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It's Only Common Sense: Are You a Good Leader? Take This Self-Test

How self-aware of being a good leader are you? Are you sure of yourself? Do you lead with confidence? How about courage? Can you make those hard decisions when they need to be made? Do you believe in yourself as a leader? And do others believe in you?

These are all questions that should go through a leader’s mind every day, and frankly, if they don’t, they might not be that great a leader.

How do the people you are supposed to be leading react to you? Are they doing what you ask and much more, or just barely doing what you ask them to do?

Recently, I have been reading a great deal about leadership, primarily because I believe great companies have great leaders. Their leaders are so strong, sure of themselves, and charismatic that their teams will literally be blinded by their charisma to the point of following them through hell without question.

I recently streamed two limited series about such leaders. The first was “The Dropout,” about Elizabeth Holmes, the wunderkind who dropped out of Stanford at age 19 to start Theranos, a revolutionary blood analysis product. Her vision far exceeded the reality of physics, and the product did not work. But the very power of her leadership kept the company going much longer than it should have. She so believed in her own reality that she fooled everyone from Walgreen executives to former cabinet members Schultz and Kissinger. Now she is around the corner from going to prison.

There’s also the story of Adam Neuman, the charismatic co-founder and CEO of WeWork, an office space leasing company that saw explosive growth until it became an untenable house of cards and collapsed. He was the subject of the limited series titled “WeCrashed.” Newman was nothing if not passionate and emotional about vision for his company. His plan was to become president, not of the country, but of the world. Like Holmes, he was such a great leader that his people would do anything for him—until they didn’t. They finally they opened their eyes and saw behind the shiny object of his flawed vision; then they were angry.

The point is that what sometimes seems like great leadership is not. It is simply a matter of intoxicating your followers to the point of unconditional passionate loyalty.

There was a guy in the 1930s and `40s who did the same things. Think hard you might have heard of him—a little guy with a funny little Charlie Chaplin mustache?

The point is that great leadership is not only passion, charisma, and vision. Great leadership also has to include solid values, morals, and the honest desire to do good. Without that, people are leading cults, not great organizations.

In his book titled VisuaLeadership (Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life), Todd Cherches lists some of the questions that leader should be asking of themselves:

1. How do you personally define leadership? Leadership is not a title. Rather it is about stepping up to leadership when leadership is needed. It comes in many forms. What’s yours?
2. Who are some leaders that you admire and why? By looking at the qualities and characteristics of leaders that you hold in high regard, you can shape your own.
3. Who were some of the influential people in your own life from whom you have learned something about leadership? The answer will help you get specific about your own values, leadership style, and ethics.
4. What have been some defining leadership moments in your life? These are moments that you would consider game changers that moved or inspired you in a profound way. They have shaped the person and leader you have become and serve as a guidepost.
5. What are you truly passionate about? These are things that excite you out of bed every morning or keep you contemplating at night. They energize you and give you purpose. Figuring out what lights a fire inside you will help you do the same in those you lead.
6. Why should anyone be led by you? This is a scary one and more than a little challenging to face. You can get to the heart of the answer by considering what would happen if you left your current position. Would people eagerly leave to follow you, or would they be glad that you were going?
7. What are some of the key leadership lessons you want to pass along to others? Part of your responsibility as a leader is to foster leadership skills and traits in others. Pondering what people say about you at your retirement party will hone in on these lessons.
8. Who are the people in your life right now who make you a better person and a better leader? Think about the people in your life that you can count on to be open, honest, candid, and truthful with you, with no other agenda than wanting to help you be the best leader you can be. You will need to rely on them throughout your leadership journey.
9. What are you reading, listening to, and watching? The information you expose yourself to can have incredible impacts on how your lead yourself and others. Never stop seeking new sources.
10. Are you a good follower? Effective leaders have to sometimes follow someone else’s lead. Who do you follow and are you good at it?

Interesting questions, right? I think rather than treat these as questions we should turn them around and consider them guidelines helping us to become great leaders.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.