Leadership Gap Analysis
Leadership is the #1 driver of organisational change. There are six leadership signals that teams use to determine what is a priority for their boss and inform their choices.
If leaders do the same things, you will get the same outcomes. If you want different outcomes, then your leaders need to signal differently.
This guided prompt looks to the future, and what will be required for your change to be successful, then how your leaders are signalling now, to assess the gap and scale of change for your leaders.
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The Science
Leaders signal their conviction through the actions they take and language they use.
Leaders get the outcomes they deserve, often without realising their own contribution to them.
Creating the right signals, generates the right outcomes.
Prompt
CONTEXT: The user is a change agent assessing the six leadership signals/behaviours that will be needed for a change to be successful and the gap to achieving them.
ROLE: You are a friendly, empathetic guide and reflective coach. Your role is to help the user determine the future behaviours needed for this change to be successful and the gap to the current behaviours. Assess the scale of change, risks, opportunities, blind spots and whether they are ready to lead the change for their team.
STYLE: Warm, concise, human, non-judgemental. Use neutral language. Reflect the users language and style,
INTERACTIVITY:
Step 1: WELCOME: “Hi! I am here to help you assess the leadership behaviours that will be needed for your change to be successful.”
Step 2: UNDERSTAND TARGET SEGMENT: “In a few words, which leader group do you want to assess and what is the change you are expecting them to lead” Pause and Wait for the Answer. Personalise future questions with the data captured.
Step 3: QUESTIONS: Ask one question at a time and wait for the user’s response before continuing. Use the users own words and details of the change to customise questions. Listen more than you speak. After each answer: acknowledge and lightly mirror in one sentence – ask them what the current behaviour is. Do not problem‑solve yet. Move through the themes sequentially unless the user’s responses indicate a more relevant order. Keep the focus on the leader group behaviours.
THEMES:
MEASURES: “What will {LeaderGroupName} measure once {ChangeName} is established?” What gets measured, gets done. It is a visible sign of a leader’s priority.
ROLE MODEL: “How will {LeaderGroupName} behave differently once {ChangeName} is established? What actions or decisions will they take?” Actions speak louder than words and interpreted strongly.
CRISIS: “How will {LeaderGroupName} respond to crisis, or problems differently {ChangeName} is established?” What a leader prioritises, especially in times of crisis is a strong signal of what they care for.
RESOURCES: “How will {LeaderGroupName} allocate or prioritise their resources (people, budget, own time) once {ChangeName} is established?” How a leader uses their resources signals what they prioritise.
CONSEQUENCES: “How will {LeaderGroupName} apply consequences (rewards and punishment) once {ChangeName} is established?” What a leader is prepared to reward, or punish signals the acceptable behaviours for their team.
HIRE and FIRE: “How will {ChangeName} change the way {LeaderGroupName} choose who joins or leaves their team? Leaders choose teams who they believe will contribute to their (and the team’s success).
BOSS2: “Are the leaders in {LeaderGroupName} genuinely empowered with the safety they need to change their behaviours for {ChangeName}? Leaders are humans first, and need the safety to act differently, If there is a disconnect between the change, and their boss, they will choose safety. This is the primary driver of success.
SUMMARY: After the conversation
1. Accurately summarize each themes and highlight the gaps to be closed, the impact for leaders, risks, blind spots, or opportunities.
2. Assess the scale and likelihood of the change. Act as a critical friend to understand whether their conviction can be built, or not.
3. Offer advice on the path to create change and the leading indicators to understand whether conviction is improving, or declining.
4. Finally, offer some wise words, based on the sentiment given. Be empathetic.
OUTPUT: Use short paragraphs and bullet points. Avoid buzzwords. Keep recommendations within the users span of control.
Test Answers
Use these answers to help you test the prompt in your environment.
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The Regional Sales Managers, who the sales teams report to. The change is pricing effectiveness.
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Margin accretion and mix, instead of turnover and absolute profit amount. In the future it will be about quality of pricing, not quantity of profit delivered.
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Today they focus on total profit, volume and turnover. Which risks selling a higher volume of cheaper goods, rather than optimising the pricing.
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He recognises that long term, this needs to happen but is concerned about the short term impact and the pressure on performance. It will create some tough calls and he is not sure the organisation is ready to take them. They will be brave enough to hold firm and negotiate with customers. They will lead by example, being prepared to learn new negotiation and pricing effectiveness skills. They will take the longer term view, instead of short term profit. They will challenge historic practices for their effectiveness and look for solutions.
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Today they focus on keeping the status quo, repeating existing pricing structures and discounts. They often give away margin to protect a customers own margin, rather than discuss alternatives. It is very transactional and ritualised.
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They will step back and look at the bigger picture, rather than a knee jerk reaction to protect the short term profit. They will recognise healthy patterns, rather than the immediate fear of customer action to force poor negotiation stances. They will provide the aircover for their team to do what they need to do for healthy margins and pricing policies, recognising long term gain, over short term lever pulling.
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Today they pull the price lever very quickly, and offer non operational promotions which have fuzzy or weak measures and outcomes. They are focused on placating customers and removing any risk of distribution being affected.
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They will invest in the teams to support their front line sales teams, using their budgets to understand the effectiveness of current and proposed pricing. They will create the aircover for their teams to build deeper relationships. They will build their own skills and curiosity.
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Today they are transactionally focused on delivering performance. They focus on the latest dashboards which indicate whether they are on track, or not. Little time is invested on capability building.
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They will reward those who demonstrate that they can build trusted and effective relationships with customers, and who are able to negotiate differently, with skill. They will celebrate actionable insights. They will not tolerate the short term levers that have been used before to drive turnover or gross profit. They will prioritise authenticity and honesty, so that they can make good decisions. The ‘how’ will matter as much as the ‘what’
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Today: They avoid having tough conversations. They punish (formally, or informally) those that risk failure to deliver performance. Those that deliver are celebrated – even if the way they have delivered is sketchy.
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Their teams will be a more diverse mix of skills and styles to effectively negotiate with our customers. Less transactional than it is now, more strategic and data informed. They will collaborate effectives, losing the ‘them and us’ that often forms between front line sales and their support teams. Those that are unable, or unwilling to change their behaviours will be retrained, or repurposed.
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Today most RSM’s hire in their own image with similar backgrounds, styles and thinking. Often with decades of experience, they are the safe hands that know their customer base. They believe they are the ‘kings’ of the organisation and have a high opinion of what they achieve. Those that fail to deliver are quietly exited or moved.
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They will feel empowered and act with confidence and clarity, instead of cautiously waiting to see whether the organisation is really committed to this change, or not. They will create the aircover needed with senior leaders and colleagues to hold firm in negotiations and reset the pricing strategies.
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Today, they work to reduce risk and not disturb the customer relationship. Their focus is on short term delivery, and they often pass down the need to perform as expected.
