Keep, Stop, Start: The Quarterly Leadership Audit

People everywhere want leaders they can trust and rely on, leaders with a genuine commitment to solving the problems in front of them. Yet many leaders get caught up in managing their image, their power and their influence instead of becoming better at the work of leading.

Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all formula. The tendencies and behaviors that made you effective five years ago may be losing their impact today. The people you lead have changed. The tools have changed. AI is reshaping how work gets done, teams are working in hybrid arrangements, and organizations are restructuring on a regular cycle. If you are not examining yourself, you are almost certainly falling behind.

Why You Have to Ask Yourself

Here is the uncomfortable truth: the more authority you hold, the less honest feedback you receive. Peers and direct reports often won't tell you how you could lead more effectively, especially if you haven't earned their trust. So the responsibility falls on you.

Throughout my career, I have learned the value of stopping, reflecting and assessing. Every time I step back and look at the bigger picture of my leadership, I see things I would have done differently. When you make a habit of it, patterns emerge that you can refine or eliminate. The key is to commit to self-examination before your effectiveness begins to fade, not after.

Here are three questions I encourage every leader to answer at least once every three months, and to act on.

1. What Must I Keep Doing?

If you have a strong sense of self, you know what works when you lead others. Start there, but be honest about the edges. How is your attitude perceived? Do you ask your people meaningful questions, or do you come across as distant? Do you set high standards, or is your approach so relaxed that it isn't taken seriously?

Name the things that work best and make a conscious commitment to keep doing them. Just know that what belongs on this list today may belong on a different list next quarter.

Build your own evolving scorecard to track this over time. Categories might include:

• People skills
• Time management
• Analytical and critical reasoning
• Attention to detail
• Team building
• How you use technology and AI to support your team

2. What Must I Stop Doing?

This question requires discipline. It means breaking habits that hurt your ability to lead. If you need help, ask someone you trust to be honest with you.

Perhaps you are handing your team important work they aren't yet equipped to do. That may require you to coach them, or to do the work alongside them so they can learn as you lead. Perhaps your style is less approachable than you think.

When I went through this process myself, I realized I needed to stop getting too far out in front of business trends that my clients weren't yet ready to believe in. I had to pace my thinking so it didn't create unnecessary disruption or pull my organization away from its mission. I became steadier in how I expressed my points of view, and more in step with what my clients actually needed. Being early is only valuable when people are willing to follow you there.

3. What Must I Start Doing?

This is where you will truly be tested. New behaviors are what people notice, and they are also where your weaknesses can be exposed. Don't overcommit. Pick one or two things you know you can consistently deliver. I have watched executive coaching clients make promises to their teams that came back to hurt them because they couldn't sustain them.

Get a few quick wins, feel the difference and watch how people respond. Then use what you learn to decide what to start next. People will notice, and they will hold you accountable, which is exactly the point.

If you need a place to begin, choose one of these. Become a better listener, something every leader can improve and very few ever master. Or spend more quality time with your people, especially the ones you only see on a screen.

Run Your First Audit This Week

1. Block one hour on your calendar and protect it.
2. Write three lists: keep, stop, start. Limit the start list to two items.
3. Ask one trusted colleague to review your lists and tell you what you missed.
4. Share one commitment with your team so they can hold you to it.
5. Schedule the next audit for ninety days from today.

Great leaders know what they are good at and where they must improve. They lead with better questions, and they ask the hardest ones of themselves first. Commit to this discipline, and watch how much more trusted and engaging you become. It is one of the simplest ways to keep learning and relearning as a leader.

Want to explore these ideas further? Learn more about my work on leadership, identity and conviction at www.theglennllopis.com.