Leadership Assessment Tool (Free): 25 Questions + Scoring + Action Plan (Online + PDF & Word Files)

Jump To:  Start the Assessment | Download Assessment |What This Assessment Measures | How to Use Your Results |360-Degree Feedback Option | Tool Library Access (How It Works) | FAQ

"Most of what we call 'management' consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done."

- Peter F. Drucker

Start the Leadership Assessment

Before you begin, here's a quick tutorial of what you can expect when taking the complete 25-question leadership survey. Whether you take our free online version (which also provides a 30-day action plan) or choose to download our free PDF or Word files, you are encouraged to get started today.

STEP ONE: Complete the Leadership Assessment

If some questions don't quite fit with your circumstance, feel free to make minor changes to the questions. Stay within the "spirit" of the question. Do not skip questions or the scoring of the assessment won't reflect a clear outcome.

Place a checkmark in one column next to each question.

STEP TWO: Complete Your Column Totals

After completing the assessment, count the number of checkmarks in each column, multiple the total by the assigned value for each column and enter the total for each column.

STEP THREE: Add Your Column Totals

Add all five column totals to establish your grand total score. My Score Is: _____________

What Does My Score Mean?

See the following score definitions to determine your current level of leadership development:

Once you identify your current level of leadership development, you'll want to determine what you can do next to proactively address areas for improvement. 

Our online version of this leadership assessment is an AI interactive tool that will not only walk you through the full 25-question leadership assessment - but it will also walk you through a quick process that enables you to quickly create an action plan for immediate improvement.  

Ready for the full 25-question assessment, complete scoring + 30-day action plan? D

Free Leadership Assessment: Online version | Download Free: PDF version | Word File version 

What This Assessment Measures

Our leadership assessment identifies 25 key skills that define leadership effectiveness and potential. It helps you identify areas of strength and skills that may require additional development.

Key Leadership Categories Include

Stability
Leaders who demonstrate self-awareness, control, and emotional stability provide calm when things are hectic.

Setting Boundaries
Establishing clear expectations and “guard rails” for personal and professional behavior in the workplace.

Productivity
Understanding the difference between working hard (or appearing busy) and being productive—achieving quality results efficiently.

Work Quality
Consistently holding yourself (and others) accountable for a quality product—finishing strong, doing it once, and doing it right to minimize wasted time and effort.

Accountability
Taking complete ownership of decisions and results, and setting an example for your team to emulate.

Team Building
Emphasizing that no one person alone is as strong, smart, or effective as the entire team working together—and investing in the team as an investment in the future.

Communication and Leadership
Sharing information routinely, listening effectively, coaching, problem-solving, contributing ideas, and keeping people aligned to priorities.

Who this is leadership assessment especially helpful for:

• People in the initial phases of their management careers
• New or aspiring leaders
• Anyone currently struggling in a leadership role and looking for a practical reset
• Students, athletes, and anyone with responsibility for leading others
• Solopreneurs/small business owners leading contractors or small team

How to Use Your Results (Action Plan)

Your score is a starting point. Your action plan is what creates change.

The goal isn’t to “fix everything.” The goal is to build one or two leadership habits that make your day-to-day leadership clearer, calmer, and more consistent.

Below is a simple, practical process you can follow after you score your assessment.

Step 1: Review your results the right way (5 minutes)

Before you choose what to work on, pause and do a quick scan for patterns. This step helps you avoid a common trap: reacting emotionally to one low score and trying to overhaul everything at once. Instead, you’ll read your results like a leader - calmly, objectively, and with an eye toward what will make the biggest practical difference.

Think of your score as information, not a judgment. Your job is to spot what your results are consistently telling you, then choose one clear starting point you can act on immediately.

Do a quick scan for patterns:

Strength Patterns:

• Which items did you score highest? These are your leadership “assets.” You’ll want to keep using them intentionally.

Development Patterns:

• Which items did you score lowest? These are your best improvement opportunities.

Consistency Check:

• Did you score low across a whole theme (ex: productivity + prioritization + organization)? If yes, that’s often a sign of overload or unclear priorities, not lack of ability.

