MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

“Level 5” leadership is about becoming someone that others want to follow. In order for us to become someone others want to follow, we must become a master of ourselves. In this session, participants will discover that they have a “DOING Side” and a “BEING Side.” Our DOING Side is our level of talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities. Our BEING Side involves the programming of our body’s internal operating system. Participants will then explore the role their BEING Side plays in their “self-leadership” and leadership operations. This will be the start of a multi-stage effort to deepen participants’ self-awareness to foster self-leadership. Level 5” leadership does not come about by simply doing the “right things.” “

---

Objectives

01. Leadership Levels: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Lesson of Leadership: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Common Leadership Issues: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Exemplary Leadership: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. What is Our Being Side?: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Meaning Making: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Window of Tolerance: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Elevated Leadership: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

---

Strategies

01. Leadership Levels: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Lesson of Leadership: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Common Leadership Issues: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Exemplary Leadership: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. What is Our Being Side?: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Meaning Making: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Window of Tolerance: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Elevated Leadership: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.

---

Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Leadership Levels.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Lesson of Leadership.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze The Two Sides of Ourselves.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Common Leadership Issues.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Exemplary Leadership.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze What is Our Being Side?.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Meaning Making.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Window of Tolerance.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Elevated Leadership.

---

Introduction

The Core Objective of the Workshop

In the realm of leadership development, most programs begin with a focus on developing greater knowledge and skills around communication strategies, delegation tools, vision casting, or change management frameworks, as examples. While these are all valuable, we believe there is a deeper starting point—one that is critical for transformational leadership improvement.

This workshop starts with that deeper question: Who are you being as a leader?

The core objective of this workshop is simple in its phrasing but profound in its implications:

To introduce participants to their “Being Side” and to plant the seed for transformational leadership growth by helping them begin to elevate it.

Most leaders are highly familiar with their “Doing Side”—their knowledge, skills, technical competencies, and behaviors. Our workplaces train, reward, and promote people based on this side. But few leaders are familiar with their “Being Side”—the internal operating system that governs how they think, how they see the world, how they relate to others, and how they show up in moments of stress and complexity.

This is unfortunate, because our Being Side is what truly defines the quality of our leadership.

If we want to grow as leaders in a way that is not merely additive but transformative, we must go beyond doing more. We must become more. That is what this workshop is about.

To better understand this distinction, consider the example of an iPad. You can always download new apps to expand its functionality—this is like building our Doing Side by acquiring more tools and techniques. But at some point, adding new apps becomes less effective if the iPad’s internal operating system is outdated. The apps may crash, slow down, or conflict with each other. Real, sustainable improvement only comes when the iPad’s core operating system is upgraded. This is the work of the Being Side—elevating the underlying system that governs how we operate.

That’s what we are doing in this workshop: upgrading the internal operating system of leadership.

While much of leadership development has focused on the “apps”—communication models, personality assessments, decision-making frameworks—very few programs have focused on upgrading the operating system. This is not because it’s unimportant. Rather, it’s because the Being Side has historically been harder to measure, less well understood, and more introspective. It doesn’t lend itself to quick-fix techniques or easily digestible checklists. But what we’ve learned—through decades of research and experience—is that it’s the most foundational and impactful work a leader can do.

This makes our approach unique. While traditional development efforts aim to fill the toolbelt of a leader, this workshop focuses on upgrading the person wearing the toolbelt. We believe that tools are only as effective as the consciousness of the person using them. A wise leader with fewer tools will outperform a reactive leader with an overflowing toolbox.

So, our first objective isn’t to give you more tools. It’s to help you see yourself differently. We want to introduce you to aspects of your internal world that may have remained hidden—your assumptions, emotional patterns, ways of relating to others, and how you show up when the stakes are high. This is what we mean when we say we’re introducing you to your Being Side.

Once you see it, you can start to shift it.

And that shift—quiet and internal at first—has the potential to transform not only how you lead, but how others experience your leadership. It changes the tone you set, the culture you cultivate, and the impact you leave.

That’s the true heart of transformational leadership. And that’s the core objective of this workshop.

What Will Be Achieved

Elevating the Sophistication of Leadership

The world that leaders operate in today is vastly more complex than the one they entered years—or even months—ago. We are living in a VUCA environment: volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Navigating this world requires more than functional competence or tactical execution. It requires a higher level of leadership sophistication.

This workshop exists to help leaders begin elevating the sophistication of their leadership—not through external strategies, but by upgrading the internal operating system from which all leadership behaviors and decisions arise.

Leadership sophistication is not about being more polished or more charismatic. It’s about increasing one’s internal capacity to lead wisely through uncertainty, to stay grounded in the face of pressure, and to influence others from a place of authenticity and clarity. Sophisticated leaders are not reactive—they are responsive. They don’t simply manage tasks—they shape systems. And they aren’t driven by ego—they are anchored in purpose.

This kind of leadership cannot be downloaded in a day or copied from a playbook. It must be developed from the inside out. And that is what this workshop initiates.

Introducing a New Lens for Leadership Growth

At the core of this workshop is a new way of seeing leadership—not just as a role or set of actions, but as a reflection of one’s inner world. This shift in perspective allows participants to move away from an over-reliance on the Doing Side of leadership (tools, tips, techniques) and begin exploring the Being Side—their character, mindset, emotional patterns, and sense of identity.

When we say this workshop helps participants elevate the sophistication of their leadership, we mean that it initiates a process of internal refinement—of growing into a leader who is not only more capable, but more conscious, more centered, and more impactful.

This transformation begins with three foundational insights.

The Key Ideas We Will Introduce

This workshop is designed to awaken leaders to three fundamental realities that will form the basis for all further growth:

The quality and sophistication of one’s “being” can be evaluated and developed.

Leadership is not just a matter of personality or innate talent. It is a developmental journey. And there are levels—higher and lower altitudes—of being that directly impact how we lead.

Leaders’ “being” varies significantly from person to person.
Some operate with a reactive, fear-based internal world. Others operate with clarity, empathy, and purpose. These differences often explain far more about leadership effectiveness than differences in skills or intelligence.

Transformational leadership growth only becomes possible when we awaken to the current quality of our being—and commit to elevating it.

The moment we begin to see ourselves clearly, we open the door to real change. Not just cosmetic change, but deep, identity-level transformation.

By understanding these core ideas and reflecting on how they apply to their own leadership, participants will initiate a new kind of developmental journey—one that is not about doing more, but about becoming more.

A Framework for Ongoing Growth

One of the most important achievements of this workshop is the establishment of a conceptual framework that participants can carry forward well beyond the session itself. This framework provides a new vocabulary and set of lenses for understanding:

The two sides of leadership: Doing and Being
The altitude or sophistication of one’s inner world
How one’s internal operating system influences external impact
The difference between reactive and creative ways of leading
The signs of elevation vs. stagnation in leadership development

Rather than simply introducing new content, the workshop offers a new structure for making sense of the content they’ve already absorbed in their leadership careers. It helps leaders reframe past experiences, re-evaluate current practices, and reimagine what future growth could look like.

This scaffolding will be referenced throughout the rest of the leadership development program—but it all starts here.

Expanding Internal Capacity to Lead in a VUCA World

The reason we elevate the sophistication of our leadership is because the challenges we face demand it.

In today’s world, leaders must:

Operate in highly dynamic environments where certainty is rare and change is constant
Engage with diverse stakeholders with competing needs, priorities, and worldviews
Navigate systemic complexity where decisions have cascading consequences
Lead with ethical clarity and long-term vision in the face of short-term pressures
Foster cultures of inclusion, trust, and resilience in teams stretched thin

These demands cannot be met with a checklist or a script. They require the ability to hold paradox, tolerate ambiguity, stay emotionally regulated under stress, and lead from conviction rather than compliance.

This workshop sets the foundation for developing those inner capacities. It begins the work of helping leaders:

See beyond symptoms to systems
Operate from values rather than ego
Create trust through presence and authenticity
Balance long-term vision with short-term action
Inspire others without controlling them

These are all hallmarks of elevated leadership sophistication—and they begin with shifts in the Being Side.

The Role of Experiential Learning

While the core learning of the workshop is conceptual, it is brought to life through direct experience. Participants will not passively consume ideas—they will actively engage with them.

To deepen learning and promote insight, participants will:

Explore leadership case studies that highlight how leaders with different levels of Being Side sophistication navigate challenge and complexity
Participate in interactive exercises that surface their current patterns and internal frameworks
Reflect in small groups and individually to increase awareness of how their own leadership identity has been shaped
Articulate aspirations for the kind of leader they want to become—and what might be holding them back

These experiences are not designed to “fix” anything, but to reveal and initiate. They help make visible the invisible elements of leadership—opening the door to future change.

Preparing for the Broader Leadership Journey

This workshop is the gateway into a larger leadership development experience. It is designed to open participants to the kind of growth that future workshops will support and build upon.

By the end of this session, participants will have:

A strong conceptual foundation for how leadership growth works
An introduction to the Being Side and how it affects everything they do
A framework and shared language for growth
A new orientation toward leadership as a developmental journey

Everything that follows in the broader program—skills, tools, strategies—will land more deeply and be applied more effectively because of the internal work that begins here.

A Different Kind of Achievement

Unlike traditional leadership development programs, the achievements of this workshop aren’t measured by what you can check off a list. They are measured by how you begin to see, think, and relate differently.

The outcomes are subtler—but far more powerful:

A new level of self-awareness
A stronger sense of ownership over one’s growth
An expanded view of what leadership is really about
A quiet shift in how participants carry themselves—less reactive, more grounded
The spark of a new identity as an elevating leader

These are not abstract achievements. They are the first signs of transformational growth.

That is what this workshop achieves.

How Participants Will Benefit

While the concepts introduced in this workshop are powerful in theory, their true value lies in how they affect the lived experience of leadership. The benefits that participants will gain extend well beyond intellectual insight—they are developmental, behavioral, relational, and organizational. And they begin at the level of the individual.

At its core, this workshop offers leaders a rare opportunity: the chance to pause, reflect, and examine who they are becoming. In the rush of responsibilities, deadlines, and performance expectations, leaders are rarely given the time or space to explore the inner world that shapes every external result. This workshop creates that space—and the benefits of stepping into it are profound.

A New Level of Self-Awareness

One of the most immediate benefits participants will experience is a deeper understanding of themselves. They will begin to uncover the internal drivers behind their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors—many of which have previously operated below the surface.

This self-awareness is not surface-level reflection. It is the kind of insight that helps leaders recognize:

Why they respond to pressure the way they do
What triggers their defensiveness, anxiety, or withdrawal
How their current mindsets either expand or limit their leadership potential
What kind of emotional environment they create for those around them

This level of self-clarity is the beginning of wisdom. Once leaders see themselves with new eyes, they can begin to make conscious choices about how they want to show up, rather than defaulting to old patterns.

Emotional Regulation and Presence

With greater awareness comes greater emotional regulation. Participants will begin to recognize how much of their leadership impact is influenced not by what they say or do, but by the energy and presence they bring into the room.

This workshop will help leaders:

Stay more centered under pressure
Navigate emotionally charged situations with steadiness
Shift from reactivity to intentionality
Project calm, confidence, and clarity—even in complexity

As leaders develop this kind of grounded presence, they become a source of stability and trust for others. They are no longer just managing others—they are modeling the kind of composure that invites others to rise.

Internal Clarity and Alignment

Another benefit participants will gain is a deeper connection to their values, purpose, and identity as a leader. This alignment between internal beliefs and external behaviors is what gives rise to authenticity—the quality most often associated with trusted, respected leaders.

