Fly By Air Ways, Inc.

8920 Red Jacket Way Columbia, MD 21204

April 25, 2016

Sarah Mills
Director of Training and Assessments
Fly By Airways, Inc.
1101 North Calvert St
Philadelphia, PA, 67845
Dear Ms. Sarah:

It has recently come to the attention of my office, that the company is developing a new 360-degree
assessment tool. This is an area of great interest for many people within my direct department, as it is
important to be aware of ones influence on others. I am writing to you today to kindly request your
consideration of the following twenty potential assessment questions that can be incorporated into the firms
new survey; along with cited explanations of the purpose and logic behind the design of each question:

In a few words describe your leaders value system.

o

Discuss two to three times in which you observed your leader involving others in a decision-making or problemsolving situation.
o

Values, serve as guides for actions. They inform [others of] the priorities you set and the decision you
make (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 49) as a leader. Communicating values helps to underscore what
leaders perceive to be important, and by doing so this helps to develop a shared sense of values amongst
constituents.

When leaders are able to deeply listen to organizational members, it helps to highlight a common purpose
that inspires a common vision for a team. By knowingconstituents, listening to them, and taking their
advice, leaders are able to give voice to their constituents feelings (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 117).

Talk about a time in which you felt that your leader emotionally drove you to succeed.
o

PHONE
240-339-6437

Being able to create excitement within an organization helps to inspire a shared vision and a sense of
partnership within an organization. Animating a vision allows others to have a clearer understanding of
the direction a leader wishes to forge (Kouzes & Posner, 2012), and by doing so helps to establish a clear
path for others to follow.

FAX
240-337-6439

WEB
www.flybyairways.com

Over the past six months briefly describe one or two behaviors your leader projects during group interactions.
o

Provide two to three examples of when your leader connected the meaning of a project to the overall purpose of
the organization.
o

Change can come from experiences that are had from inside and outside of an organization (Kouzes &
Posner, 2012). Being able to actively encourage insight from those not directly associated with the
organization can help highlight deficiencies in processes and routines. Being open to fresh perspectives
can help develop inspiration that may not have come forward without this type of internal or external
engagement.

Name the top three words or phrases that your leader uses the most often.
o

Being compliant reduces the chance to seize the moment. Being able to challenge processes and not
being satisfied with the same old habits of the everyday helps to create innovative openings (Kouzes &
Posner, 2012) that have the potential to lead to wonderful organizational opportunities.

Talk about a time in which your leader utilized insights from external connections to help facilitate change within
the organization.
o

Teaching people about whats important and whats not, what works and what doesnt, what is and what
could be (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 91) helps to teach others the importance of the work that is being
conducted. Constituents learn how personal output impacts the opportunities of the overall organizational
community by enhancing ambition.

Discuss a time in which your leader challenged the status quo.

o

"Constituents look for leaders who demonstrate an enthusiastic, genuine belief in the capacity of others,
who strengthen peoples will, who supply the means to achieve, and who express optimism for the future
(Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 145). The type of actions that a leader portrays at a group level within the
organization establishes the tone others will express when it comes to the concept of teamwork.

The language that leaders use helps to communicate a shared identity and gives life to visions (Kouzes
& Posner, 2012, p. 142). Language can evoke powerful imagery of what a leader expects and perceives
as appropriate course of action when making decisions or plotting a course for a team. By using a mantra
it helps to rally others behind a cause.

Describe a time in which your leader discussed a past experience in order to guide or provide examples for
others actions. How did your leader go about communicating this example, and what was the overall
effectiveness of the example?
o

First-person examples are always more powerful and striking than third-party examples (Kouzes &
Posner, 2012, p. 321). It is a way to help provide lessons to constituents of times that revealed helpful or

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unhelpful actions to achieve an objective or goal. If others can learn from personal experiences and can
use that information in a constructive fashion, it is likely to believe that individual, group or organizational
results can be met.

Discuss a time in which your leader actively searched out feedback.

o

Discuss a time when a leader received unsolicited feedback. Briefly discuss the context of the feedback, and then
explain how the leader reacted to the feedback.
o

Without feedback there is no learning its the only way for you to know whether or not youre getting
close to your goal and whether or not youre executing properly (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 284). The
fashion in which a leader presents feedback to others dictates how receptive the recipient will be towards
the feedback. Being able to provide feedback in a constructive fashion that promotes development can
be beneficial to an individuals growth.

Based on your observations alone, can you describe how your leader chooses to spend their time during the first
one to two hours of each business day.
o

Feedback creates moments of learning. If leaders receive feedback and chooses, not to do anything
with the feedback you receive, people will stop giving (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 86) the feedback.
Leaders that show receptiveness to helpful information or criticism have the chance of developing
stronger positive relationships with constituents. Listing to constituents helps to create an open
environment that embraces fluid communication to help acknowledge positive perceptions and recognize
moments of opportunities, which in the end can strengthen the organization at every level.

