One of my favorite sources of practical lessons about leadership is the ?Corner Office? column that runs twice a week in The New York Times. If you want to be a better leader, here are six questions to ask yourself based on the experiences of top executives recently interviewed. Their insights focus on motivation, developing others and accountability. 

1. Do you take full advantage of the motivational power of recognizing the contributions of others?

This lesson has stayed with Julie Myers Wood, head of Guidepost Solutions, a security, compliance and risk management firm. She doesn?t forget ?how much people want to be noticed in their organization, at whatever level they are.?

Wood learned this early in her career while helping a U.S. Treasury executive prepare Congressional testimony. ?Afterward I got the greatest note about doing an awesome job helping him. The power of recognition can really motivate people.?

2. Are you aware of the impact of your physical reactions in meetings?

Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai Technologies, a web content delivery company, came from an academic background and thought he was just engaging in normal intellectual jousting during meetings when he frowned or questioned colleagues aggressively. But he didn?t realize the impact this was having on his staff. He says:

?It?s not personal, and it?s just me asking tough questions about an idea ? how do you back this up? I wouldn?t realize that they might be feeling scared to death.?

3. Are you intensely focused on the quality of your team?

?That?s what makes everything else work,? says Gina Centrello, president of the Random House Publishing Group. ?What?s so inspiring to be a leader is the energy you get from the group.... because ?we? is so much stronger than ?I? or ?me.??

4. If you micromanage your staff, is it really working?

Carl Galioto, head of the New York office of HOK, a global architecture and engineering firm, confesses to micromanaging employees for years, telling them exactly how to correct architectural drawings. But it was often ineffective, he recalls.

?I learned that you have to understand the audience, and be consistent about the level of instruction you give. So I changed pen colors ? when I?m going to tell you exactly what to do, I mark it in red. When I?m going to talk to you about something or make a general comment, I?ll mark it in green.?

5. Are you afraid of being challenged?

Narinder Singh, president of Topcoder, a firm that runs computer-programming competitions, says the leaders he has most admired weren?t afraid of being challenged. Often executives only want to be challenged when they can come off looking like the smartest person in the group. But, Singh says:

?If I have somebody working for me who?s really good, I should lose 80 percent of the arguments I have with them because they should know their area better than I do. People have to feel that the best idea wins.?

6. Are you trying to be the perfect leader?

Sarah Barnett, president of Sundance TV, has learned it?s all right to make mistakes as a manager. She thinks women, in particular, are incredibly hard on themselves for not being ?perfect? in managing others. As head of a cable and satellite network owned by AMC Networks, Barnett says:

?I can feel terribly responsible for hurting someone?s feelings, or for just handling something badly. But a big thing I think about is that as long as we?re heading in the right direction, and with the right momentum, then it?s O.K. to not always be perfect as a leader. ?

Developing great leaders faster is critical today, as more Baby Boomers retire and the demands of leadership become more complex. For more ideas on how we can help accelerate leadership development in your organization click here.