When leaders operate from alignment, they:

Lead with conviction, not confusion
Make decisions with greater confidence and integrity
Build cultures rooted in clarity and coherence
Inspire others not just through words, but through who they are

This workshop will help participants begin cultivating that internal alignment—a benefit that pays dividends in every area of leadership.

A Raised Ceiling for Leadership Impact

While the focus of this workshop is on individual transformation, that transformation is never isolated. Leaders operate in systems, and their level of being sets the tone and ceiling for the teams and organizations they lead.

As participants begin elevating their Being Side, they naturally raise the collective potential of those around them. They foster healthier dynamics, model greater humility and courage, and create the psychological safety necessary for innovation and collaboration. Their growth unlocks the growth of others.

In this way, one of the greatest benefits participants experience is the realization that their personal development is not just about them. It’s about what becomes possible when they bring a more evolved, conscious version of themselves into the spaces they lead.

Stronger Relationships and Interpersonal Navigation

Another layer of benefit emerges as participants begin applying what they’ve discovered about themselves to their interactions with others. As they develop more empathy, patience, and self-regulation, they become better equipped to:

Navigate conflict constructively
Engage in difficult conversations with courage and grace
Tune into the emotional tone of others
Lead diverse personalities with flexibility and compassion

These relational shifts don’t come from mastering techniques—they come from becoming someone who leads from understanding rather than ego. And that’s what this workshop begins to develop.

Greater Readiness for Future Development

Perhaps most importantly, this workshop prepares participants to get more out of everything that follows. It is not a standalone experience—it is the foundation for a larger, deeper journey of leadership elevation.

The self-awareness, language, and mindset shifts introduced here create a context that will:

Accelerate the learning and application of future tools and strategies
Anchor later content in deeper personal insight
Enable more honest, productive reflection in future sessions
Foster a continuous growth orientation that extends beyond the program

In other words, this workshop helps leaders become better learners, better listeners, and better developers of themselves and others. It establishes a mindset of curiosity and self-leadership that magnifies the impact of future growth efforts.

Becoming the Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow

Ultimately, the greatest benefit of this workshop is not a new skill or idea. It’s a new trajectory.

Participants will begin to shift—not just in how they lead, but in who they are being while they lead. They will sense themselves growing in maturity, in discernment, and in personal power. They will carry themselves differently, relate differently, decide differently.

They will become the kind of leaders others trust—not because of their title, but because of their presence. Not because of their control, but because of their clarity. Not because of what they know, but because of who they are.

This is not only personally rewarding—it is professionally transformative.

A New Path Forward

In many ways, this workshop is unlike any leadership program you’ve experienced.
It won’t give you a checklist.
It won’t load you with information.
It won’t flatter you with surface-level praise.

Instead, it will invite you to do something far more powerful:
To look inward.
To reflect deeply.
To examine how your internal world shapes your external impact.
And to begin the lifelong process of elevating who you are.

That is the true heart of transformational leadership.

And that is the core objective of this workshop.

The History of Elevated Leadership

For decades, the field of leadership research has been guided by one central question:
What do leaders need to do to be effective?

This question, while useful in many ways, has shaped the field in a way that is ultimately short-sighted and problematic. It has led scholars, practitioners, and organizations alike to focus almost exclusively on the Doing Side of leadership—on observable behaviors, competencies, and techniques. As a result, leadership development has become largely an exercise in skill acquisition and behavior modification. Leaders are often handed checklists, toolkits, and models and told, “Do these things, and you’ll be effective.”

To be fair, this Doing Side emphasis has produced important insights. It has given us a language for communication, delegation, feedback, emotional intelligence, team dynamics, and more. These are helpful and necessary components of leadership. But they only tell part of the story. And when we treat them as the whole story, we severely limit the depth and durability of leadership growth.

Why? Because most leadership challenges are not the result of a lack of knowledge or skill.

They are the result of something deeper—something harder to see, but far more powerful.

They are the result of limitations in the Being Side of the leader.

We’ve all seen this in action. A leader knows what to do—they’ve read the books, taken the courses, maybe even delivered the training themselves. But in moments of stress, ambiguity, or interpersonal tension, they default to defensiveness, avoidance, control, or ego. Despite their knowledge, they behave in ways that erode trust, stifle collaboration, and undermine the very outcomes they intend to create.

This isn’t a Doing Side issue. It’s a Being Side issue. And yet, for much of leadership development history, this internal dimension has been ignored, underemphasized, or misunderstood.

Fortunately, there have been key voices who have helped shift the conversation. One of the most influential has been Jim Collins.

In his seminal work, Good to Great, Collins introduced the concept of Level 5 Leadership—a groundbreaking idea that has helped reframe how we understand leadership effectiveness. His research found that the most successful and enduring organizations were not led by the most charismatic, bold, or visionary individuals. Rather, they were led by leaders who combined deep personal humility with fierce professional will. These leaders didn’t seek the spotlight. They didn’t make themselves the hero of the story. They were committed to something larger than themselves—and that commitment shaped everything they did.

What Collins brought into focus was this:

Leaders operate at different levels of sophistication.
And that sophistication—the maturity, mindset, and internal grounding of the leader—sets the ceiling for the organization they lead.

This was a profound insight. It helped us understand that leadership is not just a set of actions, but a way of being. It helped us see that organizational outcomes are not just a reflection of strategy, but of the inner world of those at the top. And most importantly, it helped shine a light on a truth that had long gone unspoken: If you want to elevate an organization, you must first elevate its leaders.

But while Collins illuminated the destination—Level 5 Leadership—he left us without a map.

He described what Level 5 Leaders look like, how they behave, and what kind of results they produce. But he did not provide a clear or actionable pathway for how to develop them. He identified the qualities, but not the process. As a result, many organizations have admired the concept of Level 5 Leadership without knowing how to cultivate it within their own leaders.

---

---

That is the gap this workshop—and this leadership development program—seeks to fill.

We start where most leadership research has stopped: not with what leaders do, but with who they are being. We seek to move beyond superficial improvements and toward the internal transformation that elevates leadership at its core. And in doing so, we honor the truth that Collins helped surface—while going deeper into the developmental journey he left unexplored.

The time has come to move past the era of checklist leadership. The challenges we face today demand more than competence. They demand character. They demand not just more tools, but a more evolved tool bearer. And that evolution begins by returning to the question too often overlooked:

Who are you being as a leader?

The Current Position of Elevated Leadership

It has been nearly 25 years since Jim Collins introduced the concept of Level 5 Leadership to the world. At the time, it was a groundbreaking insight: that the most effective leaders—those who build organizations of lasting greatness—operate with a level of humility, inner strength, and purpose that sets them apart. They don’t just execute well. They lead from a higher level of maturity, clarity, and internal grounding.

Collins gave us a vision of what exceptional leadership looks like. But in the years since, the question has remained: How do we help leaders become Level 5 Leaders?

Today, we are in a much stronger position to answer that question than we were 25 years ago. While Collins’s work created a compelling destination, the past two decades have brought tremendous advancements in our understanding of how to get there. Several key movements have converged to illuminate what it takes to truly elevate a leader’s internal operating system.

The Rise of Neuroscience

Perhaps the most significant development has been the explosion of neuroscience research. In fact, there has been more published neuroscience research in the past 15 years than in all of recorded history prior. This research has transformed our understanding of how the brain works, how behaviors are shaped, how people learn, and—critically—how people change.

We now know that a leader’s inner world—their mindsets, emotional regulation, and reactivity—are not fixed traits. They are patterns of thought and behavior that can be reshaped through conscious effort and deliberate practice. Through the lens of neuroplasticity, we understand that even long-standing mental habits can be rewired. This insight has made it possible to move leadership development away from a surface-level focus on behavior and toward deep, systemic change.

Put simply, neuroscience has shown us that leaders can upgrade their internal operating systems. And when they do, they lead with greater calm, clarity, and courage—hallmarks of Level 5 sophistication.

Insights from Trauma and Nervous System Healing

In parallel with neuroscience, research into trauma and nervous system regulation has shed light on how unresolved stress, fear, and emotional wounds impact how leaders show up. What we’ve learned is that many leadership derailers—micromanagement, defensiveness, emotional volatility, avoidance—aren’t just personality quirks. They are nervous system responses.

When leaders are unaware of how their nervous system is operating—when they are hijacked by fight, flight, or freeze responses—they lose access to the very qualities that define sophisticated leadership. But when they begin to recognize and regulate these patterns, they gain access to more grounded, open, and creative states of being.

This body of research has given us language, tools, and practices for helping leaders operate from a more integrated and resourced internal state. It’s not about perfection—it’s about presence. And leaders who cultivate presence become dramatically more effective, especially in high-stakes or emotionally charged situations.

The Influence of the Mindfulness Movement

Another important influence has been the global mindfulness movement. While mindfulness practices have existed for centuries, their application to leadership is relatively recent. What we’ve discovered is that mindfulness isn’t just about stress reduction—it’s about consciousness.

Mindfulness trains us to observe rather than react, to pause rather than push, and to lead from intention rather than impulse. As this movement has gained traction, it has helped normalize the idea that great leadership is not just about what we do—it’s about how we show up.

This shift has reinforced a powerful truth: People don’t just follow leaders because of their credentials, competence, or communication skills. They follow leaders because of their being—the energy, presence, and emotional tone they bring into every interaction.

Where We Are Now

Taken together, these movements have advanced our understanding of what it takes to develop leaders with Level 5 character and capacity. We now have the insights, the science, and the practices to help leaders grow in ways that were once considered intangible or out of reach.

We do know how to develop Level 5 Leaders.

But here’s the challenge: Very few people know how to do it. And even fewer are doing it.

Most leadership development programs are still anchored in the traditional Doing Side approach—teaching skills, behaviors, and techniques without ever addressing the deeper structures that determine whether those tools will stick. As a result, even well-intentioned development efforts often fall short. They scratch the surface, but they don’t shift the system.

Meanwhile, the world is demanding more from leaders than ever before. Burnout is rising. Trust in leadership is eroding. Employees are disengaged and disillusioned. The pace of change is accelerating, and complexity is growing. These are not challenges that can be solved by working harder or applying a new framework. They are challenges that demand a different kind of leadership—a more elevated, intentional, and grounded presence.

That is the kind of leadership this program is designed to cultivate.

We are at a tipping point. For the first time, we have both the need and the know-how to fundamentally transform how leadership development is approached. And that’s where this workshop fits in.

This program is not simply aligned with the latest science—it is shaped by it. It bridges the gap between what we now understand about human development and what leaders need to thrive in today’s world. It provides a structured, evidence-informed pathway to help leaders elevate their Being Side, increase their sophistication, and become the kind of leaders others want to follow.

In short: This program represents the cutting edge of leadership development.
And it’s not just timely—it’s urgently needed.

The Future Outlook of Elevated Leadership

As we look to the future of leadership development, one thing is increasingly clear: the organizations and individuals who embrace Being Side development today will be the ones best equipped to lead tomorrow.

The insights, frameworks, and practices presented in this workshop are not just innovative—they represent the next evolution of leadership development. And for those who engage with them now, they offer a significant and sustainable competitive advantage.

In the years ahead, the ability to navigate uncertainty, complexity, and change will only become more important. The pace of disruption is not slowing down. The expectations placed on leaders—by their teams, stakeholders, and society at large—are intensifying. And the capacity to lead with humility, groundedness, and presence will separate the merely competent from the truly transformational.

That is why the approach introduced in this workshop matters so much. Leaders who elevate the sophistication of their Being Side will stand out. They will develop the ability to:

Make better decisions under pressure
Build higher-trust, higher-performing teams
Foster cultures of safety, innovation, and belonging
Lead adaptively through complexity and ambiguity
Inspire others not through charisma or control, but through clarity and character

These qualities are not trends or fads. They are the foundation of enduring leadership excellence.

