Leadership Quiz: Are You Meeting Your Team’s Needs?

Jump to: The 10 Key Leadership Questions |Start the Leadership Quiz | How the Quiz Works |Interpreting Your Results | Leadership Styles | Action Plan: Improve Your Leadership |Download the Quiz

The 10 Key Leadership Questions

Using the 10 Key Questions leadership quiz you can quickly assess how well you are doing as a leader to ensure your team members have clarity on key areas of accountability and performance.

For each statement below, rate yourself from 1 to 5:

Leadership Quiz: 10 Key Questions

1. I set clear expectations, so every team member understands exactly what success looks like in their role.
2. I regularly provide timely, specific feedback—both positive and constructive—so my team knows where they stand.
3. I make time to listen to my team’s ideas, concerns, and questions, and I act on their input when appropriate.
4. I provide the tools, training, and resources my people need to do their jobs effectively.
5. I recognize and celebrate good performance in ways that are meaningful to each individual.
6. I address performance issues promptly and fairly, rather than avoiding difficult conversations.
7. I communicate the bigger picture so my team understands how their work supports our mission and goals.
8. I model the behavior and work ethic I expect from others, even when no one is watching.
9. I invest in my own growth as a leader so I can continue to better serve my team.
10. I regularly ask my team for feedback on my leadership and use it to make improvements.

(If you already have your own established “10 Key Questions,” simply replace the items above with your preferred wording while keeping the structure of this section the same.)

Once you’ve rated each question, add up your total score and note which questions you scored lowest on. Those low scores are your highest-impact opportunities for improvement.

Start the Leadership Quiz

Set aside 10–15 quiet minutes. This quiz works best when you answer honestly, based on how you’ve been leading over the past 60–90 days - not how you wish you were leading.

Now let's review how to take the quiz:

1. For each of the 10 Key Leadership Questions shown above, rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 5:

• 1 = Rarely true of me
• 2 = Sometimes true
• 3 = Often true
• 4 = Usually true
• 5 = Consistently true

2. Be Specific When Considering the Answer

Picture real people and recent situations rather than answering in general. For example, let's address a few of the key questions that are included in this exercise:

Question #1: Team members understand the mission of the organization.  

Depending on the size of your organization you may or may not have a formalized mission or vision statement.  However, even if you don't have a mission statement established, you can use this to your advantage.

Creating a mission statement for your team can be a powerful exercise that you can lead your team through during your next team meeting. We've provided mission statement tools and mission statement examples to assist you in this effort.

Question #6: Team members receive regular constructive communication from me on a regular basis? 

Communication doesn't always have to be in a formal setting to be effective. Connecting with your employees on a personal level is important for gaining trust and loyalty. Rewarding and recognizing your people, providing positive reinforcement for a job well done goes a long way to show the employee that you value them and that you appreciate their efforts.  

Tools that can assist you in this effort include our My Favorite Things tool and remember that you can also use our free Leadership Ecard system for quick and easy employee recognition. 

Questions #8: Team members know that I encourage them to continually develop their skills, and we review their professional development goals often.

Maintaining open, direct and frequent communication with your team members is critical to your success and the success of your team. Depending on the size of your team, you should schedule regular one-on-one discussions on a weekly or monthly basis.  You can always cancel a meeting if you both feel a meeting isn't warranted, but if you don't have it scheduled the chances of meeting are greatly diminished.

Not sure what to discuss? For starters you can go through several of the questions on our leadership quiz.  Ask your employees for direct feedback to let them know that they're satisfaction is important to you.  

You can also leverage the many tools in our leadership library such as our 360-degree Leadership Analysis tool. Our Performance Appraisal tool can also help guide your discussion to address key areas of performance - and don't forget our Succession Planning tool, which is meaningful to any team member who aspires to move up within the organization. 

As you can see by the three questions, we've already addressed in the leadership quiz, you have all the tools and resources you need in our leadership library to help you to be an outstanding leader.

3. Total Your Scores

Review the “Interpret Your Results” and “Leadership Styles Explained” sections to understand your patterns.

Tip: You can also print these questions and use them as a discussion guide with your team or a mentor. Honest feedback from others is one of the most powerful self-leadership tools you can use.

"Ask questions. Growth is fueled by desire and being actively engaged. Imagine yourself learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant."

- Bruce Mau

How This Leadership Quiz Works

This quiz is not about labeling you as a “good” or “bad” leader.

Instead, it focuses on one central idea: effective leaders consistently meet the practical and emotional needs of their people. When needs are met, performance improves, trust grows, and turnover drops. When needs are ignored, frustration and disengagement rise - no matter how talented the leader may be.

The 10 Key Leadership Questions explore how well you:

• Communicate expectations
• Provide direction and support
• Recognize and develop your people
• Create an environment of fairness, respect, and accountability

Your responses reveal patterns in your self-leadership, how you manage your own time, focus, and habits - because your team experiences your habits every day.

