Appendix A
Self-Assessment of Leadership
Communication Capabilities
Read
through the list of skills and for each one check off your present capability
in the chart below.
1. Excel = mastered this skill and am excellent in it.
2. Competent = competent in
this skill but could polish it some.
3. Need to develop = need to
develop further
Area
and Skill
|
1
Excel
|
2
Competent
|
3
Need to develop
|
Part I – Assessment of the Core Skills
|
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Audience Analysis and
Strategy
|
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1. Analyzing the context for communication
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2. Analyzing audiences
|
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3. Tailoring messages to different audiences
|
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4. Selecting the most effective medium (channel)
|
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5. Developing a complete communication strategy
|
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Written Communication
Capabilities
|
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1. Deciding on communication purpose
|
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2. Clarifying your purpose
|
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3. Generating support for each purpose
|
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4. Organizing your written communication
|
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5. Using formatting effectively
|
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6. Using language correctly
|
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7. Writing clearly
|
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8. Writing concisely
|
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9. Writing confidently
|
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10.
Using an appropriate
tone
|
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11.
Writing
correspondence (e-mails, memos, text messages)
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12.
Writing formal
reports
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13.
Writing
executive summaries
|
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14.
Proofreading
own work
|
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Oral Communication
Capabilities
|
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1. Delivering an impromptu presentation
|
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2. Delivering an extemporaneous presentation
|
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3. Organizing presentation
|
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4. Creating PowerPoint slides
|
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5. Talking in small groups
|
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6. Talking in large groups
|
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7. Answering questions
|
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8. Asking questions
|
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9. Drawing others out
|
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10.
Summarizing and
clarifying others' ideas
|
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11.
Keeping to the
topic
|
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12.
Summarizing a
discussion
|
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13.
Dealing
publicly with more senior people
|
Area
and Skill
|
1
Excel
|
2
Competent
|
3
Need to develop
|
Visual Communication Capabilities
|
|||
1.
Recognizing when to use graphics
|
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2.
Selecting and designing effective data charts
|
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3.
Creating meaningful and effective text layouts
|
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4.
Employing fundamental graphics content and design
principles
|
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5.
Ensuring “so what” is captured
|
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6.
Creating presentation visuals and slides
|
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Part II – Organizational Capabilities
|
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Ethos/Image
|
|||
1. Understanding how I am seen by others
|
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2.
Knowing how my
personal style differs from others
|
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3. Asking others to comment on my style
|
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4.
Assessing my
own strengths and weaknesses
|
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5.
Setting goals
for personal change
|
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6. Willing to work on improving personal effectiveness
|
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7. Influencing the behavior of others
|
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8. Inspiring trust in others
|
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9. Projecting confidence
|
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10. Making ethical decisions
|
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11. Creating an ethical environment
|
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Emotional Intelligence 1: Dealing with Own Feelings
|
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1. Being
aware of own feelings
|
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2. Identifying
feelings
|
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3.
Asserting own ideas and rights
|
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4.
Stating own needs
|
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5. Expressing
feelings to others
|
|||
Emotional Intelligence 2: Dealing with Others
|
|||
1.
Listening
|
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2.
Recognizing non-verbals
|
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3.
Being sensitive to others’ feelings
|
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4.
Asking people how they feel
|
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5.
Acknowledging people’s feelings
|
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6.
Helping others express their feelings
|
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7.
Dealing with anger
|
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8.
Dealing with hostility and suspicion
|
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9. Being
comfortable with conflict
|
|||
10. Withstanding
silences
|
|||
11. Mentoring
others
|
|||
12. Coaching
others
|
|||
13. Networking
|
Area
and Skill
|
1
Excel
|
2
Competent
|
3
Need to develop
|
Emotional
Intelligence 3: Observation and
Feedback
|
|||
1.
Being aware of high and low participators
|
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2.
Noting if people are excluded
|
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3.
Recognizing who talks to whom
|
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4.
Being aware of who takes on leadership roles
|
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5.
Giving feedback on behavior in the group
|
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6.
Giving praise and appreciation
|
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7.
Providing constructive feedback to individuals or
groups
|
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8.
Helping team members give each other feedback
|
|||
9.