And when an organization commits to developing these qualities at scale—when it invests in helping many of its leaders elevate their Being Side—it raises the ceiling for what the organization as a whole can achieve. Elevated leaders build elevated teams. Elevated teams build elevated cultures. And elevated cultures create durable advantage in increasingly competitive markets.

This is not a hypothetical idea—it is a strategic imperative.

Organizations that prioritize this kind of leadership development will not only outperform competitors in the short term; they will be positioned to thrive in the long term. They will attract and retain the best talent. They will adapt more fluidly to change. They will operate with deeper alignment, purpose, and integrity. And they will earn the trust of their stakeholders in a way that cannot be manufactured through branding or external messaging.

As more leaders begin to awaken to the importance of their Being Side—and as more organizations begin to recognize the limits of traditional, Doing Side-focused development—we anticipate a broader shift in the field of leadership development. This program sits at the forefront of that shift. It represents what’s next.

For those willing to engage in this deeper work, the benefits are not just personal. They are cultural. They are organizational. And they are transformational.

This is the future of leadership development. And the future belongs to those who are ready to lead from a more elevated place.

---

Case Study
Microsoft: An Elevated Leader Elevates the Organization

When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, the company was still a technology giant—but it had lost its cultural vitality and its innovative edge. Internally, Microsoft was fractured by silos, status-driven leadership, and a culture of fear and defensiveness. Externally, it was seen as lagging behind more agile and forward-thinking competitors like Apple, Google, and Amazon.

While the company’s leadership had traditionally focused on performance and execution—the Doing Side of leadership—it became clear that what Microsoft needed was not just new strategy or tools, but a new kind of leader. One who would lead from a more grounded, humble, and forward-looking Being Side.

That leader was Satya Nadella.

Elevating the Ceiling: A Shift in Leadership Sophistication

Satya Nadella’s appointment marked a turning point in Microsoft’s history—not just in leadership style, but in leadership altitude. Compared to his predecessor, Steve Ballmer, Nadella brought a fundamentally different presence to the CEO role. While Ballmer was known for his intensity, command-and-control leadership, and sharp competitiveness, Nadella entered the role with quiet humility, emotional intelligence, and a focus on learning.

From the beginning, Nadella led less from ego and more from purpose. He centered his leadership around empathy, collaboration, and curiosity—qualities that may not appear on traditional leadership competency models but are central to the Being Side. His presence alone began to raise the ceiling for how leadership was understood and enacted across Microsoft.

And the results were extraordinary.

Since Nadella took the helm:

Microsoft’s market capitalization has grown from around $300 billion in 2014 to over $2.8 trillion by early 2024, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.
The company has reestablished itself as a leader in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software.
Microsoft has consistently ranked as one of the best places to work and one of the most admired companies globally.

These outcomes were not achieved through surface-level changes or operational tweaks. They came because the Being Side of leadership was elevated, starting with Nadella himself.

Creating a Culture that Elevates Being

Nadella’s influence didn’t stop with his personal leadership style. He brought a philosophy and cultural vision that reached deep into the soul of the company. Rather than reinforcing a Doing Side culture that prized certainty, perfection, and hierarchy, he pushed for a culture rooted in openness, self-reflection, and growth.

The most notable manifestation of this shift was his championing of a growth mindset—inspired by Carol Dweck’s research. Nadella emphasized that Microsoft needed to move from a “know-it-all” culture to a “learn-it-all” culture. This wasn’t just a clever phrase. It was a profound reorientation of the company’s Being Side.

Instead of defining leadership by how much people knew or how right they were, Nadella encouraged leaders to lead with curiosity, to listen more, to challenge their assumptions, and to welcome feedback. He normalized vulnerability and learning—not only among engineers and product teams, but among senior leaders.

He also placed empathy at the center of Microsoft’s leadership identity. As he famously said, “The learn-it-all does better than the know-it-all,” and, “Empathy makes you a better innovator.” These statements reflect a deeper truth: that leadership effectiveness is not just about technical intelligence, but about emotional and relational intelligence—the core elements of Being.

Nadella’s emphasis on empathy wasn’t theoretical. It was rooted in his lived experience, including raising a child with severe disabilities. This life experience shaped how he understood leadership—as service, not dominance; as listening, not asserting. That authenticity resonated throughout the organization.

As a result, leaders across Microsoft began to evolve—not because they were trained to use new tools, but because they were invited to become different people. They were encouraged to grow in humility, openness, patience, presence, and long-term thinking.

Microsoft’s performance didn’t improve in spite of this Being Side shift. It improved because of it.

A New Standard for Leadership

Satya Nadella’s leadership journey at Microsoft is one of the clearest modern examples of how elevating the Being Side of a leader can transform an entire organization.

He didn’t begin by demanding different behaviors—he began by being different. And that difference in who he was led to changes in how people related, collaborated, made decisions, and took ownership across the company.

The traditional approach to leadership development—focused almost entirely on knowledge, skills, and doing—could never have catalyzed such a transformation. What Microsoft needed was not just better leaders, but more sophisticated ones.

And Nadella gave them exactly that.

What This Case Study Demonstrates

This story brings to life many of the core insights of this workshop:

The leader sets the ceiling: Nadella’s personal presence elevated the possibilities of everyone around him.
Being Side matters more than Doing Side: Culture, innovation, and trust were transformed not by new checklists, but by new mindsets and ways of being.
Elevated leaders create elevated organizations: Microsoft’s return to industry leadership wasn’t just a business turnaround—it was a human one.

Satya Nadella didn’t just turn around a company. He redefined what leadership could look like in the 21st century.

And in doing so, he showed the world what’s possible when a leader leads from the inside out.

---

Executive Summary

Chapter 1: Leadership Levels

Module 1 introduces participants to Jim Collins’s Level 5 Leadership Framework—a research-backed model that identifies the leadership behaviors and internal characteristics necessary to drive enduring organizational greatness. Drawing from Collins’s book Good to Great, this module emphasizes that Level 5 leaders are not just high performers—they are fundamentally different in how they think, lead, and serve.
The module begins by outlining the five levels of leadership:

Level 1: Highly Capable Individual – Known for technical competence and personal productivity.
Level 2: Contributing Team Member – Focuses on collaboration and group objectives.
Level 3: Competent Manager – Operates through formal leadership and is accountable for team performance.
Level 4: Effective Leader – Inspires others through strategic vision, charisma, and results.
Level 5: Executive Leader – Blends deep humility with fierce resolve to build organizations that endure.

The framework illustrates a progression of leadership sophistication, culminating in Level 5, where influence is not driven by ego or authority but by legacy, culture, and purpose.

Most leaders operate at Level 3 or Level 4, and while these leaders can be effective, their impact is often limited by short-term thinking, self-promotion, or lack of depth. In contrast, Level 5 leaders elevate the people, systems, and culture around them. They build high-performing, resilient organizations by focusing on long-term outcomes, psychological safety, and sustainable success.

Participants are introduced to the four key contrasts between Level 4 and Level 5 leaders:

Personal Humility vs. ego and the need for recognition
Professional Will vs. performance-driven ambition
Legacy Focus vs. short-term wins and personal branding
Culture Investment vs. deprioritizing culture in favor of immediate results

Through comparative analysis and case studies—including Darwin Smith of Kimberly-Clark and Alan Mulally of Ford—participants see how Level 5 leaders shift focus from self to service, from performance to purpose, and from image to impact.

The module also highlights the organizational outcomes associated with Level 5 leadership: increased employee engagement, stronger values-based cultures, better long-term performance, and higher resilience through disruption.

One of the module’s key messages is that Level 5 leadership is rare but learnable. Collins originally questioned how such leaders could be developed, but modern leadership research has since revealed that the shift from Level 4 to Level 5 is not about learning new techniques—it’s about upgrading one’s internal operating system. This includes changing one’s mindset, refining one’s purpose, and developing deeper emotional maturity.

This workshop initiates that transformation. Leaders are invited to reflect on their current level of leadership, identify growth opportunities, and begin developing the internal foundation necessary for Level 5 influence. It’s not just about what leaders do—it’s about who they are becoming.

The session closes with small group exercises that help participants articulate which aspects of Level 5 leadership they most want to develop, fostering introspection, shared insight, and connection—hallmarks of the journey ahead.

---

Chapter 2: Lesson of Leadership

Module 2 of the leadership development program introduces a foundational insight: leadership is not defined by position or title, but by influence. The module begins by redefining leadership through a practical and focused lens: Leadership is the use of power and influence to direct others to goal achievement. With this definition, it becomes clear that effective leadership is not dependent on authority, but on the leader’s ability to shape behavior and outcomes through trust and engagement.

To simplify what great leadership requires, the module narrows the conversation to two essential attributes: power and influence. Power is defined as the potential to influence others’ behavior, while influence is about securing others’ voluntary commitment to shared goals. Importantly, not all power is created equal—and the quality of a leader’s impact depends on the type of power they use.

Participants are introduced to the distinction between organizational power and personal power.

Organizational power stems from formal position and includes three forms:

Authoritative power – based on hierarchical authority and directive-based leadership.
Reward power – based on offering incentives to drive compliance.
Coercive power – based on using threats or punishment to enforce behavior.

While organizational power can ensure compliance and is sometimes necessary, it can also create dependency, disengagement, and a transactional leadership culture. Leaders who rely too heavily on this form of power risk undermining long-term trust, creativity, and team cohesion.

Personal power, by contrast, is earned rather than granted. It comes from who a leader is—not the title they hold. It includes:

Referent power – derived from trust, respect, and the strength of relationships.
Expert power – derived from competence, insight, and experience.

---

---

Leaders who cultivate personal power build loyalty, unlock discretionary effort, and foster resilient, purpose-driven teams. While personal power is more difficult to earn and does not guarantee immediate results, it fosters lasting influence and followership that isn’t tied to positional authority.

Through exercises and examples—including a case study of NBA coach Phil Jackson—participants reflect on how different sources of power operate in practice. Jackson’s example demonstrates how leaders can inspire high performance through personalized leadership and relational trust, not just top-down direction.

The module culminates in what it names the #1 lesson of leadership:

“If you want to be an effective leader, you must become someone others want to follow.”

This lesson reframes leadership development as a process of personal growth, not positional advancement. It encourages participants to move away from relying on organizational power and toward cultivating personal power by developing character, trustworthiness, empathy, and expertise.

Participants are challenged to examine how they currently lead and what type of power they lean on most. The session closes by asking leaders to reflect on the importance of building strong relationships and invites them to begin the deeper work of becoming a leader who leads through influence, not authority.

---

Chapter 3: The Two Sides of Ourselves

Module 3 introduces a foundational framework for leadership development by distinguishing between two essential dimensions of every leader: the Doing Side and the Being Side. This distinction is key to understanding the source of leadership effectiveness and the root of most leadership struggles. While traditional development focuses heavily on skills, competencies, and execution (the Doing Side), this module makes the case that the Being Side—our mindset, emotional regulation, consciousness, and character—is the greater determinant of whether we become someone others truly want to follow.

The module begins by exploring examples of high-profile leaders who achieved notable success—such as Bobby Knight, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Ellen DeGeneres—yet were also surrounded by controversy. These examples reveal a critical insight: technical ability alone does not guarantee great leadership. These individuals had strong Doing Sides, but many of their struggles stemmed from limitations in their Being Side.

