Contrast of Side by Side Leadership and Top-Down Leadership

Side by Side Leadership® Self Assessment

Personal Leadership Sphere
Skill 1. Side by Side Leadership Launches From an Integrated Person
My daily work and responsibilities have no overlap with my important values and personal goals. I do not like my current job.	There is some overlap with my daily work tasks and responsibilities and my values and personal goals. I am still mostly working to bring home a paycheck.	My current job is totally in alignment with what I enjoy and what I want to do at this stage in my life. I have a few specific career goals I am pursuing.	My personal goals have reach-out targets and are written down. I frequently measure my progress on all of my goals. My goals and the goals and culture of my organization add to each other. My enthusiasim for my work energizes others.	Ido all of Level 4 and I am daily achieving progress on my personal long-range goals. I help others set and reach their goals.
Skill 2. Leaders Practice Honesty and Fairness to Build Trust
I sometimes find it necessary to tell small exaggerations and untruths to get the best deals for my company and myself.	I believe that everyone must take care of him/herself, before taking care of others.	I am fair and honest most of the time. My personal ethics are stable and consistently applied. I rarely take advantage of others.	I model ethical behavior and integrity. I make agreements with others "by a handshake" and finalize them later on paper. Everyone trusts me to be honest and fair in all interactions and agreements.	Other people have commented about my high level of integrity, ethics and honesty. I influence other people trust and follow me even when the future is uncertain.
Skill 3. Leaders Practice Emotional Balance for Breakthrough
There are situations at work that sometimes get me very upset. In the heat of the moment I might say and do things that are hurtful to others.	There are problems at work that are so upsetting that I go home and keep thinking about the problems. Most of my problems at work are due to personality problems of others.	When other people are upset or angry at work I consciously try to relax myself. I calmly listen and check my understanding of the problem. I then seek the facts of the problem. In conflicts with other people I try to ask myself what I am doing to contribute to the problem. I mentally work at not blaming others or my self.	I do level 3 and I do not get upset or anxious just because others at work are anxious. I examine the larger system of the group, organization, or society that may be influencing stress and anxiety. I look for patterns in my own and others emotional behavior. I try to change the patterns.	I am able to do all of level 4 for major organizational or society crises. I develop breakthrough insights and solutions, which prove useful to other leaders.
Interpersonal Leadership Sphere
Skill 7. Elicits and Listens to the Thinking of Others
When others offer ideas about my job I often feel like they don't like my work and that I'm being criticized.	I notice that when others talk I frequently interrupt with my own ideas or I do not say anything. I rarely ask for other's ideas.	I listen to what others say and refer to it when appropriate. I actively ask for the ideas and thinking of other people.	I do all of Level 3 and verbally check understanding and summarize in groups and one-on-one what other people have said. I am especially supportive of potential breakthrough ideas and creative ideas.	I do all of Level 4 and listen on several levels (for the goals and motivation of the speaker, how the speaker can assist, and what are the differences between the speaker and myself that should be respected).
Skill 8. Communicates Important Messages with Charisma
When I speak, it often seems like others are not interested in what I say.	When I speak I connect with other's values and goals, but people show minimal interest and get sleepy or start talking to someone else.	I connect with the audience's values and goals. I use various tones in speaking, use animation and energy in facial expressions, and use appropriate gestures to support points made. Content is positive and goal oriented. People appear interested when I talk.	All of level 3 and people are energized during the interaction and leave energized. I use stories and symbols to make it easy for people to recall the important messages. People are motivated to change behavior both during and after the interaction.	All of level 4, plus people become excited, energized, and motivated to change even when they think back about the interaction with me, after long passages of time. Example: Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.
Skill 9. To be a breakthrough leader, an individual must first become a breakthrough helper
I do what I am asked to do and what is listed in my job description. I am barely able to keep up with my own work.	In my role as leader I support organizational values and goals and I have informed and thoughtful ideas for how to achieve them. I find that other's ideas are often distracting and ineffective.	I know and support the organization's values and goals. I help others shine as leaders. I complete action items on time that support the team and the organization. In meetings I listen to and support other's ideas.	All of level 3 and I can easily shift from being the leader or focal point in an interaction or meeting to taking a subordinate role to others. When appropriate I sacrifice my own comfort or career to help the organization.	I am able to accurately determine times when I should lead or follow. Others often ask me for help and want my opinion. I often lead by supporting the ideas and work of others. I contribute something extra on actions others ask of me.
Skill 10. Works with a Diverse, High Quality Network
I do a good job of communicating with people with my boss and people who are similar to me. I have a few mutually supportive relationships.	I have a network of contacts I enjoy keeping. I have at least five mutually supportive relationships in which we help each other, we are accessible to each other, and there is respect and trust.	By being helpful, I have created a mutually supportive network of individuals in diverse levels of the organization and outside the organization. The network includes at least 50 individuals.	I have a mutually supportive network of 100 people from diverse organizational levels and backgrounds, both inside and outside the organization. At least 20 of the people are leaders outside of the organization.	I have 200 or more people in my diverse network and at least 100 of those in the network are leaders in other organizations. I actively seek out and listen to people who have opposite viewpoints from my own. I am only one or two telephone calls away from the leading edge of knowledge, information, or relationships I need for my organization to be successful.