What does a good leader actually do?
Good leadership isn't a personality type — it's a set of consistent habits. This playbook distills the minimum standard any leader must practice to earn the trust of their team and deliver sustainable results.
Who This Is For
First-time team leaders stepping into people management, and middle managers who want to audit how well they're truly leading — not just managing tasks.
How to Use This Tool
Start with the 7 Habits to understand what's expected. Then run the Self-Review honestly. Use the Team Pulse to pressure-test your view. Build your Action Plan from the gaps.
Recommended Cadence
Monthly self-check for habit compliance. Quarterly full self-review. Semi-annually gather team pulse data to see if your habits are actually landing.
⚠️ Signs a Leader May Be Underperforming
Leaders are flagged for underperformance when one or more of these signals appear. Use this as an early-warning checklist — for yourself or someone you're developing.
When a Leader Is Underperforming — What Happens Next?
The goal of this playbook is to make LPIP unnecessary — by building habits that prevent underperformance from solidifying in the first place." data-id="Tujuan panduan ini adalah membuat LPIP tidak diperlukan — dengan membangun kebiasaan yang mencegah kinerja rendah mengakar sejak awal.">The goal of this playbook is to make LPIP unnecessary — by building habits that prevent underperformance from solidifying in the first place.
The 7 Minimum Leader Habits
These are the non-negotiables. Every leader — from Team Leader to Head of Department — must practice all seven. Tap each to expand the detailed expectations and frequency guide.
- Define the grade and competency expectation before opening a vacancy
- Participate in or lead the interview and selection process based on your level
- Prepare a proper onboarding for new hires — don't just throw them in
- Conduct a structured probation review 2 weeks before the probation ends
- Have a career-level conversation and assign grade clearly after probation
- Communicate the company's vision and values — not just once, but regularly
- Contextualize the company's purpose into what it means for your team specifically
- Set team norms: how you work together, what behaviors are expected, how you handle accountability
- Deliver team purpose through team meetings, townhalls, and team building moments
- Build cohesion — make sure your team actually feels like a team
- Translate company and department OKRs into clear team objectives and KPIs
- Make quarterly and semi-annual team planning — not just yearly
- Break big goals into daily/weekly/monthly operational targets for your team
- Discuss risks and cross-department synergy at each planning cycle
- Restate accountability norms (how you'll track progress, reward performance, address gaps)
- Conduct structured 1-1 goal-setting sessions with each direct report
- Clarify job description, priorities, and individual OKRs — not assumptions
- Understand each person's career aspiration and connect their current role to it
- Ask the power question: "What do you need from me to achieve this?"
- Agree on how performance will be tracked and reviewed
- Know the competency requirements for each person on your team
- Identify the gap between current ability and what's required — use data and observation
- Design or assign a learning path: coaching, mentoring, training, buddy system, learning circles
- Make learning actionable — tie it back to real work, not just theory
- Check in regularly to make sure the learning is actually translating into behavior
- Hold weekly team progress meetings — brief, structured, focused
- Conduct regular 1-1s: weekly or bi-weekly minimum for struggling team members
- Use the CAR framework when giving feedback: Context → Action → Result
- Ask clarifying questions before concluding — listen more than you tell
- Use GROW for coaching moments: Goal → Reality → Options → Way Forward
- Recognize wins publicly; address issues privately and constructively
- Run a structured performance appraisal semi-annually — self-assessment + manager assessment
- Read 360-degree feedback before drawing conclusions about team members
- Attend calibration to ensure fair and consistent scoring across the team
- Communicate final ratings with clear justification and development implications
- Celebrate wins — not just at appraisal time, but in the moment they happen
- Ask for upward feedback: "How can I be a better leader for you?"
Leader Self-Review
Check each item you've genuinely been doing — not just intending to do. The score reflects how consistently you're showing up as a leader for your team. Be honest with yourself.
Tap each item that you are consistently practising as a leader.
Team Pulse Check
Use this to pressure-test your self-assessment against how your team might actually experience your leadership. Either use it to guess what your team would say — then compare against real upward feedback — or gather the data and bring it here.
🎯 Clarity of Direction
If I asked your team right now — could they articulate the team's goals for this cycle?
💬 1-1 Quality
Do your 1-1s feel productive and valued — or like a status update they could have emailed?
🌱 Sense of Growth
Does your team feel like they're growing under your leadership — or just executing?
🤝 Psychological Safety
Would your team members raise a concern or disagree with you openly — without fear?
🏆 Recognition
Do people feel seen and appreciated for the work they do under your leadership?
📣 Feedback Quality
Does your team receive feedback that helps them improve — specific, timely, and useful?
🔗 Retention Signal
If you had to guess — are people on your team considering leaving because of how they're led?
🌟 Overall Leadership Experience
If you asked your team "How would you rate having me as your leader?" — what would they honestly say?
Your Action Plan
Based on your self-review and team pulse, use this section to capture your commitments. Be specific. A habit you intend to build isn't a plan — a habit with a schedule and an accountability mechanism is.
What are your top 2–3 gaps from the Self-Review?
Name the habits you're not consistently doing. Be honest — vague gaps lead to vague plans.
What might be causing those gaps?
Use the Ability–Will–Clarity framework. Are you unable to do it (bandwidth/skill/knowledge), unwilling (motivation/attitude), or unclear on what's expected?
What specific actions will you take — and when?
Name the action, the person it applies to (if individual), and a concrete date or cadence.
Who will hold you accountable?
Accountability without a witness is just a wish. Name a person — your manager, an HR business partner, a trusted peer — who will check in on this plan with you.
How will you know you've improved in 90 days?
Define what success looks like — behaviorally and measurably.