Participants are then introduced to the Doing/Being 2×2 Framework, which maps leaders across four quadrants:

Low Doing / Low Being – Individuals with low competency and low self-regulation. Research shows most people fall into this quadrant.
High Doing / Low Being – Highly capable leaders who lack the emotional maturity and mindset to lead effectively. This is where most organizational leaders operate today.
Low Doing / High Being – Individuals who may not excel technically but possess deep wisdom, character, and emotional stability (e.g., monks).
High Doing / High Being – The rarest and most impactful leaders. These are Level 5 leaders—those who combine high performance with deep personal presence, character, and wisdom.

Research from developmental psychology and organizational leadership reveals that the majority of leadership issues stem from deficiencies in the Being Side, not the Doing Side. Emotional reactivity, ego-driven behavior, and poor team dynamics often trace back to internal limitations, not technical skill gaps.

The module makes a compelling case that the Being Side is the differentiator of great leadership. While the Doing Side enables leaders to achieve results, it is the Being Side that allows them to inspire trust, foster culture, and create lasting impact. Characteristics like humility, emotional intelligence, authenticity, and courage are not trained through traditional skill-based development—they are cultivated through intentional self-work.

The conclusion is clear: most leadership development focuses on the wrong side. To truly grow into transformational leaders—those who embody Level 5 leadership—we must shift our focus inward. This program is designed to help participants do exactly that: develop the Being Side so they can lead not just with excellence, but with presence, purpose, and sustainable influence.

As the module closes, participants are invited to begin reflecting on their current location in the 2×2 framework and to prepare for a deeper exploration of the Being Side in upcoming sessions.

---

Chapter 4: Common Leadership Issues

Module 4 examines three of the most persistent and damaging leadership issues—micromanagement, emotional intelligence deficiencies, and conflict avoidance—and challenges the prevailing notion that these are primarily skill-based problems. Instead, this module makes a compelling case that these issues stem from deeper, internal dynamics within a leader’s “Being Side,” such as insecurity, fear, emotional reactivity, and self-protective tendencies.

Reframing Leadership Challenges

Traditionally, leadership development programs focus on external behaviors and technical skills (the “Doing Side”). However, this module reframes leadership struggles as symptoms of the “Being Side”—the internal operating system that governs how a leader thinks, feels, perceives, and regulates themselves. Using this lens, participants are encouraged to look beneath the surface and consider the inner roots of their leadership patterns.

Micromanagement as a Self-Protective Strategy

Micromanagement is presented not as a simple failure to delegate, but as a manifestation of personal insecurity. Leaders may micromanage due to:

A lack of trust in others
A fear of failure or mistakes
Perfectionism
Career-stage insecurity
A desire for credit or recognition

While often well-intended, micromanagement is ultimately self-protective—it soothes the leader’s own anxiety and need for control. But it comes at a cost: reduced innovation, lower trust, slower decision-making, and higher employee disengagement and turnover. Leaders are invited to examine the short-term emotional relief micromanagement offers versus its long-term damage to performance and culture.

Emotional Intelligence and the Limits of Skill-Based Training

The module introduces a comprehensive emotional intelligence (EI) model that includes:

Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Relationship management

Rather than viewing EI as a trainable skill set, the module emphasizes that EI is fundamentally tied to brain functioning and emotional maturity. Leaders with low EI often struggle with defensiveness, reactivity, poor communication, and an inability to manage emotions in high-stakes situations. These issues are rooted in an overactive threat response (e.g., amygdala hijack) and underdeveloped self-regulatory capacity—not a lack of knowledge.

The takeaway: Without addressing their internal wiring, leaders will continue to fall short—even after attending traditional EI trainings. Real change requires personal transformation, not just new communication techniques.

Conflict Avoidance and the Fear of Discomfort

Conflict avoidance is framed as another common leadership dysfunction rooted in the Being Side. Leaders avoid difficult conversations to protect themselves from discomfort, rejection, or emotional intensity. Whether it’s underperformance, interpersonal tension, or resistance to change, avoidance undermines accountability, trust, and psychological safety.

This self-protective strategy provides short-term relief but leads to long-term dysfunction: unclear expectations, resentment, and cultural erosion.

Shifting from Self-Protection to Self-Leadership

Throughout the module, participants are challenged to examine their leadership struggles not as surface-level missteps, but as reflections of deeper patterns. They explore how their own insecurities and internal responses drive behavior—and how these behaviors, though understandable, can limit their impact and erode trust.

By shifting their focus inward, leaders can begin to address the true source of their challenges. Developing the Being Side—through greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and courage—becomes the path toward more empowered, sustainable leadership.

This prepares participants for the next step in the program: understanding what exemplary leadership looks like and how it flows from internal transformation, not just external polish.

---

Chapter 5: Exemplary Leadership

Module 5 marks a pivotal shift in the leadership development journey—from diagnosing poor leadership to defining and dissecting what exemplary leadership truly looks like. This module introduces and explores Level 5 Leadership in action, offering participants tangible case studies, distinguishing characteristics, and interactive comparisons that highlight the Being Side of transformative leadership.

The module begins with an in-depth case study of Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, contrasting his leadership style with his predecessor, Steve Ballmer. While Ballmer led with short-term execution, control, and ego, Nadella embraced empowerment, humility, collaboration, and a long-term value-creation mindset. Under Nadella, Microsoft’s market value skyrocketed, internal culture shifted toward inclusion and innovation, and trust increased across all levels of the organization. This case helps participants see that what separates exemplary leaders isn’t talent or technical expertise—it’s their Being Side: who they are, how they lead, and the internal operating system from which they operate.

From there, the module invites participants to identify and explore key traits of exemplary leaders, including:

Humility – Putting mission above ego and welcoming feedback.
Resilience – Staying grounded through adversity.
Patience – Valuing long-term impact over immediate wins.
Vulnerability – Creating trust through authenticity.
Courage – Doing what’s right even when it’s difficult.
Empathy – Leading with emotional intelligence and care.

These traits are not techniques; they are expressions of a leader’s Being. The module emphasizes that the most impactful leadership doesn’t stem from authority or charisma, but from maturity, clarity, and purpose.

Next, the module explores the differences between Level 4 and Level 5 leaders—especially in how they lead from ego vs. mission, chase short-term results vs. long-term outcomes, control vs. empower, and focus on personal success vs. organizational sustainability. Participants reflect on these contrasts and consider how they’ve seen them play out in real-world leaders and organizations.

The second case study features Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, who embodies Level 5 leadership through her long-term vision, social responsibility, and human-centered approach. Her leadership transformed PepsiCo’s strategy, culture, and brand—again highlighting how Level 5 leaders operate from a deep internal foundation of values, humility, and conviction.

The module closes with a practical, scenario-based group exercise in which participants contrast how a Level 4 vs. Level 5 leader might respond to common leadership challenges—such as public mistakes, missed deadlines, or disengaged high performers. Through these comparisons, participants begin to internalize the subtle but powerful differences in mindset and approach that define exemplary leadership.

Finally, participants are reminded that Level 5 leadership is rare—only about 8% of leaders embody it consistently—but it is learnable. The effectiveness of exemplary leaders stems not from their Doing Side, but from their Being Side. The remainder of the program will focus on helping participants upgrade that internal operating system, so they too can grow into Level 5 leaders who inspire, empower, and leave a lasting legacy.

---

Chapter 6: What is Our Being Side?

Before leaders can meaningfully grow, they must understand what exactly they’re growing. Module 6 answers that question by unpacking the concept of the Being Side—the internal foundation of leadership that drives how individuals think, feel, and respond in every moment. While the Doing Side reflects visible skills and actions, the Being Side reflects the invisible operating system that governs those behaviors.

To help leaders visualize this, the module introduces the metaphor of a computer’s internal operating system. Just as a computer’s software determines what it can do, a leader’s internal programming influences how they make decisions, handle stress, build relationships, and show up under pressure. Much of this programming runs automatically and outside of conscious awareness—but it has a profound impact on leadership effectiveness.

The module distinguishes between two dominant modes of internal programming:

Self-Protective Wiring – Designed to minimize discomfort, fear, or threat. These patterns often originate from past experiences and can lead to defensiveness, control, perfectionism, or avoidance.
Value-Creating Wiring – Oriented toward growth, learning, and long-term impact. Leaders with this wiring remain open, grounded, and intentional—even in high-stakes or uncertain environments.

Participants learn that most leadership struggles—like micromanagement, reactivity, or conflict avoidance—don’t stem from a lack of knowledge or intention. They stem from an internal operating system that is overly protective and reactive. To lead more effectively, the wiring itself must be upgraded.

The neuroscience behind this process is also introduced. Leaders explore how their nervous system acts as the gateway between external triggers and internal meaning-making. The module explains how the brain’s automatic filtering and interpretation of experiences—particularly through the salience network and default mode network—shapes emotional and behavioral responses. These subconscious filters prioritize safety, often at the cost of authenticity, connection, or courage.

To make these insights personal, participants engage in the If-Then Exercise:

If [triggering event], then [habitual response].
This activity reveals self-protective patterns in real time (e.g., “If someone questions my decision, then I shut down”). Participants are then invited to reflect on whether these patterns are aligned with the kind of leader they want to become.

The module introduces the idea that transformation begins with awareness. While the internal operating system may be automatic, it is not unchangeable. With the right insight and intention, leaders can rewire self-protective patterns into more value-creating ones.

The case study of Brené Brown helps illustrate this concept. Once closed off to vulnerability, Brown intentionally rewired her internal system to embrace openness and connection—choices that ultimately elevated her leadership and impact.

Module 6 closes with a key definition:

Our Being Side is the degree to which our internal operating system is wired for value creation rather than self-protection.

With this foundation laid, the next module will explore how leaders make meaning of the world around them—and how that meaning-making process can be either a barrier or a bridge to transformational leadership.

---

Chapter 7: Meaning Making

Module 7 explores a foundational yet often overlooked driver of leadership effectiveness: the automatic and subconscious process of meaning making. As participants continue deepening their understanding of the Being Side of leadership, this module reveals that one of the primary functions of our internal operating system is to assign meaning—quickly and unconsciously—to the experiences, challenges, and feedback we encounter.

The central insight is that not all meaning making is created equal. Two people can experience the same situation but walk away with completely different interpretations—and those interpretations will shape their emotions, behaviors, relationships, and leadership outcomes. While meaning making happens automatically, it is far from fixed. Leaders can become more aware of their meaning-making tendencies and intentionally upgrade them over time.

The module introduces two distinct patterns of meaning making:

Self-Protective Meaning Making is rooted in fear, insecurity, or the desire to maintain control. It often leads leaders to interpret challenges—such as failure, criticism, or conflict—as threats. This keeps them safe in the short term but can cause long-term stagnation, avoidance, and relational distance.
Value-Creating Meaning Making interprets those same situations as opportunities for learning, connection, or growth. While this approach may feel riskier, it leads to greater adaptability, innovation, and influence over time.

Participants reflect on how they interpret a variety of leadership experiences—such as failure, vulnerability, stillness, conflict, and feedback—and examine the downstream effects of those interpretations. Through a small-group exercise, they explore how meaning making shapes behavior, team dynamics, and culture, and they begin to recognize that better meaning making = better leadership.

To make this concrete, the module focuses on one of the most defining areas of meaning making: failure. Two common interpretations of failure are examined:

Failure as a reflection of self-worth (self-protective): This mindset leads to fear, avoidance, and rigid behavior.
Failure as a catalyst for growth (value-creating): This fosters resilience, learning, and innovation.

Real-world examples bring these concepts to life:

Satya Nadella modeled value-creating meaning making when Microsoft’s chatbot failed publicly. Instead of blaming the team, he encouraged them to “keep pushing,” reinforcing psychological safety and a growth-oriented culture.
Thomas Edison and Sara Blakely are cited as leaders who embraced failure as a sign of experimentation and progress—not inadequacy.

