The John Maxwell leadership training center shares an excellent article on use of Skill Assessment Tools for team members to discover their talents:

http://johnmaxwellcompany.com/blog/self-assessment-questions-leaders-should-ask-themselves

I challenge you to take some time this quarter to give the following self-assessment questions some serious, focused thought. The first four are meant to be reflective on the seasons in your past, while the final four are geared toward your future.

1. What have I accomplished? — This is a positive exercise, so let’s start with a positive question. This inquiry should get to the root of what is working in your career. It also gives you an opportunity to reflect.

2. What have I learned? — Having some time to step back from both achievements and failures Is key to holistic understanding. Giving yourself this kind of space can open your eyes to what you truly learned along the way.

3. Who did I lead? — The mark of an influencer is not in the number of followers, but rather in the number of leaders he or she has produced. Think leader replication.

4. What held me back? — Chances are you fell short on achieving all of your goals last year, last quarter or even last week. That’s OK. But let’s look closely at what caused these diminished returns.

5. Do I still love what I do? — There are certainly parts of the job that I don’t like. Our ability to be effective is directly tied to our ability to be passionate about what we’re doing.

6. Am I willing to pay the price again? — John says, “Everything worthwhile in life is uphill all the way.” We must figure out if the journey is worth the ascent.

7. What are my priorities? — The key to overcoming this barrier is by choosing your priorities. If you have too many priorities, then you have no priorities. Ask yourself this question to identify, assess and ignore these damaging diversions.

8. What habit change will aid me most? — We all know that there are some habits that hinder our progress as intentional leaders. The first step to overcoming these habits is realizing they exist and being self-aware enough to identify them as impediments.

9. What is my focus word? — Choose a word that defines what you’re hoping to achieve, and then take this word into battle with you every single day. Great words to consider include, “intentional,” “influence” or “collaborate.”