leadership assessment for sales teams: how feedback reshaped my results

I work at a big company where several sales teams compete with each other every quarter. My name is Alex, and I am the team leader.

For two years we stayed in the middle of the table, never able to get first place among our colleagues. The sales scripts looked fine, but deals often fell through. I realized something unpleasant – the problem might be in my leadership. I needed a simple tool that could turn my team’s opinions about my leadership skills into a clear table so I could figure everything out.

A colleague told me about a simple method his manager used at his previous job. It’s a website, and it works well when you want to know the honest opinion of other people about you. This approach fit our team perfectly. Quickly, honestly, and easily, we shared information and opinions about each other.

I’ll show you how I did it right away. Go to the website: Johari Window. You pick traits for yourself, share a link, and teammates can add their view and comments. 

Using the johari window model in the work

Goal: learn how my behavior lands on reps at month-end.

• I chose my own traits from the list and then invited the team to mark what they see in me.
• The final result showed which gaps I should work on and what my strong sides are.

In practice, it was like a mini-test about me that my colleagues could finish in 2 minutes. Thanks to the simple and clear format, people answered honestly but without unnecessary harshness, and I could see the results and understand what steps to take next to make a change.

Step-by-step guide to figure it out fast

1. Choose a test and create a link. Send it with a short note and a deadline.
2. First, mark your own traits, then ask the team to share their opinion.
3. Read the matches and differences, and take comments as signs for improvement, not as attacks from your colleagues.
4. Look at the traits that don’t match and think about how you can improve the situation. 
5. Track the effect during one-on-one meetings.

Why this is a great method

For leaders, it’s like an easy self-assessment tool that shows whether your opinion matches your colleagues’ views. The nice thing is that team members will write real comments about what they think and how the work approach can be changed to achieve better results.

Signs this test can help your team

• When sales managers can’t close a deal with a client
• When there are misunderstandings between a leader and the team
• When the company is not growing or developing
  

A short johari window explanation for leaders

The method compares the traits or qualities – to put it simply – that you chose for yourself with the traits that others chose for you.

• Matches are your strong sides.
• Gaps are blind spots that you need to analyze.

It’s a quick “mirror” tool that can be done as a short survey. I used the Johari exercise with my team members. 

We looked for patterns, chose two habits to improve our teamwork, and put them into practice.

What changed in my behavior

• I switched from “why” questions to “how” questions in work and communication with my team – this increased the number of confident moments at work for me as a leader and for my colleagues. Now we communicate completely openly.
• I started weekly call list reviews to highlight small wins and raise both my own and my colleagues’ self-esteem without artificial motivation.

How to turn “positive and negative feedback” into fuel for growth

One time, a team member gave sharp comments about my tone. I wanted to argue, but I still asked for examples from our real conversations. This clarity turned the “jab” into a small checklist before meetings. I finally figured out the weak points in how I worked with my team.

Now, when I get negative feedback, I first say thank you and then analyze what I need to change in my work approach. This habit taught the team to be confident in their leader and to fully trust me, which also helped increase sales.

Practical use cases and links

• Run a fast johari window test before the annual or even quarterly team performance review and focus on improving the qualities in your leadership approach that need analysis.
• Use it as preparation for a 360-degree leadership review to discuss and analyze your real behavior with your team.
• When taking the test again, you can use the same link — it leads to the Johari Window website.
• Take the test about once every three months, like I do. 
• If you are a company leader, start with the team leaders. When they show everyone how it works, the rest of the staff will follow.

Frequently asked questions

What is the johari window?
– It’s a quick tool that compares the traits and qualities you choose with the traits others see in you, showing the matches – the open area – and the gaps for further work.

Leadership Self-Assessment Tools
– This topic explores the various tools and methods available for individuals to evaluate their own leadership skills and qualities: leadership circle, lencioni dysfunctions of a team, servant leadership, transactional and transformational leadership, visionary leadership style, diagnostic tool, leadership personality tests. I did not cover this topic in this article.

What is an improving Leadership Abilities?
– This topic addresses strategies and resources for enhancing leadership capabilities based on assessment outcomes.

How to understand what the Leadership Competencies and Skills do you need?
– Tou need to know the specific competencies and skills that are commonly assessed in leadership evaluations, including key areas of strength and development. Fow instance: management development programme, management skills training, supervisor training courses, team leader training, competencies, creative leader, key dimensions of leadership, leadership style, skills and others

Where else we can find user experience and feedback
– User experiences, testimonials, and common questions related to taking leadership assessments, you can find on the Johari Window website

Getting started today

1. If you prefer guidance, the site offers a plain-language guide and a simple flow to create and share your link. Go through the Johari Window model cycle and then repeat it later to compare the results.
2. For getting feedback, pair your link with a short supervisor evaluation form, but keep the window as the core.
3. Be sure to visit the website to finally learn what your team thinks about you. This will help you understand yourself as a leader, start here.
4. Along the way you will also see terms like “what is the johari window,” “what is johari,” and “johari window explanation”-use them as prompts to explain the method of this simple study to your team.

Speaking about me and my sales team, I’m proud to share our success – we’ve taken first place in sales for the third time in our big company. You will definitely succeed too. Wishing you the best, this was Alex!