Context Check: Answer honestly

• “Where am I leading right now (work, volunteer, family, school, athletics)?”
• “Which results are being influenced by stress, workload, or lack of support?”

Important: Don’t turn one low area into a negative story about yourself. Leadership skills are learnable.

Step 2: Pick Your “Top 3” Opportunities (Don’t Pick 10)

Circle the 3 questions (or categories) where you scored lowest.

Then ask yourself:

• Which of these causes the most friction right now?
• Which one, if improved, would make everything else easier?

If you’re unsure, start with one of these high-leverage foundations:

• Communication clarity
• Prioritization and focus
• Delegation
• Accountability/follow-through
• Listening and connection

Step 3: Choose ONE Priority for the Next 30 Days (Focus Creates Momentum)

This is the point where real growth starts, because focus turns insight into action. When you choose one priority, you’re not saying the other areas don’t matter. You’re simply giving yourself a realistic target you can practice consistently, even on busy weeks.

A 30-day window is long enough to build a noticeable habit, but short enough to stay motivating. It also gives you a clean way to measure progress: “Did I practice this often enough to see a difference?”

Small, repeated leadership behaviors are what your team will notice the most, and those same behaviors will fuel your results.

Use This Filter to Select Your First Focus Area

• Impact: Will improving this noticeably help my team/customer results?
• Frequency: Do I face this situation weekly (or more)?
• Control: Can I personally practice this without needing a major system change?

Examples of Strong 30-day Focus Choices

• “I want to become more consistent at setting clear priorities.”
• “I want to improve how I delegate so I’m not the bottleneck.”
• “I want to handle accountability conversations sooner and more respectfully.”
• “I want to strengthen recognition and morale on my team.”

Step 4: Turn Your Priority into a Single Measurable Behavior

This is where most leaders get stuck: they pick a theme (“communication”) but not a behavior.

Themes are useful, but they’re too broad to practice - and if you can’t practice it, you can’t improve it. That’s why this step matters so much.

A measurable behavior is something you can do on purpose, on a specific cadence (daily/weekly), in situations you already face. It also gives you a clear way to answer, “Did I actually work on this?” instead of relying on a vague feeling.

A good test is this: if an outside observer watched you for a week, could they clearly tell whether you did the behavior or not? If the answer is yes, you’ve chosen a behavior you can build into a real leadership habit.

Pick One Behavior That Is:

• Specific (easy to understand)
• Observable (someone else could see it)
• Repeatable (weekly, not once a year)
• Small enough to do even when busy

Examples (choose one that matches your priority)

If your focus is Communication:

• “I will end every meeting with a 60-second recap: decisions, owners, deadlines.”
• “I will send a short ‘what matters this week’ message every Monday.”
• “Before giving direction, I will confirm understanding by asking, ‘What are you taking away from this?’”

If your focus is Delegation:

• “Each week, I will delegate one task I’m holding that someone else can learn.”
• “When I delegate, I will define what ‘done’ means and when I want an update.”
• “I will delegate outcomes, not just tasks (what success looks like, not how to do every step).”

If your focus is Accountability / Follow-through:

• “For any task that takes longer than two days, I will confirm expectations in writing.”
• “I will address missed commitments within 24–48 hours (calmly and clearly).”
• “I will set one clear deadline and one checkpoint, instead of vague timelines.”

If your focus is Productivity / Prioritization:

• “I will choose my top 3 priorities daily and protect time for the most important one.”
• “I will stop starting new work before finishing the current priority.”
• “I will reduce rework by defining quality standards before work begins.”

If your focus is Team Building / Recognition:

• “Each week, I will recognize one specific behavior and its impact.”
• “In 1:1s, I will ask one growth question before giving advice.”
• “I will schedule one meaningful check-in conversation with each team member monthly.”

Step 5: Apply Your Commitment in a Real Situation This Week

Pick a predictable moment where you can practice immediately:

• Your weekly team meeting
• A project handoff
• A 1:1 check-in
• A deadline conversation
• A conflict or performance issue you’ve been avoiding

This matters because leadership improves in real moments, not in theory.

