How do you actually know if you’re a great manager? Most of us quietly hope we’re doing a good job… but hoping isn’t the same as knowing.

The simplest and often bravest answer is don’t guess, ASK.

Thirteen questions can give you a clear, honest picture of how well you’re supporting your team and whether your leadership is helping them do their best work. It’s not a test, it’s a lens. And a surprisingly helpful one.

Managers influence around 70% of team engagement, yet many never ask their people how they’re doing as leaders. Not because they don’t care, but because it can feel uncomfortable, or they just don’t have a structure for it.

These thirteen questions give you that structure. They open up a conversation you might never have otherwise.

The questions fall into three buckets, simple but powerful:

• Direction:  Are expectations clear? Do people know what matters most right now?
• Coaching:  Are you giving feedback in a way that’s timely, useful, and kind?
• Career:  Do your people feel you care about their growth and their future?

Each question highlights a behaviour that directly affects how supported, confident, and energised your team feels.

You can score yourself, of course, but the real insight comes when you let your team score you. The maximum score is 65. Your number isn’t about judgment – it’s a starting point. Great managers aren’t the ones with perfect scores; they’re the ones willing to look, learn, and adjust.

You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Pick one or two questions that resonate or feel a bit uncomfortable (those are often the gold). Focus on small, consistent changes rather than on grand gestures.

There is a link to the online survey in the tools section; just click the link at the bottom of the report. It just might be the nudge that turns “good management” into something genuinely great.