You: judgmental or judicious leader?

Measure yourself against the following traits:

A judgmental leader:

• Makes every final decision.
  
  
• Dictates the mission to others.
  
  
• Amasses power for his or her personal use.
  
  
• Corrects people who say or do things that seem off base or unacceptable.
  
  
• Takes credit for his/her group’s accomplishments.

A judicious leader:

• Lets people devise their own solutions and contributes ideas as the process moves ahead.
  
  
• Develops a mission through a process of shared discussion and discovery.
  
  
• Allows others to accrue power so they can grow.
  
  
• Assumes that people have valid reasons for what they do and tries to understand what they say or do from their viewpoints.
  
  
• Recognizes the accomplishments of others.

— Adapted from “Creative Meetings Through Power Sharing,” George M. Prince, Harvard Business Review.