Step 6: Get Feedback (small, safe, and specific)

You don’t need a formal review process to get useful feedback.

Choose one person (peer, supervisor, team member, client) and ask one question:

• “What’s one thing I did this week that made your work easier?”
• “Where would you like more clarity or consistency from me?”
• “What’s one thing I could do differently next time to support you better?”

Tip: Ask for “one thing,” not a full evaluation. It keeps the conversation easy and honest.

Step 7: Track one simple metric (so you can see progress)

Pick one sign that improvement is working. Keep it lightweight:

Examples:

• Fewer follow-up questions from the team (communication clarity)
• Fewer missed deadlines or surprise escalations (accountability)
• More tasks completed without your involvement (delegation)
• Less rework or fewer errors (work quality)
• Better meeting outcomes (clear decisions and owners)
• Improved morale signals (more engagement, more initiative)

Write it down weekly in one sentence: “What did I do? What happened as a result?”

Step 8: Reassess and Adjust (30–90 days)

Retake the assessment in 30–90 days and compare results.

When you reassess, ask:

• What improved?
• What still feels stuck?
• Do I need a better system (process/tools) or a better skill (conversation/behavior)?

Then either:

• Continue the same focus area for another month, or
• Choose the next priority from your “Top 3.”

Always Remember:  If your results reveal gaps, you’re not behind - you’re learning. The strongest leaders aren’t the ones who never struggle. They’re the ones who notice what’s needed to make a positive change. Choose one improvement and practice it consistently for continued growth and development.

360-Degree Feedback Option (Deeper Analysis)

After you review your leadership / self-assessment results, you may want a deeper analysis of your leadership skill-set - especially how other people perceive your leadership style and effectiveness.

For that purpose, you can use our 360 Degree Feedback Leadership Survey.

How to Use Both Tools Together

• Step 1: Take the Leadership Assessment (self-view)
• Step 2: Take the 360 Survey (to see how others view you as a leader)
• Step 3: Compare results and select your top 1–2 development priorities for the next 60–90 days

Tool Library Access (How It Works)

Here’s how our Leadership Tools library works, so you can quickly find what you need without any confusion.

We’ve designed access to be simple and budget-friendly for solopreneurs, new managers, and small teams - starting with free tools you can use immediately.

Below is a quick breakdown of what’s available for instant download on this page, and how to access the broader Leading People and Leading Teams tool collections.

This Leadership Assessment Tool is part of our Leading Self collection:

• 10-minute Online version: (Includes a 30-day action plan)
• PDF version: free immediate download
• Word version: free immediate download

For tools in our Leading People and Leading Teams sections:

• Newsletter signup is required to access the full library (a password is provided right away)
• PDF versions are free inside the library
• Editable Word/Excel files are available for a low fee (under $10 each)

We keep things practical and affordable: free PDFs for everyone, and low-cost editable versions when customization is helpful.

Leadership grows through practice. Start where you are, choose one improvement, and keep going.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is this leadership assessment really free?

Yes. Both the PDF and Word versions of this Leadership Assessment Tool are free for immediate download.

How long does it take?

Most people complete the full assessment in 10–15 minutes, plus about 5 minutes to score.

Who should use a leadership assessment?

New managers, aspiring leaders, team leads, small business owners, students/athletes - anyone responsible for leading others.

How often should I retake the assessment?

Every 30–90 days is a helpful rhythm, especially if you’re actively building one leadership habit.

What should I do after I get my score?

Pick 1–3 focus areas, choose one weekly behavior to practice, ask for feedback, and reassess. The “Action Plan” section above walks you through this step-by-step.

Can I use this assessment for hiring or promotions?

This tool is designed for self-development and coaching, not high-stakes employment decisions.

What if I score low?

A low score isn’t a verdict; it’s a starting point. Choose one area, practice one small behavior consistently for 30 days, and reassess. Progress is the goal.