Use this quiz as:

• A snapshot of how you are leading right now
• A mirror to uncover blind spots
• A starting point for a specific, practical improvement plan

Interpret Your Results

Now that you’ve rated yourself on each question, it’s time to turn your scores into insight.

Use the guide below to understand what your total score says about your current leadership, spot your strongest habits, and identify the few key areas where improvement will make the biggest difference for your team.

Step 1: Total Score

Add up your ratings for all 10 questions. Then use the guide below:

• 41–50: Strong Self-Leadership Foundation:  You are consistently meeting many of your team’s core needs. Your challenge now is fine-tuning and sustaining your habits as your responsibilities grow.
• 31–40: Solid but Inconsistent: You demonstrate many positive leadership behaviors but aren’t always consistent. Certain situations, people, or pressures may cause you to slip. Focus on your lowest-scoring questions to create more reliable habits.
• 20–30: At Risk of Gaps and Mixed Signals: Your intentions may be good, but your team is likely experiencing uneven support. You have clear opportunities to improve communication, accountability, recognition, or development.
• Below 20: Urgent Opportunity for Change: Your team may feel uncertain, unsupported, or undervalued. The good news is that small, deliberate changes will be very noticeable and can dramatically improve results and relationships.

Step 2: Spot Your Patterns

Look back at your 10 ratings and ask:

• Which 2–3 questions did I score highest on? - These are your current leadership strengths—leverage them.
• Which 2–3 questions did I score lowest on? - These are your biggest opportunities for growth. Start here.

Step 3: Choose One Focus Area

Effective self-leadership means choosing a clear focus instead of trying to “fix everything” at once.

Pick one question where improvement would make the biggest difference for your team, and commit to working on it for the next 30 days.

Leadership Styles Explained

Your answers also hint at your natural leadership tendencies. While this quiz is not a formal personality assessment, most leaders will see themselves in one (or a blend) of the styles below.

Use your lowest and highest scores to see which style best matches your current behavior.

1. The Supportive Coach

• You likely scored higher on listening, recognition, and development questions (3, 5, 9, 10).
• Strengths: You create a safe environment where people feel heard, valued, and encouraged.
• Risks: You may delay tough conversations or struggle with setting firm boundaries.
• Growth Focus: Balance empathy with clear accountability and performance expectations.

2. The Task Driver

• You likely scored higher on expectations, tools, and accountability questions (1, 2, 4, 6).
• Strengths: You get things done, keep projects on track, and rarely let performance issues linger.
• Risks: Your team may sometimes feel pressured, under-recognized, or disconnected from the bigger “why.”
• Growth Focus: Invest more time in listening, recognition, and connecting daily tasks to meaningful goals.

3. The Balanced Leader (Goal Style)

• Your scores are relatively strong and even across most or all questions.
• Strengths: You combine clarity, support, accountability, and development. People know what to expect from you.
• Risks: As responsibilities increase, it’s easy to slip into “maintenance mode” and stop growing as a leader.
• Growth Focus: Identify one or two strategic areas (e.g., succession planning, coaching depth) where you can move from “good” to “great.”

You may see aspects of yourself in more than one style. That’s normal. Self-leadership is about being aware of your tendencies and intentionally choosing how you will show up for your team each day.

Action Plan: Improve Your Leadership

Use your quiz results to build a simple, practical action plan. The key is to focus on behaviors you can start today.

Step 1: Choose One Priority Question

From your lowest-scoring questions, select one that would have the greatest positive impact if you improved it. For example:

• “I recognize and celebrate good performance…”
• “I address performance issues promptly and fairly…”

Step 2: Define One Weekly Habit

Turn that priority into a clear habit. Examples:

• Recognition: “Every Friday, I will send at least three specific thank-you messages to team members highlighting what they did and why it mattered.”
• Feedback: “Within 48 hours of any major task or project, I will give each person at least one specific piece of feedback.”

Step 3: Make It Visible

Write your new habit down and keep it where you’ll see it daily - on your desk, in your planner, or as a reminder on your phone.

Step 4: Review and Adjust

At the end of each week, ask yourself:

• Did I follow through on my habit?
• What changed in my team’s response or performance?
• What will I do differently next week?

Step 5: Expand Gradually

After 30 days of consistent progress on one area, choose the next low-scoring question and repeat the process. Over time, you will steadily strengthen your self-leadership and your impact on your team.

Take the quiz, reflect honestly, and then choose one small but meaningful change to make this week. As your self-leadership grows, your team’s trust, engagement, and results will grow with it.

This leadership quiz is one part of the Self-Leadership section at Leadership-Tools.com. To help you turn insight into lasting change, explore each of these additional tools designed to support your growth as a leader.