By Shannon Leppky
October 2, 2025
Welcome to the Red Chair Project Leadership Excellence self-assessment, designed for project managers who navigate the complexities of leading diverse project teams and multiple stakeholders through the power of influence.
Achieving project success requires not only a command of the PMI methodology. It demands presence and awareness. By being mindful of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and by observing the interactions among your team and the dynamics within the larger environment, you gather crucial data. This data brings clarity, helping you make informed decisions that enhance your influence and ultimately, your success.
Take some time to reflect on the questions below. Score yourself based on the frequency in which you practice these Red Chair behaviours to successfully deliver a project on time and on budget.
1. Presence
Being present to what is happening within our projects and the larger organization provides us with valuable data to gain clarity, make better decisions, and enhance our influence.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you consciously practice being present throughout your day?
2. Reflection
Leading projects requires us to be aware of our thoughts, including the narratives we construct about others and the environment around us.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you reflect on your thoughts and consider how they impact your decision-making and interactions with others?
3. Embrace What I See, Hear, Think and Feel
It can be tempting to ignore or explain away information we do not agree with or that challenges our assumptions.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you consider what you see, hear, think and feel while leading your project team and in your work with key stakeholders?
4. Decide and Act
We make decisions every day. With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you make project decisions based on all the information available to you as opposed to the information that supports what you want to do?
5. Courageous Curiosity
We work in project environments that are highly complex, influenced by numerous factors and dynamics. It is easy to make assumptions about what is happening. Adopting a mindset of courageous curiosity opens us up to more information, enabling us to be better project leaders with greater influence.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you engage in courageous curiosity to help you successfully deliver a project?
6. Honesty
Being honest with ourselves about the values that guide us as a professional, increases the likelihood that we will act in alignment with them. However, there are times when we find ourselves in a project environment that does not align with what is important to us.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you assess the alignment between your professional values and those of the organization to determine what this means for your approach?
7. Authenticity
Authenticity is deeply connected to honesty and understanding what is most important to us. It also involves being truthful about our feelings and using that insight to guide our interactions. For instance, when we recognize anger, exploring its root cause can help us decide how to act constructively. Similarly, acknowledging excitement over an opportunity, breakthrough, or achieving a milestone energizes us and often informs our next steps.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you assess your emotions to shape your interactions with your project team and stakeholders?
8. Intention
It is easy to lead on autopilot, especially when we have extensive experience in our field, yet the most effective leaders are intentional. They leverage their courageous curiosity, gathering data from within themselves and their external environment. They filter it through the filters of honesty and authenticity to ensure they act purposefully.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often are you intentional about using the data available to you to intentionally lead your team and your project?
9. Respect for Me
Respect is multi-dimensional. It includes a healthy regard for us and the knowledge, skills, and experience we bring to the table. It is crucial to our ability to successfully deliver projects. However, stress and overwhelm can cause us to forget our capabilities or lose trust in ourselves.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you struggle to value the project management knowledge, skills and experience you have?
What internal feelings and external circumstances do you tend to experience when you struggle to recognize the value you bring to your role?
10. Respect for Others
Successful project managers must leverage the expertise from everyone on their team. This requires us to respect the knowledge, skills and experience others have, even when it may feel threatening to us.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you struggle to value and respect the knowledge, skills and experience others have? What internal feelings and external circumstances do you tend to experience when you struggle to recognize the value others bring to your project?
What internal feelings and external circumstances do you tend to experience when you struggle to recognize the value others bring to your project?
11. Respect for My Environment
We must also respect our project environment and recognize its dynamics for what they are. While we might not always agree with these dynamics, we accept them as the context in which we operate. Our goal is to influence change where we see opportunities, leveraging our understanding of the environment to drive positive outcomes.
With 1 being absolutely never and 10 being absolutely always, how often do you acknowledge and respect the project environment in which you work with the recognition that it was created by the people within it?
Congratulations on taking the time to reflect on yourself in your role as a project manager. Tally up your score. This is what it is telling you.
Score of 80 to 110: Highly Present
- Empathetic Leadership: You are likely very attuned to your team’s needs and emotions, responding with empathy and understanding.
- Proactive Decision-Making: Your awareness allows you to foresee potential project challenges and address them proactively.
- Strong Communication: You excel in conveying ideas clearly and listening actively, fostering an open and collaborative environment.
50 to 70: Intermittently Present
- Inconsistent Awareness: You are present and aware in some situations but may miss cues or opportunities in others.
- Variable Communication: Your ability to communicate effectively might fluctuate, affecting team cohesion.
- Occasional Proactivity: You may sometimes react rather than anticipate issues, leading to mixed project outcomes.
Below 50: Limited Presence
- Reactive Management: You might often find yourself reacting to situations rather than anticipating them.
- Disconnected Communication: There may be a gap between your intentions and how they are perceived by your team.
- Overlooked Details: Important project details or stakeholder concerns might be missed due to lack of awareness.
We are so honored to have Shannon Leppkky presenting for IPM Day 2025. Join her presentation, Unbridled Presence: The Transformative Power of Cultivating Presence and Emotional Awareness for Project Success.
Shannon Leppky is an executive leadership coach and team facilitator with over 20 years of diverse experience in education and business. Her corporate leadership journey culminated in the C-Suite of Crown Corporation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she served as the Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of Product, and was identified for CEO succession. She led people strategies that enabled the successful adoption of many multi-million-dollar business transformation programs.
She holds a Master of Education in Adult Education from the University of Manitoba, and an Executive Certificate in Management from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. She is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and holds a certification in Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching (EFLC) through the Academy for Coaching with Horses in Colorado. She is also certified in Core Strengths and EQi 2.0 assessments.
Shannon’s journey from the C Suite to the Ranch has afforded her with the opportunity to use a harmonious blend of corporate strategic leadership and the profound yet often overlooked capacity to lead from the heart. In her unique approach, Shannon extends an invitation to those she partners with to join her in the Red Chair – a space characterized by courageous curiosity and trust. Here, the exploration transcends mere thoughts and delves into the realm of emotions, emphasizing the significance of leading authentically and empathically.
At Red Chair Ranch, Shannon engages the power of equine wisdom and the transformative energy that permeates the space. Partnering with the herd, she creates an environment that holds the potential for truly profound and lasting change.
For individuals and teams ready for the journey, Shannon facilitates a transformative experience, guiding them towards a deeper understanding of themselves, fostering the conditions for meaningful, positive change. You can learn more about Shannon at redchaircoaching.com.
Listen to the Red Chair Podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7bielFjGb0liKlbodf00eb
