attempt to be as honest as possible with yourself. Imagine that a group of your colleagues, family members, and friends were asked to assess your score on each item based on how you behave day to day. Often by trying to imagine what others observe in us leads to a clearer self-assessment.
In a team setting you could also fill out the survey about yourself and then ask a colleague or two to fill it out as if they were assessing you. You can do the same for them. It can be very instructive to examine any discrepancy between how we see ourselves and how others see us. Often the greatest places of learning come from our blind spots, which are those things that others see about us that we don’t see or see less clearly about ourselves. This could be done either in writing or in a one-on-one meeting.
This assessment helps individuals assess whether they have adopted a stepping up attitude. Give each statement below a rating of 1 to 5 on the following scale:
1 Strongly Disagree
2 Disagree
3 Neutral
4 Agree
5 Strongly Agree
_____ |
I am generally positive when change is happening and like to focus on what I can learn from it. |
_____ |
I generally respond to situations by focusing on what I can do rather than what others need to do. |
_____ |
I think most things that happen to people have been manifested by them. |
_____ |
Most people make their own luck. |
_____ |
I am generally a person who speaks up and challenges things. |
_____ |
I rarely point fingers at others. |
_____ |
I am very open to feedback and seek to understand other people’s views more than I defend my own. |
_____ |
I usually think I can influence situations by focusing on the actions I take. |
_____ |
I believe one person can make a big difference. |
_____ |
I don’t usually stay focused on my own role but think about how I can make a greater difference. |
_____ |
I think most people underestimate their control or influence on situations. |
_____ |
I rarely focus on what I can’t change. |
_____ |
Add Up Your Total Score |
Assessment Results
54+ |
Doing well at stepping up; continue to build on it |
48–53 |
Mostly stepping up; identify some key areas for improvement |
37–47 |
Need for improvement; time for a hearty self-inventory |
12–36 |
Definite need to shift your mindset and actions toward stepping up |
Self-Assessment: Creating a Culture for Stepping Up
This assessment is meant to help leaders assess whether they have created a culture that is conducive to 100 percent responsibility. In our experience, there is a dance between associates and formal leaders in an organization when it comes to stepping up. We believe that almost all associates want to and have the capacity to step up but that leaders must lead the dance by creating a climate for stepping up behaviors.
There are several ways to use this assessment. You can take this assessment focused on the team that you lead. Think of the questions as asking what kind of climate you have personally created as a leader. As with the self-assessment for stepping up, try to imagine how your team members would score you on each item based on how you show up every day as a leader. Honest self-assessment is critical to growth. If you have areas where you are unsure, why not check in with your team and ask them how they would rate you?
Another way to use this survey is to have your team members or the leadership team of an organization fill it out. If the team members fill it out, then add up the average scores and have a discussion with your team about how you could make improvements. The same can be done if the entire leadership team fills out the survey: aggregate the answers and compare everyone’s impressions.
The assessment below is not a precise measurement of a stepping up culture but the foundation for meaningful conversations both among leaders and with their teams.
This assessment helps organizations assess whether they have created a stepping up culture. Give each statement below a rating of 1 to 5 based on the following scale:
1 Strongly Disagree
2 Disagree
3 Neutral
4 Agree
5 Strongly Agree
_____ |
We give team members a seat at the table to influence decisions that involve them. |
_____ |
Leaders are role models for taking 100 percent responsibility the vast majority of the time. |
_____ |
We recognize well-intentioned actions taken by team members even when they result in failure. |
_____ |
We recognize and reward people for effort and taking responsibility, not merely results. |
_____ |
Leaders are generally open to new ideas and curious when ideas are presented. |
_____ |
Team members feel free to disagree and do not fear the response of those above them. |
_____ |
The organization treats people like adults. |
_____ |
The organization regularly shares information about its performance in an open, transparent manner. |
_____ |
Leaders show positivity and optimism toward and in the midst of change. |
_____ |
Leaders welcome feedback with curiosity as opposed to defensiveness. |
_____ |
Team members have a great deal of latitude to act without asking for permission from leaders. |
_____ |
Team members are encouraged to effect change outside their function and across departments as opposed to “staying in your lane.” |
_____ |
Add Up Your Total Score |
Assessment Results
54+ |
Great stepping up culture; continue to build on it |
48–53 |
Good culture; identify key areas to improve |
37–47 |
Need for improvement; time for a hearty self-inventory |
12–36 |
Definite need to shift the culture if we want ownership and 100 percent responsibility |
What to Do?
• Have all leaders do the assessment
• Create a map of the results
• Have a hearty discussion about your culture and where to focus improvement efforts
Stepping Up for Change
In this book we featured many organizations and individuals who have stepped up to create change. Here is a partial list of websites of those featured in the book:
KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program started by Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, http://www.kipp.org.
BeadforLife in Uganda, helping women and families escape extreme poverty, www.beadforlife.org.
Afroz Shah and the beach cleanup in India.
Follow Afroz at https://twitter.com/AfrozShah1.
Global Medic, providing medical relief to the developed world, started by Rahul Singh, www.globalmedic.ca.
United We Can, nonprofit agency founded by Ken Lyotier in Vancouver, www.unitedwecan.ca.
Rex Weyler and the story of the whale campaign, www.rexweyler.com.
Pink Shirt Day, standing up to bullies, www.pinkshirtday.ca.
Howard Behar, author of It’s Not about the Coffee, www.howardbehar.com.
Marshall Goldsmith, author of the foreword to this book, www.marshallgoldsmith.com.