Leveraging Feedback for building Leadership Capability

Getting feedback from internal stakeholders is a just one step in the process of building Leadership Capability. This feedback can be very helpful in building the right competencies and behaviours to enable success as a Leader. This is a guide to help you in putting together Action Plans to enhance your Leadership Capability.

Step 1: Know what to act upon.

Examine feedback to determine

• What is working well? Consider Top 3 to 5 highest scoring statements/behaviours; and
• - What is not working well? Consider Bottom 3 to 5 lowest Scoring Statements.

Some Organizations create lengthy Vision statements which are posted on the walls for every one to see every day. However, if you were to ask any employee if he / she knows what the Company’s Vision statement is – chances are you would draw a blank.

Apply Judgment – How do these impact your stakeholder experience and your own leadership effectiveness.

-High Impact – Statements that have a comparatively higher impact.

Not-High Impact – Statements that will have a comparatively lesser impact.

• Look for trends – similar patterns

- 1 to 2 Strengths to be sustained

- 2 to 3 Improvement Opportunities

Step 2 – Identify Actions you can take to address High Impact Statements/Behaviours.

• Take one statement/behaviour at a time
• Understand what is driving the perception

- Identify most probable causes: List 2 – 3 possible causes for the score being high (or low). Obtain stakeholder inputs if you need more insights.

• What are you doing / not doing that causes this perception?

- Determine actionable causes

• Focus on causes that can be actioned by you.
• Eliminate causes that are outside your control.


• Identify Action (s)

• -For each actionable cause determine at least one action you will take to address it.

  -Focus on Actions that you can take – independently or with support from your Team or Peers/Stakeholders or Manager.

  -Assign Target dates for completing the action.

  -Repeat till all actionable causes are addressed

• Repeat till you have covered all selected High Impact statements / behaviours.

Step 3 – Execute the plan and monitor progress.

• Review progress regularly (at least once a month).
• Take actions to minimize deviations from plan.

Step 4 – Seek Feedback from Stakeholders.

• Seek formal feedback using the same questionnaire so as to measure the progress (or lack of progress).
• Take actions to sustain the gains and address the gaps.