The module connects meaning making to four broader organizational outcomes:

Employee Engagement: Leaders who reframe disengagement as a signal for curiosity rather than defiance foster trust and ownership.
Innovation: Leaders who interpret failure as learning foster experimentation; those who see it as incompetence create fear.
Organizational Agility: Leaders who view change as a threat resist it; those who see it as opportunity adapt and evolve.
Learning Culture: Leaders who treat knowledge gaps as growth opportunities (vs. weaknesses) cultivate high-performing teams.

In conclusion, Module 7 reinforces that Level 5 leaders consistently make meaning in value-creating ways. This does not mean ignoring discomfort—it means interpreting discomfort as a signal for growth, not danger. As leaders upgrade their meaning making, they unlock the capacity to lead with deeper trust, clarity, and long-term impact.

---

Chapter 8: Window of Tolerance

Module 8 continues the exploration of the Being Side of leadership by introducing a powerful concept from neuroscience and psychology: the window of tolerance. Originally coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, this concept refers to the range within which individuals can remain emotionally regulated, cognitively flexible, and behaviorally effective when encountering stress, adversity, or discomfort. In a leadership context, a wide window of tolerance allows individuals to lead with clarity and composure even under pressure—while a narrow window leads to dysregulation, reactivity, and diminished effectiveness.

---

---

The module positions the window of tolerance as a practical lens for evaluating a leader’s internal operating system. Leaders programmed for value creation are more likely to stay within their window, tolerating short-term discomfort for long-term impact. In contrast, leaders with self-protective wiring often fall outside their window more easily, defaulting to reactive or avoidant behaviors.

At a neurological level, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a key role in regulating this window through two branches:

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activates the fight-or-flight response, leading to hyperarousal—emotional reactivity, impulsiveness, and rigidity.
The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) facilitates calm and recovery. However, excessive activation can lead to hypoarousal—emotional numbness, disengagement, and shutdown.

Leaders functioning outside their window—whether in hyper- or hypoarousal—struggle to access their executive functioning, emotional intelligence, and decision-making capacity. The result is reactive leadership, impaired communication, and decreased team trust.

Participants reflect on their own responses to stress across various contexts—failure, conflict, vulnerability, stillness—and assess how wide or narrow their window of tolerance may be. The module outlines common signs of a narrow window, such as defensiveness, indecisiveness, and a need for control, versus indicators of a wide window, such as adaptability, emotional regulation, and thoughtful risk-taking.

To illustrate these dynamics, the module contrasts two leaders:

Howard Schultz (Starbucks) exemplifies wide-window leadership. Amid a financial crisis, he remained emotionally grounded and made bold, values-driven decisions—like temporarily closing 7,100 stores to retrain staff—prioritizing long-term culture over short-term profit.
Doug McMillon (Walmart) demonstrates a narrower window. In the face of rising digital competition, his early reluctance to make bold e-commerce investments reflected discomfort with uncertainty and high-stakes risk, resulting in slower innovation and cultural hesitancy.

From these examples, five leadership lessons emerge:

Internal regulation shapes external outcomes—regulated leaders make better decisions under pressure.
A leader’s window shapes team culture—their composure fosters psychological safety and agility.
Risk tolerance depends on emotional regulation—wider windows enable strategic risk-taking.
Window width influences communication and trust—grounded leaders communicate with clarity and inspire confidence.
A wide window supports sustainable leadership—avoiding burnout and maintaining consistency.

The module closes with a collaborative exercise where groups create a “Window Recovery Toolkit”—a set of practical tools for recognizing, regulating, and re-entering one’s window of tolerance. This reinforces the idea that the window is not fixed—it can be intentionally widened over time through reflection, self-regulation, and mindset shifts.

Looking ahead, the program will explore the root causes of narrow windows and self-protective programming, setting the stage for deeper transformation along the Being Side.

---

Chapter 9: Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma

Module 9 introduces the first major disrupter of the Being Side: psychological trauma. This module makes a compelling case that trauma—especially unacknowledged or unresolved—can significantly distort a leader’s internal operating system and, in turn, undermine their ability to lead with emotional intelligence, trust, and long-term vision.

The module opens with research from the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, which found that roughly 70% of adults have experienced psychological trauma. The more trauma one experiences, the more likely they are to struggle with physical health, emotional regulation, behavioral issues, and reduced life potential. But the real insight is in why: trauma fundamentally rewires the nervous system toward self-protection rather than value creation.

Rather than define trauma by the event itself, the module reframes trauma as a neurological adaptation—a psychological wounding that occurs when an experience overwhelms the nervous system’s capacity to cope. This reframing helps explain why two people can experience the same event (e.g., combat, car crash, rejection), yet only one may carry lasting trauma. The difference lies in the body’s stress response system and its window of tolerance.

Using the concept of the window of tolerance, the module explores how trauma can either over-activate or suppress the nervous system’s emotional regulation capacity. When the stress is too much, the body takes drastic measures—either heightening alertness (hypervigilance) or disconnecting from feelings altogether (dissociation). Both adaptations serve survival in the moment, but they create lasting limitations in leadership contexts.

The module introduces three brain networks involved in meaning-making and behavior regulation:

The salience network detects emotional signals and threats.
The default mode network governs automatic, self-related, and social processing.
The central executive network oversees conscious, rational decision-making.

---

---

When trauma strikes, these networks become imbalanced. Hypervigilance occurs when the salience network becomes overactive and the default mode network underperforms—causing leaders to interpret even minor issues as major threats. Dissociation results when the default mode network overregulates, dulling emotional responses and cutting off access to feeling.

The case study of “Tom”—a former military leader and EMT—brings these concepts to life. While his hypervigilant wiring served him well in combat and emergency response roles, it led to micromanagement, risk avoidance, and a lack of trust in his corporate leadership position. His inability to recalibrate his nervous system ultimately limited his leadership effectiveness and led to his early exit from the organization.

The module closes by connecting trauma to emotional intelligence (EI), which is often considered one of the most essential leadership capabilities. Trauma-induced wiring—whether hypervigilant or dissociated—directly impairs the key components of EI:

Hypervigilance hinders self-management and social awareness.
Dissociation hinders self-awareness and relationship management.

The takeaway is clear: unhealed trauma limits a leader’s Being Side altitude, which in turn constrains their capacity to be emotionally intelligent and influential. To develop into Level 5 leaders, individuals must be willing to acknowledge and, if necessary, heal the unseen wounds of the past that are quietly shaping their leadership today.

---

Chapter 10: Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture

Module 10 explores how current cultural environments—particularly within teams and organizations—profoundly shape a leader’s and employee’s internal operating system, influencing whether they are wired for self-protection or value creation. While earlier modules explored individual-level disrupters (e.g., trauma), this module focuses on environmental conditions that can activate or suppress the Being Side of leadership.

At the core of this exploration is a powerful insight: the culture we are in either reinforces fear and competition or fosters safety and cooperation—and this directly impacts our neurological wiring, emotional regulation, and leadership effectiveness.

The session begins with an assessment of psychological safety, using a short seven-item survey that measures how safe participants feel to speak up, take risks, and be themselves within their teams. Scores offer insight into whether a culture supports value creation or conditions individuals for guarded, self-protective behavior.

Participants then explore the idea that culture functions as an “external operating system”—it influences how people behave by either inviting openness and engagement or triggering fear-based responses. Cultures characterized by competition, fear, and punishment activate individuals’ self-protective wiring: people become more cautious, defensive, and self-serving. Innovation declines, collaboration suffers, and short-term thinking dominates.

In contrast, cultures grounded in safety and cooperation promote trust, experimentation, and long-term thinking. Individuals in these environments are more likely to speak up, collaborate, and create value because they are not preoccupied with self-preservation. These dynamics are not just behavioral—they are neurologically driven.

The module incorporates neuroscience to explain how fear impacts leadership and team performance:

When fear dominates, the amygdala becomes hyperactive, hijacking higher-level brain functions and putting the body into survival mode.
This reduces creative problem-solving, collaboration, and strategic thinking—essential capacities for leadership and innovation.
Over time, repeated experiences of fear condition the nervous system into a constant state of vigilance or emotional numbing, disrupting the Being Side.

To reverse these effects, organizations must foster psychological safety—a concept pioneered by Dr. Amy Edmondson and defined as the shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Psychological safety does not mean avoiding conflict or being overly agreeable; rather, it means that individuals can express themselves without fear of punishment or humiliation.

The module outlines four levels of psychological safety (Timothy R. Clark’s framework):

Inclusion Safety – Feeling accepted and welcomed.
Learner Safety – Freedom to ask questions and make mistakes.
Contributor Safety – Confidence to share ideas and skills.
Challenger Safety – Courage to challenge the status quo.

Real-world examples, particularly Satya Nadella’s transformation of Microsoft, illustrate how leaders who invest in psychological safety can reshape culture, spark innovation, and create sustained business success. Nadella shifted Microsoft’s fear-based culture into one rooted in growth, collaboration, and trust—leading to a 10x increase in market value.

The module closes by highlighting trust as a foundational pillar of high-functioning teams. It introduces key dimensions of trust—competence, integrity, reliability, empathy, and transparency—and underscores their role in helping individuals shift from self-preservation to value creation.

Ultimately, Level 5 leaders recognize that culture is not a backdrop—it is a tool. By shaping psychologically safe and trusting environments, they enable their people to lead, learn, and contribute from their highest potential.

---

Chapter 11: Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence

Module 11 introduces neurodivergence as the third major disrupter of the Being Side—following trauma and culture. Unlike the previous two disrupters, which are external influences on the internal operating system, neurodivergence represents an internal variation in brain function and cognitive processing. This module focuses specifically on ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), the most commonly experienced neurodivergent condition in adults, and explores its implications for leadership effectiveness.

Neurodivergence refers to natural variations in how individuals think, learn, and behave. It includes conditions such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and others. Rather than viewing these as deficits to be fixed, neurodivergence highlights that these are simply differences—though differences that can impact how leaders process stress, manage time, regulate emotions, and make decisions.

ADHD, in particular, affects executive functioning—the cognitive capabilities that enable people to plan, focus, remember instructions, and regulate impulses. Studies show that individuals with ADHD often exhibit a 30% delay in executive functioning development, and their internal operating systems tend to be more reactive and self-protective, with less capacity for sustained, value-creating behavior.

Using a neuroscience lens, the module explains that ADHD disrupts the functional connectivity between three key brain networks:

The salience network (detects emotional and environmental significance)
The default mode network (manages self-referential thoughts and habits)
The central executive network (manages decision-making and focus)

Unlike trauma, which tends to over-activate one network, ADHD reflects weakened connectivity across these networks—resulting in increased distractibility, emotional reactivity, difficulty focusing on long-term goals, and a narrower window of tolerance.

Renowned ADHD researcher Russell A. Barkley outlines seven core executive functioning deficits common among individuals with ADHD. These include diminished self-awareness, impulse control, working memory, time management, emotional regulation, motivation, and strategic planning. The module prompts participants to reflect on whether these are Doing Side issues (skill/knowledge deficits) or Being Side issues (internal operating system patterns). The conclusion: most are rooted in the Being Side, requiring more than just skill-building to address.

A case study of “Sal,” a high-performing CEO with ADHD, illustrates how these executive functioning challenges can impact leadership. Though Sal is brilliant and hardworking, his reactivity, lack of delegation, poor time management, and difficulty maintaining strategic vision are creating stress, disengagement, and burnout across his executive team. The case shows both the potential strengths and real limitations that come with ADHD-influenced leadership.
To support leaders with ADHD, the module provides practical strategies in two categories:

Surface-level practices such as mindfulness, structured scheduling, visual task boards, and executive coaching.
Deeper interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy and neurofeedback, which can help rewire the brain’s connectivity and strengthen long-term regulation.

