Directions
In reading the following three questions, please consider your current work environment and circle one letter only to show what you would do first. Since all of the alternatives are sound business actions, all answers demonstrate leadership. Use the same unit or enterprise for all three questions.
1. Your unit has been given an unexpected budget increase. Select the one area that you think would be the best way to spend the increase.
- Create “cutting-edge” services/products and/or develop new synergies
- Expand services to improve customer service and/or attract new clients for your products/services, and/or reward initiative and action taken to improve customer service
- Improve the structure of work by clarifying roles and responsibilities, improving autonomy, or creating teams
- Evaluate benchmarks from similar organizations; study cost-benefit figures for improved efficiencies, and/or increase customer value
- Strengthen talent retention, offer training or develop skills, and/or improve collaboration
- Attend conference on strategic direction, purchase material or consulting assistance on trends that impact your unit
2. If you were able to have more information at your disposal to guide your decision making, which one of the following would you most like to have?
- Information on new patents, inventions, technology, or discoveries
- Customer satisfaction levels, purchasing patterns, or anticipated purchase volume
- Levels of cooperation across units, number of best practices shared, or staffing patterns
- Cost data, process flow efficiencies, unit financial performance, or supplier quality data
- Level of employee satisfaction, matrix of employee competencies, exit interview data
- An environmental scan on the emerging opportunities, analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses
3. If you were to describe your greatest accomplishment at work, what would it be?
- Being creative
- Taking action
- Organizing people or projects
- Solving problems
- Developing others
- Checking assumptions
Interpreting the Exercise
Score by tallying the number of times you have circled each letter. If all of your selections were the same letter, such as “A” under each question, you have a single priority at this time or a single “Primary Profile.” If you have circled more than one letter, you currently have multiple priorities in your “Primary Profile.” Remember, the goal is not to embrace them all equally but to learn the Leadership Spectrum framework so you can use them all appropriately.
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Letter
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Value
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A
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Innovation, new synergies or new services/products
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B
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Customer satisfaction, market share, action, or influencing others to reach new levels of achievement
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C
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Infrastructure, develop organizational systems, and structure roles and responsibilities
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D
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Quality and process improvement, maximization of resource utilization, and financial results
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E
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Build and maintain a culture, develop people, transfer skills, and create networks/identity
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F
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Probe assumptions, explore new alternatives, and seize opportunities for change
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Assessment 
