Increasing Executive Growth through a Weekly Questionnaire

I co-founded my software company with two friends from college and hired a Chief Technology Officer very early on in our original expansion stage. And even until now, 10 months later, the four of us still comprise the only executives at the company; CEO, COO, CBDO (Chief Business Development Officer), and CTO.

We have tried several different techniques for task management between the four of us, which has included varied styles of our weekly executive meeting, in an effort to create the optimal environment for productivity and harmony. However, nothing has worked so well as our method of answering 17 questions once a week for the other executives to review. We then have a weekly meeting to discuss our answers to these questions and cover anything else that we see of extra importance.

I created these questions with three goals in mind: increase accountability, reflection, and execution amongst our executive staff. As such, I recalled many of the leadership principals that I was exposed to during my time in the military for inspiration. I, like the military, believe that while some people are born with initial positions that are conducive to excellent leadership, leadership characteristics, as a whole, can be created through specialized experiences and a personal will to succeed. Additionally, I have also engineered these questions to inspire dynamic executive growth by virtue of my three original goals for the document.

1. Do you feel like you have set corporate standards by personal example this past week?

2. Has your work, personal or delegated, supported the company’s mission this past week?

3. Have you allocated your resources (time, capital, task delegation, etc.) as efficiently as possible this week?

4. List your major areas of focus and important, completed tasks for the past work week.

5. What was your most important accomplishment?

6. What was your most difficult challenge?

7. Was there a particular problem or question that you did not have the experience or expertise to answer sufficiently? Have you taken measures to remedy this?

8. Were there any situations this past week where you hesitated or were reluctant to make a decision?

9. Did you find that you had made any wrong decisions and, if so, did you revise them?

10. Did you discover any new personal strengths or staff capabilities this week? If so, have you contemplated on how to best employ them?

11. Has any of your staff achieved anything abnormally praiseworthy? Did you discuss this with them?

12. Have you spent any time getting to know members of your department staff better?

13. Do you feel that you have adequately informed your subordinates of relevant information so that they may accomplish work to the best of their abilities?

14. Have conducted any team oriented activities this week? (Meetings, etc)

15. Have you done anything this past week to develop a sense of responsibility in your staff members? (Assigning important tasks to subordinates, etc.)

16. What are your goals for the upcoming week?

17. Any additional comments.