Discuss one or two times in which you received feedback from your leader. Briefly describe the background for
receiving the feedback, as well as, if you felt the feedback provided to be effective.
o

Seeking out feedback helps, leaders [to] realize that although they may not always like the feedback, it is
the only way they can really know how they are doing as someones leader (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p.
84). Building self-awareness helps individuals to recognize gaps that may impede personal development
opportunities. Once awareness is gained, then the opportunity for personal growth can occur.

How leaders spend their time is a direct reflection of what leaders perceive to be important or valuable to
them or to the organization (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Leaders that spend time on the development and
growth of their people, openly communicating with constitutions, and seeking out feedback from others
shows that a leader is willing to create an environment that fosters collaboration and partnership. The
actions of a leader show what activities are considered to be the most crucial to achieve desired results.

Talk about a time in which you observed your leader within a stressful situation. Briefly describe the situation, and
then discuss two to three behaviors or actions that your leader made to address the situation. Would you
consider your leader to be effective or ineffective during this specific situation, why or why not?

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o

Talk about a complex project that you participated on with your leader. In a few words describe how your leader
presented the deliverables of the project and the expectations of the project. Then discuss how you felt during
this initial introduction to the project. Did you feel that your leader presented the project well, why or why not?
o

People work together effectively when they trust one another (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 228). Having
a leader that creates a scenario that promotes cooperative efforts helps a team of people to have a
positive experience together (p. 230). Being able to recognize specific actions or behaviors that a leader
made to facilitate relationships amongst team members highlights the importance the leader sees when it
comes to working together when in a team environment.

Within the last six to nine months describe two to three times in which you observed your leader actively holding
others accountable.
o

Leaders know they have to break down big problems into small doable actions (Kouzes & Posner, 2012,
p. 195). If a leader presents too much information at once or does not clearly articulate the expected
results of a projects deliverable constituents can become confused and overwhelmed. Leaders that can
minimize the impact of complicated projects by breaking the journey down into measurable milestones
can move them forward (p. 195) towards achievable results.

Discuss an instance in which your leader facilitated relationship building within a team. In a few words describe
the type of team working together. Then discuss a specific behavior that your leader projected to help build
cooperation. Was the effort successful, why or why not?
o

The way that leaders react to a stressful moment can help others to recognize the mental durability of the
individual. If leaders are not, debilitated by the stress of a different experience and rather feel
challenged and energized by it (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 192), it is likely to believe that a leader will
react in the same manner during an unexpected critical moment. If the leader maintains this positive
composure, than it is also likely to believe that the individual will be able to keep others calm and focused
during moments of uncertainty.

Individual accountability is a critical element of every collaborative effort (p. 252) and the more that
people believe that everyone else is taking responsibilitythe more trusting and the more cooperative
theyre going to be (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 253). Leaders that foster a strong sense of confidence
among organizational members helps to create a productive, efficient and unified workplace.

Discuss a time when your leader formally or informally recognized your personal efforts within the organization.
Briefly discuss the type of recognition received, and your perceived overall effectiveness of the recognition.
o

It is very important for leaders to pay attention to the likes and dislikes of each and every individual (p.
287), because personal congratulations rank at the top of the most powerful nonfinancial motivators
identified by employees (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 295). Personalized recognition helps to show
individuals that a leader has a true desire to understand and know each individuals personal drivers.
Building this sort of relational mindset within an organization helps to foster a climate of trust between a
leader and a constituent.

Discuss a time when your leader formally or informally recognized a groups efforts within the organization. Briefly
discuss the type of recognition received, and your perceived overall effectiveness of the recognition.
o

In order to encourage people to do their best, you should be able to recognize their achievements and
make them feel trusted and valued (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 286). When groups are recognized
spontaneously or ceremonially an atmosphere of encouragement, collaboration, partnership and unity can
be developed at a team level. Developing a cohesive environment that acknowledges a groups
achievements promotes cooperative teamwork amongst constituents.

Provide two to three examples from the past year in which your leader publically celebrated significant moments.
o

Leaders that promote the idea that celebrations are significant moments that all constituents should
recognize, helps to create a sense of anticipation for events, holidays or, anniversaries that are important
to organizational life (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). To magnify important moments in the lives of individuals
or groups within an organization is important to cultivating an environment that promotes inclusion and
cohesion amongst organizational members.

Thank you for taking the time to review the proposed twenty questions for the 360-degree assessment tool. These
questions are intended to draw out organizational members perspectives of their leaders ability to share values, develop
visions, challenge norms and inspire others to act. This is a comprehensive list and one that I am sure will take some time
to examine. At any time please feel free to reach out to me to discuss this proposal further.

Sincerely,

Angelina Spaulding
President of North American Operations