The module closes by inviting participants to reflect on how neurodivergence—alongside trauma and culture—may be shaping their own self-protective programming. By increasing awareness and investing in personal development strategies, leaders can work with their wiring, rather than against it, and gradually reprogram their internal operating systems to support more intentional, value-creating leadership.

---

Chapter 12: Elevated Leadership

Module 12 brings together the central themes, frameworks, and developmental shifts explored throughout the leadership development journey so far. It serves as a reflective capstone, reinforcing the program’s core message: to elevate the effectiveness of our leadership, we must elevate the sophistication of our internal operating system—our Being Side.

The module revisits the foundational insight that inspired this program: The effectiveness of an organization or group rarely exceeds the level of sophistication of its leader. As such, developing Level 5 leaders—those who combine humility with fierce resolve, and personal maturity with strategic acumen—is not a luxury, but a necessity for sustainable success.

The program has emphasized that while many leaders focus on the Doing Side (skills, strategies, results), it is their Being Side—their mindset, self-regulation, presence, and emotional intelligence—that ultimately determines the ceiling of their leadership. Throughout the workshop, participants have explored how their internal operating systems either promote value creation or revert to self-protection, and how that distinction explains most leadership struggles and successes.

Participants have learned to assess and elevate their Being Side through two key indicators:

Meaning Making – Whether they interpret situations (e.g., feedback, conflict, failure) through a lens of fear or growth.
Window of Tolerance – Their capacity to remain grounded and responsive under pressure, rather than reactive or avoidant.

The program also outlined three major disrupters that can narrow a leader’s window and reinforce self-protective wiring:

Psychological trauma
Toxic or unsafe organizational cultures
Neurodivergence (particularly conditions like ADHD that impact executive functioning)

Understanding these disrupters has helped participants reframe their struggles—not as personal flaws, but as natural adaptations that can be rewired with intention and support.

The module also looks ahead to the two-part structure of what’s next:

Elevating Ourselves as Leaders – Deepening self-awareness, reflecting on internal patterns, and crafting a Personal Vertical Development Plan.
Implementing Elevated Leadership – Applying Level 5 principles to build trust, lead transformation, and shift team and organizational culture.

To bring these ideas to life, participants examine the powerful case study of Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. Once an authoritarian, recognition-seeking leader (Level 4), Zander experienced a profound mindset shift that moved him toward Level 5 leadership. His transformation—marked by increased humility, emotional openness, and a commitment to unlocking others’ greatness—serves as an inspiring example of what is possible when leaders elevate their Being Side.

The module concludes with a candid reflection on common pitfalls that can hinder leadership growth:

Overemphasis on the Doing Side
Resistance to discomfort
Seeking quick fixes
Avoiding deep self-reflection
Lack of a structured growth plan

Ultimately, the invitation is clear: Level 5 leadership is not a technique to master—it is a way of being to embody. It is about shifting from “How great can I become?” to “How much greatness am I willing to grant others?” With this mindset, leaders unlock not just individual excellence, but the collective potential of the people and systems they influence.

---

Curriculum

Level 5 Leader – WDP1 – Mastering Self

1. Leadership Levels
2. Lesson of Leadership
3. The Two Sides of Ourselves
4. Common Leadership Issues
5. Exemplary Leadership
6. What is Our Being Side?
7. Meaning Making
8. Window of Tolerance
9. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

---

Distance Learning

Introduction

Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Level 5 Leader corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.

Study environment

You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.

Study tools & rules

Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.

Successful distance-learning

Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.

Self-assessment

Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.

Accepting responsibility as a student

Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.

Planning

By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.

Management

Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.

Study objectives & tasks

The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.

Study forecast

As a guide, the Appleton Greene Level 5 Leader corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.

Performance management

It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.

With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.

With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.

Keeping in touch

You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.

Work colleagues and family

You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.

Making it relevant

The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.

Distance-learning check-list

Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.

---

Tutorial Support

Programs

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.

---

Support available

You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.

---

Support Process

Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.

---

Time Management

It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Level 5 Leader corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Level 5 Leader program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.

---

Distance Learning Guide

The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.

---

How To Study

The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).

---

Tutorial Support

Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Level 5 Leader corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.

---

Tutorial Support Tips

Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.

Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails

Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.

Think about the impression that you want to create

Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.

Remember that quality is preferred to quantity

Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.

Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers

Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.

Keep a record of your tutorial support emails

It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.

---

Individual training workshops or telephone support

Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.

---

Tutorial Support Email Format

You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.

Subject line of your email

Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.

Main body of your email

Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)

Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.

Question 1

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 3

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 4

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Question 5

Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)

Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.

---

Procedure

* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.

---

How To Study

Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.

Planning your study environment

Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.

Planning your program objectives

It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.

Planning how and when to study

Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.

Planning your study tasks

You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.

Planning your time

You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.

Keeping in touch

Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.

Charting your progress

Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.

Making it work

To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.

Reading methods

Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.

Speed reading

When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.

Content reading

Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.

Making structured notes on the course manuals

When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.

Organizing structured notes separately

You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.

Question your understanding

Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.

Clarifying your understanding

If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.

Question your interpretation

Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.

Clarifying your interpretation

If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.

---

Qualification Requirements

The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Level 5 Leader corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Level 5 Leader Specialist (APTS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.

Level 5 Leader – Grading Contribution

Project Study – Grading Contribution

Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%

Qualification grades

A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.

When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:

Pass with merit

A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory

Pass with distinction

An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory

---

Preliminary Analysis

Books

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins

Good to Great by Jim Collins examines the key factors that enable companies to achieve and sustain exceptional performance over time. Central to his findings is the concept of Level 5 Leadership—leaders who combine deep personal humility with intense professional resolve to elevate their organizations beyond what is typically thought possible.

Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation by Ryan Gottfredson

Becoming Better reveals that true personal transformation requires more than improving skills or behaviors—it requires evolving the Being Side of ourselves. By helping readers understand the crucial distinction between the Doing Side (what we know and do) and the Being Side (how we see, interpret, and respond to the world), the book identifies the key to transformational personal growth: Elevating along our Being Side.

Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by Satya Nadella

Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella chronicles his journey to transform Microsoft by revitalizing its culture, fostering empathy, and embracing a growth mindset across the organization. Through his blend of humility, long-term vision, and quiet resolve, Nadella exemplifies the qualities of a Level 5 leader, guiding the company from internal stagnation to renewed purpose and performance.

---

Articles

“Go Vertical” by Ryan Gottfredson in TD Magazine

https://www.td.org/content/td-magazine/go-vertical
The article “Go Vertical” by Ryan Gottfredson explains that most leadership programs focus on surface-level improvements, but fail to address the deeper personal growth leaders need to thrive in today’s complex world. He emphasizes that true leadership transformation comes from expanding how leaders see themselves, others, and the challenges they face—not just from building new skills.

“Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve” by Jim Collins in Harvard Business Review

https://hbr.org/2001/01/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-resolve-2
Jim Collins’ article Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve introduces the concept of Level 5 leaders—those who blend deep personal humility with intense professional will to drive sustained organizational excellence. Based on his research into companies that made the leap from good to great, Collins found that Level 5 leaders were the key differentiator behind long-term success.

“The Best Leaders Are Humble Leaders” by Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth Salib in Harvard Business Review

https://hbr.org/2014/05/the-best-leaders-are-humble-leaders
In The Best Leaders Are Humble Leaders, Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth Salib present research showing that humility in leadership fosters stronger engagement, trust, and collaboration among employees. Rather than diminishing a leader’s authority, humility enhances their influence by making them more relatable, supportive, and empowering.

---

Journal Article

Gottfredson, R. K., & Becker, W. J. (2023). How trauma impacts emotional intelligence: Examining the connection. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1067509.

This article by Gottfredson and Becker presents a compelling argument that psychological trauma is a significant and often overlooked antecedent of emotional intelligence (EI), impairing the brain networks essential for emotional awareness, regulation, and interpersonal connection. By drawing on neuroscience and trauma research, the authors demonstrate that healing from trauma—not just skill-building—is a crucial pathway for developing EI and enhancing leadership effectiveness.

---

Course Manuals 1-12

Course Manual 1: Leadership Levels

Collins’s Framework

Leadership is the cornerstone of organizational success, and few researchers have made this point more strongly than Jim Collins. In his seminal book, Good to Great (2001), Collins reveals several key findings about what sets apart “great” companies from “good” companies. One of the chief findings of his research is that “great” companies have highly sophisticated leaders, leaders that he calls “Level 5” leaders, which are at the pinnacle of his leadership framework.

Understanding this framework is critical for those who aspire to transform their leadership approach and maximize their influence. This module will provide a detailed examination of the five levels of leadership, with a particular focus on Level 5 Leadership—the highest and most impactful tier. We will also briefly explore why most leaders operate at Level 4 and the characteristics that set Level 5 leaders apart. This will set the tone for this program, which is all about helping leaders elevate to the Level 5 level.

The Five Levels of Leadership

In his landmark book Good to Great, Jim Collins introduced the concept of Level 5 Leadership to describe the kind of leadership required to build companies that achieve sustained excellence. But Level 5 is only the summit of a five-level journey. Collins’s framework offers a structured way to understand how leadership capacity evolves—from individual contribution to organizational greatness.

This model is especially helpful for leaders seeking clarity around their own development. By identifying the defining characteristics of each level, it becomes easier to assess where you are currently operating and what distinguishes good from truly exceptional leadership.

Let’s walk through each level in the framework.

Level 1: Highly Capable Individual

This level is the foundation of all leadership. It centers on individual talent, knowledge, and skills that contribute to team and organizational success. These are high performers who get the job done and are often known for their reliability, technical proficiency, and strong work ethic. While they don’t lead others, they set a standard of excellence in execution.

Key Traits:

Technical competence
Discipline and reliability
Personal productivity

Example:

An entry-level engineer who consistently delivers high-quality code and solves difficult problems. They’re known for being dependable and skilled, but their influence is based on doing rather than leading.

Level 2: Contributing Team Member

At this stage, individual contributors begin to work more interdependently. They understand that collaboration enhances results, and that success is not just personal but collective. These team members support others, contribute to group objectives, and help create a positive, productive work environment.

Key Traits:

Effective collaboration
Strong interpersonal awareness
Commitment to team goals

Example:

A marketing coordinator who works closely with writers, designers, and data analysts to pull off successful product launches. They don’t just complete tasks—they ensure alignment, contribute ideas, and help the team gel.

Level 3: Competent Manager

Here is where formal leadership begins. Level 3 leaders manage people, resources, and systems with an eye toward performance. They are accountable for outcomes, not just tasks, and are skilled at organizing work, setting expectations, and maintaining standards. While their leadership may still focus on the “what” and “how” of work, they begin shaping the overall effectiveness of teams and departments.

Key Traits:

Operational planning and execution
Clear delegation and follow-through
Consistent delivery of results

Example:

A sales manager responsible for a regional team. They track metrics, coach team members, and implement systems that help drive quarterly performance. Their focus is on achieving goals through others.

Level 4: Effective Leader

Level 4 leaders elevate their impact. They are strategic thinkers who inspire others to exceed expectations. These leaders provide vision, build alignment, and mobilize people toward shared ambitions. Their influence often extends beyond their immediate team as they drive cultural momentum, growth, and innovation. However, while highly effective, many at this level still tie success to personal achievement or recognition.

Key Traits:

Strategic vision and influence
Charismatic communication
Ability to rally people toward common goals

Example:

A turnaround CEO who revitalizes a stagnating company through bold strategy and energized leadership. They instill belief in the mission and drive rapid change—but may still be seen as the face of the transformation.

