Leadership Building Blocks
The ten behaviours the survey measures, and what each one means in practice.
Inspiration
Connecting the work in front of someone to why it matters, and saying out loud that you believe they can do it. It includes marking progress along the way, and holding the team's belief steady when something goes wrong.
Empowerment
Agreeing what a good outcome looks like, then leaving the how to the person doing it. Check-ins have a purpose rather than being a look over the shoulder, the level of involvement matches what that person has asked for, and stepping in is a last resort rather than a reflex.
Feedback
Saying it in the same week, about something you actually saw, and saying the difficult part plainly rather than burying it between compliments. Then listening to their side of it, and agreeing what happens next before the conversation ends.
Appreciation
Looking for the contributions that are easy to miss, and naming them specifically and soon: what the person did, and what difference it made. Effort and progress count, not only results, and the people who hold a team together count as much as its stars.
Listening
Full attention, phone away, questions asked to understand rather than to reply. It also means noticing what someone is not saying, making it safe to disagree with you, and telling people afterwards what came of what they said.
Communication
Sharing what you know without being asked, and the reasoning behind it, at the point in time when it is useful. Anything important is said more than once and in more than one way, and you check it landed rather than assuming it did.
Empathy & Compassion
Understanding what someone's situation actually feels like, and then doing something about it. Asking before advising, noticing the quieter people as well as the visible ones, and keeping an accommodation in place once it has been made.
Respect & Trust
The same dignity for everyone whatever their job title, and words that match actions often enough that people can rely on them. It shows in whether the team can raise a problem or admit a mistake without bracing, and in what happens to something told to you in confidence.
Authenticity & Vulnerability
Behaving in line with what you say you believe, and being willing to say "I don't know" or "I got that wrong". A manager who asks for feedback on their own behaviour, and meets a challenge with curiosity rather than defence, gives everyone else permission to be imperfect too.
Development & Coaching
Knowing where each person wants to get to, and giving them work slightly bigger than they feel ready for. Coaching is the part where you ask instead of answering, and stay quiet long enough for them to find it themselves.