Self-Assessment 5

Leaders grow their leadership skills by identifying their strengths, leveraging them, and
improving their weaknesses. The leadership strengths questionnaire helps leaders identify their
strengths and weaknesses in various leadership qualities: innovation, encouragement, analysis,
mediation, and implementation. This paper’s purpose is to analyze the results of the leadership
strengths questionnaire in chapter 6 of (Northouse,2020). When I took the test, my results were
as follows: implementer-24, innovator-25, encourager-22, analyzer-26, and mediator-18. These
results show that my leadership strengths are in innovating and analyzing.
Leaders are required to be innovative with their solutions to organizational challenges
(Northouse,2020). One way that leaders can be innovative is through brainstorming.
Brainstorming ensures that leaders develop potential solutions and indulge their creative selves
in the process. I am innovative because I like to be explorative when finding solutions to
problems.
Another key strength I found from my test was being an analyzer. I like understanding
processes and outcomes, which enables me to know which leadership path to follow and how to
direct and guide followers. Analytical leaders also explore the details of problems before trying
to solve them. This helps the leaders to determine what kind of solutions need to be developed
and how they benefit people and processes.
The questionnaire helped me understand that I am a good implementor. Leaders’
effectiveness is tested by how efficiently they can implement the ideas and concepts they
visualize. This means overcoming challenges and tests, solving problems, and seeing plans
through. It also means mobilizing buy-in, participation, productivity, and effort from all parties

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involved in implementing projects. Leaders must plan, organize and coordinate activities until
the results are realized.
The biggest area for improvement is mediation. I realized that I struggle to deal with
people with diverse opinions. Part of being a leader is learning to listen and consider other
people’s opinions (Sutton, 2022). This means accepting that I could be wrong. During mediation,
I sometimes question whether my solutions may work in other people’s scenarios. The potential
solution would be to improve my confidence when suggesting mediation solutions. I also
realized that I struggle with finding common ground when conflict is present. One of the key
highlights in finding common ground is identifying peoples’ motivators. This includes profiling
people to understand their motives and interest and how they relate to the conflict. As a leader,
my proofing of people’s personalities and motivators has not been very accurate, which has
limited my ability to develop effective solutions to conflicts.
The questionnaire helped me realize that I am a good encourager. Part of being an
excellent leader includes understanding when people need encouragement (Sutton, 2022).
Sometimes coworkers and employees feel frustrated about their work, which may reduce
productivity. Leaders also maintain good interpersonal relations with their coworkers by
encouraging them. Encouraging coworker is a demonstration of leaders’ concern for their work-
related relationships. Encouragement helps improve group bonds and keep the group together
making it easy for leadership to meet its goals.

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References
Northouse, P. G. (2020). Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice (5th ed.). SAGE
Publications, Inc.
Sutton, J. (2022, July 2). Strength-based leadership: Thirty-four traits of successful leaders.
PositivePsychology.com.