Soliciting feedback from others
|
|||
10. Receiving
feedback without being defensive
|
|||
Cultural
Literacy and Cross-Cultural Communication
|
|||
1.
Realizing the value of cultural literacy
|
|||
2.
Defining and appreciating cultural differences
|
|||
3.
Understanding differences is values and preferences
|
|||
4.
Recognizing general communication preferences (direct
or indirect, explicit or implicit, high or low context)
|
|||
5.
Understanding differences in attitudes toward
authority, time, risk, and change
|
|||
6.
Knowing customs common to cultures encountering
|
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7.
Communicating in social situations
|
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Team
Communication and Dynamics
|
|||
1.
Sensing tension in the group
|
|||
2.
Being sensitive to how people in the group are
feeling
|
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3.
Being aware of how open or closed the group is
|
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4.
Identifying those issues which are avoided
|
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5.
Identifying and clarifying goals and objectives
|
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6.
Clearly defining the problem under discussion
|
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7.
Examining all facets of the problem
|
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8.
Exploring people aspects of the problem
|
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9.
Surfacing vested interests and feelings about the
problem
|
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10.
Encouraging others to generate ideas
|
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11.
Using creativity to develop new ideas
|
|||
12.
Evaluating options
|
|||
13.
Helping groups make decisions
|
|||
Area
and Skill
|
1
Excel
|
2
Competent
|
3
Need to develop
|
Team
Communication and Dynamics (continued)
|
|||
14.
Helping groups explore their commitment to group
decisions and or agreements
|
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15.
Encouraging groups to develop action plans
|
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16.
Helping the team to confront difficult issues
|
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17.
Drawing attention to unhelpful behavior
|
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18.
Helping the team deal with conflict or other tension
|
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19.
Supporting individuals against group pressure
|
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20.
Helping team members acknowledge each other's
strengths
|
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21.
Facilitating team review and critique
|
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Part III – Corporate Communication Capabilities
|
|||
1. Developing an internal communication strategy
|
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2. Developing a vision
|
|||
3. Communicating a vision
|
|||
4. Targeting messages to different levels in an
organization
|
|||
5. Creating a change communication program
|
|||
6. Implementing a change communication program
|
|||
7. Developing an external communication strategy
|
|||
8. Managing corporate image
|
|||
9. Analyzing external stakeholders
|
|||
10. Developing targeted messages for all external
stakeholders
|
|||
11. Communicating with the news media
|
|||
12. Dealing with a communication crisis situation
|
|||
Total marks in each column
|
Worksheet
to Develop Personal
Leadership
Communication Development Plan
1. Using the
information gained from completing the Self-Assessment
of Overall Leadership Communication Capabilities, assign a score for your
improvement need in each skill area (use the scale provided next to the table)
based on the number of checks under Excel, Competent, and Need to Develop.
Score
|
Skill area
|
|
||
Communication
Strategy
|
||||
Written Communication
|
||||
Oral Communication
|
||||
Visual
Communication
|
||||
Ethos/image
|
||||
Dealing with own
feelings
|
||||
Dealing with
Others
|
||||
Observation and
Feedback
|
||||
Cultural Literacy
|
||||
Team
Communications and Dynamics
|
||||
Internal Corporate
Communication
|
||||
External Corporate
Communication
|
2. What do you consider your major communication
strengths?
3. What do you consider your major communication
weaknesses?
4. What leadership communication roles do you
currently play in your organization?
Part
2 – Determining Your Leadership Communication Goals
Answer the following
questions to help you develop your goals and plan.
1. What communication leadership roles would you
like to play in the future (at your organization or in your career overall)?
2. What are your short-term and
long-term leadership communication improvement goals?
3. What new skill do
you want to work on first, second, third, etc.?
4. What barriers do
you anticipate having to overcome to reach your improvement goals?
5.
How long do you think it will take you to achieve your goals?
6.
How will you know you are succeeding?
7.
How will you obtain feedback?
Part 3 – Developing a Plan to Achieve your Goals
Using the table below, list your primary improvement
goals, and then establish actions, deadlines, and measurement for each. The more specific the goal, the more likely
you are to achieve it.
Improvement Goal
|
Action steps to achieve
goal
|
Deadline
|
Method to measure
success
|