Level 5: Executive Leader

This is the rarest and most impactful level. Level 5 Leaders are driven by a paradoxical blend of intense professional will and deep personal humility. They care less about individual accolades and more about enduring success. Their leadership is marked not by ego, but by stewardship. They build organizations that outlast them—quietly shaping cultures, developing others, and making principled decisions even when difficult.

Key Traits:

Humility without weakness
Fierce resolve without ego
Legacy-minded decision-making

Example:

Leaders like Abraham Lincoln or Mahatma Gandhi are often cited here—not because of their titles, but because of how they led. They sacrificed personal gain to serve a purpose greater than themselves and built movements that endured far beyond their time.

Why This Framework Matters

What makes Collins’s model so valuable is its clarity and humility. It doesn’t suggest that all leaders must reach Level 5 to be effective, but it does illuminate what’s possible. Most executives operate at Level 4—and that’s no small feat. But Level 5 shows what leadership looks like when personal ambition gives way to a broader mission.

For organizations, this framework provides a language to discuss leadership development in concrete, observable terms. For individual leaders, it offers a mirror—a way to reflect on how they show up, what drives them, and what kind of impact they ultimately want to have.

Three Key Ideas of Collins’s Level 5 Leadership Framework

There are three key ideas that are baked into this framework and Collins’s related research:

• These levels represent different levels of sophistication, suggesting that leaders can operate at different levels of sophistication
• The higher the level—or more sophisticated the leader—the more successful the organization or team will be. In other words, the level that leaders operate at sets the ceiling for their group.
• If we want to elevate an organization or group, we need to elevate the sophistication of its leaders.

The Uncommon Nature of Level 5 Leadership

One of the most striking findings in Collins’s research is that Level 5 leaders are rare. According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 85% of executives operate at Level 4, with only 8% reaching Level 5. This scarcity underscores the difficulty of achieving this level and the transformative power it holds for organizations.

So, why do so few leaders reach Level 5?

Ego and Personal Ambition – Many leaders are driven by recognition and personal success, which prevents them from fully embracing the humility required of a Level 5 leader.
Short-Term Focus – Many executives prioritize quarterly earnings and immediate wins rather than long-term sustainability and greatness.
Lack of Awareness – Some leaders are simply unaware of what it takes to reach Level 5 and may not actively strive for it.

Cultivating Level 5 Leadership

Achieving Level 5 Leadership is not simply a matter of gaining experience or holding an executive title. It involves a fundamental transformation in how a leader thinks, behaves, and defines success. According to Jim Collins, the difference between a Level 4 and a Level 5 leader is not a matter of competence—it’s a matter of character, focus, and intention.

While Level 4 leaders can be effective and even inspiring, their leadership is often driven by personal ambition and short-term performance. Level 5 leaders, on the other hand, operate with a paradoxical blend of personal humility and fierce resolve. They are deeply committed to long-term organizational success, even if it means stepping out of the spotlight themselves.

Below are four key contrasts between Level 4 and Level 5 leaders:

1. Personal Humility

Level 5: Level 5 leaders are quick to give credit and slow to take it. They acknowledge the efforts of others and are comfortable being in the background when praise is given. They accept feedback without defensiveness, learn from mistakes, and willingly admit when they are wrong. Their humility is not weakness—it’s a sign of strength and self-awareness.
Level 4: While Level 4 leaders may value teamwork, they often seek personal validation through recognition, praise, or influence. They may struggle to admit mistakes or appear vulnerable, fearing it will diminish their authority. As a result, they can unintentionally create a culture where image matters more than learning.

2. Professional Will

Level 5: These leaders possess a relentless resolve to do what must be done for the long-term health of the organization—even when it’s hard, unpopular, or slow to pay off. They are disciplined, principled, and committed to leaving the organization better than they found it. Their ambition is channeled into the mission, not themselves.
Level 4: Level 4 leaders can be highly driven and goal-oriented, but their focus is often on hitting immediate targets or gaining personal wins. Their energy is intense, but it may be reactive rather than strategic. They can struggle to prioritize decisions that don’t produce fast, visible results.

3. Legacy vs. Self-Focus

Level 5: The mindset of a Level 5 leader is legacy-focused. They think in terms of generational impact—what will this organization look like 10, 20, or even 50 years from now? They invest in systems, successors, and cultural foundations that will outlast them.
Level 4: Many Level 4 leaders think in terms of their current tenure or immediate goals. Their leadership is often tied to their personal brand or achievements. As a result, they may overlook succession planning, cultural resilience, or the broader implications of their decisions.

4. Investment in Culture

Level 5: These leaders see culture not as a “nice to have,” but as a critical lever for long-term performance. They intentionally shape environments that reflect core values, support accountability, and foster psychological safety. Culture-building is seen as strategic work, not soft work.
Level 4: Because culture change is slow and complex, Level 4 leaders often deprioritize it. If investing in culture doesn’t deliver immediate returns or bolster short-term outcomes, it’s seen as a distraction. They may unintentionally tolerate dysfunction if performance metrics are still being met.

---

---

Reflecting on these differences, take a moment to consider what type of development is needed to go from Level 4 to Level 5. Such development isn’t just about focusing on improving one’s knowledge, skills, or behaviors. Instead, this development is focused on upgrading one’s “being.” So, in the end, this program is all about helping you improve and elevate who you are as a person. This is critical to understand because it is only when you elevate and improve yourself that you will be able to elevate and improve your impact.

The Organizational Impact of Level 5 Leadership

Organizations led by Level 5 leaders don’t just perform well—they fundamentally change. Their impact reaches into the culture, the strategic clarity, and the way people experience working inside the organization. According to Jim Collins’s research in Good to Great, companies that made the leap from good to great had one thing in common: a Level 5 leader at the helm during the pivotal transition.

These companies didn’t just enjoy a short-term burst of success. They sustained superior performance over decades. Their leaders created organizational cultures rooted in humility, psychological safety, and disciplined execution. These cultures weren’t accidental—they were intentionally shaped by leaders who prioritized long-term health over personal recognition.

Collins highlighted several key patterns that emerged in organizations led by Level 5 leaders:

Sustained superior performance, often for 15 years or more
Strong, values-based cultures built on humility, trust, and team cohesion
Higher employee engagement, retention, and ownership
Strategic focus that avoided distractions and emphasized what truly mattered

One of the most powerful illustrations of this is Darwin Smith, the former CEO of Kimberly-Clark. When Smith took the reins, the company was struggling to define its identity in a competitive marketplace. Many doubted his qualifications—he was an internal hire, soft-spoken, and anything but flashy. But behind his quiet demeanor was a leader with unshakable resolve and clarity of purpose.

Smith made bold decisions that others might have avoided. Most notably, he sold the company’s paper mills—long seen as core to the business—and redirected resources into consumer brands like Kleenex and Huggies. These moves weren’t based on ego or headlines; they were rooted in a deep belief about where the company could win in the long term.

Over the course of 20 years, Smith led Kimberly-Clark to outperform the market by nearly four times. Despite this success, he remained humble—deflecting credit and praising his team at every turn. His leadership style didn’t revolve around charisma, but around building a culture of discipline, healthy accountability, and aligned strategy.

Another example is Anne Mulcahy, who stepped in as CEO of Xerox during a period of near collapse. Though not featured in Good to Great, her story echoes the hallmarks of Level 5 Leadership. Mulcahy took on the role with humility, asking questions before making moves and listening deeply to the people closest to the work. She rebuilt trust internally, fostered a culture of transparency and collaboration, and relentlessly focused the company on its core purpose.

Mulcahy’s leadership helped Xerox avoid bankruptcy and return to profitability. Her success wasn’t just about cutting costs or shifting strategy—it was about restoring belief and creating a culture where people felt safe, valued, and accountable.

Both Smith and Mulcahy demonstrate that Level 5 leaders don’t need to be loud or larger-than-life. Their influence comes from clarity of purpose, quiet confidence, and a deep commitment to building organizations that last. They leave behind not just stronger financials, but stronger people and stronger cultures.

Let’s now start to explore some other case studies.

---

Exercise 1:1 – Mapping Leaders Across the Levels

Objective:

Help participants apply Collins’s Level 5 Leadership framework by identifying real-world leaders who exemplify each level, then analyzing what differentiates each leader’s mindset, behaviors, and impact.

Instructions:

Form Small Groups (3–5 participants per group).
Leader Identification:

As a group, identify one leader for each of the following levels in Jim Collins’s framework:

Level 3: Competent Manager
Level 4: Effective Leader
Level 5: Executive Leader

These leaders can come from any domain: your workplace, business, politics, sports, non-profit, or history. Encourage the group to choose leaders they’re somewhat familiar with to enable deeper analysis.

Compare & Contrast:

For each leader, discuss the following:

What evidence suggests this leader operates at this level?
What is their primary motivation—personal success, organizational performance, or legacy?
How do they handle recognition, failure, and accountability?
What is the cultural or organizational impact of their leadership?
Do they lead more from personal power or organizational power?

Create a Summary Grid

Fill in the following table together to organize your observations:

---

---

Group Reflection:

Once complete, reflect on the differences you noticed across the levels. Discuss:

What truly separates Level 5 leaders from the rest?
How rare is Level 5 leadership based on your examples?
What might help a Level 4 leader make the shift to Level 5?

Share Highlights:

Each group will share one of their leader examples with the larger room and offer 1–2 insights they took away from this exercise.

Facilitator Tip:

Encourage participants to challenge their assumptions—especially about charisma, power, and what leadership “should” look like. This will help them begin to internalize the subtler, more transformational nature of Level 5 leadership.

---

Case Study 1:1

A prime example of a Level 4 leader is Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. When he was CEO, he was someone who was very successful at catalyzes commitment to and a vigorous pursuit of high-performance standards to the degree that General Electric’s stock price increase more than 2,700 percent during his tenure. But, in hindsight, evidence suggests that he operated at Level 4 rather than Level 5 because his leadership did not build enduring greatness. Welch was great at repeatedly hitting short-term shareholder expectations, but in the process, he was making decisions that decimated the viability of General Electric into the future. Now, General Electric is effectively defunct.

Even further, Boeing is a company that aggressively hired General Electric executives who operated under Jack Welch, and their brand of Level 4 leadership at Boeing has been catastrophic to that organization.

But, consider a prime example of a Level 5 leader: Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford. He took a company that lost $12 billion in 2006 (the year before he was hired as CEO) and transformed it into one of the most respected brands in the world. In fact, Ford was the only U.S. automaker that did not require a government bailout as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.

Alan Mulally has been praised for having led one of the most successful turnarounds of all time. And, this turnaround is largely credited to his blend of personal humility and professional will.

Throughout this program we will come back to and highlight these leaders, as well as introduce many others that have operated at these different levels.

---

Why Level 5 Leadership Matters Now

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, organizations are under increasing pressure to adapt, innovate, and lead with integrity. Traditional leadership models—rooted in hierarchy, charisma, or short-term performance—are no longer sufficient to meet the complexity and volatility of the moment. What organizations need are leaders who are not just competent or inspiring, but deeply grounded in something bigger than themselves.

This is why Level 5 Leadership matters.

According to Jim Collins, Level 5 Leaders are those who possess a rare blend of personal humility and professional will. They are ambitious, but their ambition is for the organization—not for personal accolades or status. They lead with quiet confidence, focused discipline, and a deep sense of stewardship. And the impact they create is both measurable and enduring.

Research from Good to Great revealed that companies led by Level 5 Leaders dramatically outperformed their peers—not just for a few quarters, but over the long haul. These organizations navigated disruption more effectively, maintained strong internal cultures, and achieved sustained excellence. In an era where trust in leadership is fragile and employee engagement remains stubbornly low, Level 5 Leadership is not just a competitive advantage—it’s a strategic necessity.

