Authentic Leadership Survey™ has been designed to provide you with “insight” about what you do and how you do it, i.e. your behaviours. The survey captures your view of yourself and that of others with whom you regularly engage in the course of doing your job and have invited to complete the questionnaire. As such, this represents evidence rather than mere hindsight. It promotes evidential self-awareness.
In today’s business world, we recognise the amount of information you have available can be overwhelming and deciding what is valuable or useful can be difficult. Accordingly, this survey has been designed to be easy to complete and, more importantly clear, concise and precise in the way it reports the data to you. It will enable you to quickly devise a coherent, challenging yet achievable development plan.
The torrent of data means many managers find themselves in positions where they are overwhelmed and constantly under pressure to “deliver the numbers” represented by the data. Leadership demands more than just putting people on a “results treadmill”. Effective leadership in the 21st century demands leaders to engage and forge mutually supportive relationships; from Robert Greenleaf, the leader is there to serve the people who report to them. A crucial component of this service is developing and nurturing talent. People who expect results at any cost are not leaders; they are autocratic dictators.
One divisive habit of dictators is to blame others when things go wrong, as they will because people are scared, they won’t speak up, they are less creative and innovative, they’re less productive. They are disengaged. Dictators are totally unaware about their own behavioural weaknesses. They distance themselves from being given feedback and committing themselves to improve. The Authentic Leader seeks results but without conceitedly damaging the relationships they need to sustain to get things done.
In organisations, the progression of technology has been fast and extensive. Against this vividly painted canvas of change, the nature of human relationships has remained more constant and consistent. Even with the advent of AI, technology has not been developed yet to renders leadership and management redundant. What has always worked in terms of setting direction, being purposeful, demonstrating empathy, care and compassion, continues to work. Being an autocrat, avoiding decisions, or being overly affiliative has never worked, and never will.
The survey helps surface leadership and relationship issues without blame or hostility. By using the survey’s reported data, your development needs can be identified. As your relationships strengthen quickly, your performance contribution to your organisation will increase concurrently.
The on-line survey enables you to gather assessments from a panel of people with whom you work most often and, therefore, know you best. Through the Authentic Leadership Survey™, you can source feedback from people within your organisation, e.g.
Outside the organisation, you can solicit feedback from other groups and individuals, e.g.
You select who you want to provide feedback and the system sends them an email containing a link to the survey questionnaire. You will be prompted if they haven’t responded within ten days. It is your responsibility to ensure all your respondents respond!
Confidentiality The report generated by the Authentic Leadership Survey™ is yours and completely 100% confidential. No one apart from yourself can gain access to the results without your permission, and your password which “unlocks” the survey is software generated.
Aggregated scores are calculated by the survey system, so you will not see individual assessor’s scores. The only exception is if you ask your manager and/or a mentor to respond. For all other groups, there must be at least two respondents for the systems to accept your nominations.
Confidentiality [for corporate schemes] The report generated by the Authentic Leadership Survey™ is yours. It is not shared with your nominated assessors. However, your manager will be given a copy as (s)he is accountable for your development and needs to see and understand the full suite of data to help you devise your development plan, track its completed and appraise the improvement to your performance. Certain accredited individuals in HR will also have access to the data as part of their responsibility for managing L&D across the business.
Comparing your perceptions and beliefs about your leadership behaviours with that of your chosen assessors provides significant insight about those areas in which you hold the same opinion as well as those in which there is difference. This is a powerful way to unlock “blind spots” you may have about your behavioural delivery and its impact. Normally, exploring such territory can be difficult and uncomfortable. Using the report removes blame and hostility; it enables issues, problems and, of course, development opportunities to be grasped and resolved.
A noticeable feature of the Authentic Leader is that people want to work for her or him. This is not because it is easy but because there is challenge, firm yet fair assessment of performance combined with support and commitment to growth and development. We expect that your manager will commit to working with you to make the most of your survey data, in shaping and informing your development plan. We also expect that he or she will then will partner you in achieving your goals, giving you opportunity to acquire new skills and behavioural competencies and put these into practice, so that they become embedded rather than decay through lack of application. Your plan should establish the route-map from the data revealed in the report towards you becoming an Authentic Leader.
An Authentic Leader leaves a legacy in the form of future leaders of choice. We very much regard a core role of leadership is to create new leaders. We strongly recommend that you take time to reflect on the data in your report and then go and discuss it with your assessors, especially your manager (and/or mentor). Remember, the data is a “snapshot in time”; it represents a collective view of your current leadership style: use it as the springboard to your future growth and development.
Purpose The principal objective of the Authentic Leadership Survey™ is to provide a reliable “snapshot in time” measurement of your activity and behavioural style.
Prepare Prepare as part of the initial administrative set-up of the Authentic Leadership Survey™, you are required to choose a panel of assessors who should be people with whom you work regularly, e.g. your manager, your direct reports, your peers, perhaps suppliers and clients or customers outside your firm. Use your personalised access code to access the survey system to issue invitations to complete the survey to your chosen panel of assessors. Upon all assessors completing the questionnaire, you will be able to download your report. Or, enter your debit / credit card / PayPal details to pay the fee to open the survey system and select your assessors. Upon all completing the questionnaire, you will be able to download your report.
*Please note, when making your selection ensure you have included individuals whose opinions you trust and value. Do NOT just select people you like and will give positive feedback. That is entirely counter-productive to your growth and development.
Opinion gathering: In this stage, which should last no longer than two weeks, your chosen assessors complete their questionnaire. After ten days, you will be “nudged” by the system to chase any outstanding questionnaires. It is your responsibility to ensure all assessors complete their questionnaire.
Planning Once all questionnaires are completed, your report is available to download. You should read this thoroughly and reflect on what it is saying. We strongly encourage you to talk to all your assessors about the report’s data. It is especially important you do this with your manager and/or coach who is accountable for your growth and development delivering a performance uplift. Your manager/coach should help you identify your development needs and the options available to meet those needs.
Practise Over a period of between six to nine months, in concert with your manager/coach, opportunities that enable you to practice your newly learned skills and behaviours should be identified, e.g. additional delegated responsibilities, secondment into different roles. Throughout this period, it is essential you acquire feedback about your performance.
Progress appraisal After six to nine months, you should approach all your assessors and ask them to complete the Authentic Leadership Survey™ a second time. The report produced by this second round of measurement should demonstrate improvement in your performance. This is complimentary.