The Leadership Gap book club questions

1. 1.

   Which of Daskal's seven archetypes most describes how you lead? Does its shadow pattern feel familiar?

2. 2.

   Think of a time when pressure caused your leadership strength to flip into its shadow. What did you notice — at the time or afterward?

3. 3.

   Daskal argues leaders' gaps go unaddressed because the people around them won't name the shadow. Who in your life is positioned and willing to give you that kind of feedback?

4. 4.

   The book claims that knowing your archetype gives you a more specific lens than generic feedback. Has having a specific label for a pattern helped you change it?

5. 5.

   Which archetype's shadow — arrogance, recklessness, self-deception, ego, pretense, shortsightedness, or cowardice — do you see most frequently in senior leaders you've observed?

6. 6.

   Daskal's framework has a neat symmetry. Does it account for leaders whose shadows are not the inverse of their strengths but something more complicated?

7. 7.

   How does your organization's culture make leadership gaps more or less visible? Does it reward addressing them or penalize the self-disclosure they require?

8. 8.

   Think of a leader whose shadow damaged their organization. What would early intervention have required — from them, or from others?

9. 9.

   Daskal says the solution is choosing the strength over the shadow consciously. In practice, what does that choice look like in the middle of a high-stakes situation?

10. 10.

    How do power and hierarchy affect whether a leader can receive honest feedback about their shadow? Does seniority make the gap harder or easier to address?

11. 11.

    If you asked three people who work closely with you which shadow they most often see in your leadership, what do you think they would say?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.