The NPS Test Every Leader Should Take

The NPS Test Every Leader Should Take

Insight from William Arruda

I watched a friend quit last month. His boss still has no idea why.

In the exit interview, my friend gave the usual diplomatic answers about "pursuing other opportunities."

But over tapas that night, the truth came out: his team had been miserable for months, and their boss was the last person to know it.

Leadership feedback feels broken. Sure, we have engagement surveys and skip-level meetings, but let's be real - everyone just nods along and says what they think you want to hear.

How about we use a metric from our customer success playbook?

The Net Promoter Score strips away the corporate speak and gets straight to the point: "Would you recommend working for this leader to a friend?"

That's it. One simple question that cuts through months of built-up frustration or satisfaction.

I first tried this after watching three people quit my team in two months. The anonymous responses hit me like a bucket of cold water. Turns out my "open door policy" wasn't as open as I thought.

This is what I’d recommend to gathering better feedback on how you are a leader.

Step 1: Design the Survey

Here's the question that'll keep you up at night: "On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend working on my team to a friend?"

The scoring is brutal in its simplicity:

• Score 0-6? These people are probably updating their LinkedIn right now

• Score 7-8? They'll stick around, but they're not exactly writing love letters

• Score 9-10? You've got true believers who actually mean it when they say "best boss ever"

Make it anonymous. Seriously.

I learned this the hard way when I tried collecting feedback via email. Dead silence. Switch to an anonymous Google Form, and suddenly people had plenty to say.

Add just one follow-up question: "What would make you score higher?"

Keep it simple.

Step 2: Launch and Collect

Don't blast this out after a rough quarter or right before performance reviews. Nobody's in the mood for honest feedback when they're stressed about deadlines or bonuses. Pick a normal week, give people five days to respond, send one reminder, and let it ride.

Step 3: Crunch the Numbers

Time to face the music. The math is straightforward, but your ego might take a hit:

Let's say you got 30 responses. Count them up:

• 12 people love you (scores 9-10)

• 10 people shrug when they hear your name (scores 7-8)

• 8 people might be plotting your downfall (scores 0-6)

Next, turn these into percentages. (Don't worry, I won't make you dig up your old math textbook.)

Those middle-of-the-road scores? They don't count. NPS only cares about the love and hate. Harsh, but that's what makes it work.

In this case, you'd score 13.3. That's like getting a C+ in leadership. Not terrible, but nobody frames a C+ and hangs it on their wall.

For context, the best leaders I know score above 50. One director I worked with hit 75 - her team would probably follow her into a volcano.

Step 4: Be Transparent

Here comes the hard part: showing your team the results. All of them. Even the comments that make you want to crawl under your desk.

I've seen leaders try to bury bad scores. Don't.

Your team already knows how they scored you - hiding it just proves them right.

When I shared my first scores, I kept it real: "Look, I scored 13. That's not great. Several of you mentioned I'm terrible at giving feedback. You're right. Here's my plan to fix it."

Six months later, my score hit 45. Turns out people respect leaders who can admit when they're wrong.

The NPS test isn't comfortable. It's not supposed to be. But it beats finding out what your team really thinks through exit interviews and farewell emails.

Besides, leadership isn't about being comfortable - it's about being better.