The contrast becomes clearer when viewed alongside other levels of leadership. While Level 3 leaders are competent managers and Level 4 leaders are often visionary and inspiring, both may still operate with a degree of ego or self-interest. Level 5 leaders, by contrast, take responsibility for failures, give credit to their teams for successes, and make decisions based on what will create the most enduring value—even if those decisions don’t serve their personal image or timeline.

Level 5 leaders:

Take ownership without seeking attention
Think long-term while executing with discipline
Create cultures rooted in trust, psychological safety, and healthy accountability
Build organizations that can thrive beyond their own tenure

These traits do not arise by chance. They are cultivated—through self-awareness, deliberate reflection, and a willingness to do the inner work of leadership. This program is designed to support that development. It provides the frameworks, insights, and structure to help leaders move beyond effectiveness toward enduring impact.

As the demands of leadership evolve, so must the leaders themselves. Level 5 Leadership is not just a lofty ideal—it’s a practical response to the challenges of our time. And it starts with the decision to lead differently.

From Elusive to Achievable: Developing Level 5 Leaders

When Jim Collins introduced the concept of Level 5 Leadership in his 2001 Harvard Business Review article and later in Good to Great, he made a bold and unsettling admission. While his research clearly showed that Level 5 leaders were essential to creating organizations that achieved sustained greatness, he wasn’t sure how to develop them.

In fact, Collins wryly noted that, “other than contracting cancer, going through a religious conversion, or getting different parents,” he didn’t know what reliably led to the emergence of Level 5 leaders. His comment was partly in jest—but it underscored a real and important limitation: at the time, the inner transformation required to become a Level 5 leader seemed mysterious, unpredictable, and out of reach for most leadership development efforts.

And for good reason.

Traditional leadership development programs have historically focused on outward behaviors—things like communication skills, delegation techniques, strategic thinking, and performance management. These are all important, but they tend to operate at the surface level. They help leaders do more effectively, but they don’t necessarily help leaders become something different.

Level 5 Leadership is different. It’s not just about learning how to lead better—it’s about evolving into a different kind of leader altogether. Level 5 leaders operate from a deeper foundation of humility, clarity, and internal discipline. They have reoriented their focus away from self and toward service. They lead not to be seen, but to build something that endures.

For years, the developmental path to that level of leadership was poorly understood. But over the past two decades, leadership researchers and practitioners have made significant progress in understanding what it takes to develop the internal capacity required for Level 5 leadership. We now know that this kind of transformation involves more than skills—it involves shifts in identity, purpose, and mindset.

It’s not about adding more tools to the leadership toolkit. It’s about rethinking the kind of leader you are becoming.

This program is designed to help you do just that. It draws on the most current thinking in leadership development, combining research-backed frameworks with intentional practices to help you cultivate the qualities that define Level 5 leadership. Through structured reflection, targeted exercises, and guided experiences, you will begin to uncover and reshape the internal drivers of your leadership.

Level 5 Leadership is no longer a mystery. It’s a path—and it’s one we will walk.

Beginning the Journey to Level 5 Leadership

This workshop marks the beginning of a transformative journey—one designed to help participants move beyond competence or charisma and begin developing the inner foundation required for Level 5 Leadership. Drawing from Jim Collins’s research, the workshop introduces the five levels of leadership, emphasizing the unique power of Level 5 leaders—those who combine deep personal humility with fierce professional will.

But this is more than a conceptual introduction. The workshop begins the real work of transformation.

Rather than focusing solely on outward leadership behaviors or techniques, this program shifts attention inward. It highlights that the most effective, influential leaders are those who develop not just their skills (the “Doing Side”) but also their character, mindset, and emotional maturity (the “Being Side”). Leaders cannot elevate others if they have not first elevated themselves.

Participants explore the difference between organizational power—based on authority—and personal power—based on trust and respect. They begin to understand that Level 5 leadership is not about commanding followership through position, but about becoming someone others want to follow. Through self-reflection and guided exercises, leaders examine their own tendencies, begin to uncover the roots of common leadership struggles (like micromanagement and conflict avoidance), and gain insight into how deeply internal patterns shape their external impact.

The workshop also begins to draw a clear contrast between Level 4 and Level 5 leadership. While Level 4 leaders often achieve impressive short-term results through vision and charisma, Level 5 leaders create lasting greatness by building cultures of psychological safety, healthy accountability, and long-term strategic focus.

Throughout the session, participants are introduced to practical frameworks, case studies, and exercises that challenge them to think differently about leadership. This isn’t just about becoming more effective—it’s about becoming more evolved.

This workshop initiates a process of internal elevation, preparing leaders to grow into the kind of person capable of transformational influence. The journey to Level 5 leadership begins here—with a commitment to developing both the heart and the habits of the most impactful leaders.

Module Conclusion

Level 5 leadership is not about a title, position, or specific set of technical skills. It is about developing the internal foundation that enables you to lead with deep humility, unwavering resolve, and a commitment to the long-term success of your teams and organizations.

This program is designed to guide you on that journey. By the end, you will not only have a greater understanding of Level 5 leadership, but you will have taken meaningful steps toward becoming the kind of leader who leaves a lasting, transformational impact.

Are you ready to embark on this journey toward Level 5 leadership? Let’s begin.

---

Exercise 1:2

In small groups, have each participant identify the aspect of Level 5 leadership that you most want to develop.
Have each group identify any shared insight or theme that came out of group conversations and share with the larger group.

Encourage participants to go beyond surface-level answers. Invite them to be candid about both their excitement and their uncertainty. This is an opportunity to model the humility and introspection that underpin Level 5 Leadership—and to start building the trust that will fuel deeper work ahead.

---

Course Manual 2: Lesson of Leadership

Defining Leadership

Knowing that the purpose of this program is to help us elevate as leaders, let’s start by defining what a leader is, defining what leadership is, and identifying the necessary attributes of great leaders.

What is Leadership? & What is a Leader?

While there are a wide range of definitions of leadership, the definition that we will prioritize is this:

Leadership is the use of power and influence to direct others to goal achievement.

This means that a leader is someone who uses power and influence to direct others to goal achievement.

This is a great definition of leadership because it implies that leadership is not about one’s position. Instead, leadership is about one’s ability to influence others. This suggests that one can be in a formal leadership positions, yet if they are unable to influence others toward goal achievement, then I am not sure we can consider them a leader. Further, this suggests that people who are not in formal leadership positions, if they are able to use their influence to help the group move toward goal achievement, then we can consider them to be a leader.

To repeat: Leadership is not about position, it is about one’s ability to influence.

This brings up the next question.

What are the necessary attributes of great leaders?

---

Exercise 2:1

Ask the group this question: “What are the necessary attributes of great leaders?”

Write the group’s answer down on a white board.

Try to go until there are at least 15 answers. Then state, “Don’t you think we could come up with a list of 100 different attributes?”

Then ask, “Isn’t this problematic?”

---

When we are presented with the idea that effective leadership requires acquiring dozens of different positive attributes, it makes leadership feel overwhelming.

But, the last thing we want leaders to feel is overwhelmed about their development. Leadership is hard enough.

So, it is helpful to simplify things and hone down our answer to this question into two fundamental attributes.

To do this, we need to go back to our definition of leadership, which identifies the two necessary attributes of leadership: “power” and “influence.”

If we want to become great leaders, we need power and influence.

Let’s define these terms:

Power is the potential to influence other people’s behavior.
Influence is securing the consent of others to work with you in accomplishing an objective.
Together, Power and Influence are gaining the consent and trust of others to be able to influence their beliefs and behaviors to accomplish an objective.

While power and influence are necessary for leadership, the quality of one’s leadership is dependent upon the type of power the leader primarily leads with. Let’s dive into this more deeply.

Two Different Types of Power

---

Exercise 2:2

Have individuals write down five people who have the ability to influence them, and why they have this influence?

After they write down these five people and why, ask for examples. Common examples might include:

My boss – because they can fire me
My spouse – because they love me
My children – because they are dependent on me
A friend – because they have been with me through hard times
My boss – because they have invested in me

Commonly, the same type of person will come up (like the boss example above), but the reason why differs. This is helpful to point out for making the following point.

---

As we go through this exercise, it is clear that different people have strong influence over us for different reasons. Sometimes, their power comes from being in a formal position—like a supervisor or team leader—but often, the most influential people don’t hold any official authority. That’s because power can come from different sources: organizational power and personal power.

Organizational Power: Authority-Based Power

Organizational power is derived from a person’s position within a hierarchy. It is power that is granted rather than earned, based on a formal role within an organization. This type of power allows leaders to set expectations, enforce rules, and make decisions that impact others. However, it is important to recognize that organizational power does not automatically result in respect, trust, or genuine influence—those must be developed separately.

There are three primary types of organizational power:

Authoritative Power – This type of power comes directly from one’s position in the hierarchy. It allows leaders to issue directives that others are expected to follow. For example, a manager might say, “Because I am your manager, you need to follow this procedure.” Similarly, a parent might say, “Because I am your parent, that’s why!” The effectiveness of authoritative power depends on compliance rather than genuine buy-in.
Reward Power – This power comes from the ability to offer incentives in exchange for desired behavior. A leader might say, “If you meet this sales target, you will receive a bonus.” Similarly, a parent might offer a treat to a child for eating their vegetables. Reward power can be effective in the short term, but if people are only motivated by incentives, they may not be genuinely engaged in their work or actions.
Coercive Power – This is power based on the threat of punishment. It forces compliance through fear of consequences. For instance, a manager might say, “If you miss another deadline, you’ll be put on probation.” A parent might warn, “If you don’t clean your room, you won’t be allowed to play with your friends.” While coercive power can ensure immediate compliance, it often leads to resentment, decreased morale, and a loss of trust over time.

There are three aspects about organizational power that are important to point out:

It requires a formal leadership position. If someone is not in an official role that grants them authority, they cannot rely on organizational power to influence others.
It compels compliance rather than inspiring voluntary action. People may follow because they have to, not because they believe in the leader’s vision.
Over time, a reliance on organizational power can have negative effects. Leaders who rely too heavily on their positional authority risk creating a culture of compliance rather than commitment. Employees may do the bare minimum required rather than striving for excellence. Trust can erode, and engagement can decline.

While organizational power is necessary in structured environments, it should not be the sole means of influence. Leaders and parents who predominantly lead through organizational power may get their employees or children to respond to their requests and direction in the short-term. But, in the long-term, these leaders and parents will not have a good relationship with their employees or children, and ultimately the employees and children will want to move away from their leaders or parents. Stated differently, organizational power may have some benefits in the short-term, but the long-term implications of relying primarily upon organizational power can be catastrophic.

This does not mean that leaders or parents cannot use organizational power. There will surely be times when organizational power is necessary. But, it should not be the primary power base that a leader leads from.

Personal Power: Influence Built on Trust and Respect

Unlike organizational power, personal power is not given—it is earned. It comes from who a person is, not the title they hold. Leaders with personal power influence others because people respect them, trust them, and genuinely want to follow them. This form of power creates more meaningful, lasting influence, because it fosters voluntary engagement rather than forced compliance.

There are two primary types of personal power:

Referent Power – This type of power comes from a leader’s character, values, and relationships. People with referent power are admired and respected, and others want to associate with them. Think of someone in your life—perhaps a mentor, teacher, or colleague—who commands respect not because of their title, but because of who they are. A historical example is Martin Luther King Jr., who did not hold a formal leadership position, yet inspired millions through his character, vision, and unwavering commitment to justice.
Expert Power – This type of power comes from knowledge, skill, and expertise. When someone possesses valuable insights or capabilities, others naturally seek their guidance. For example, a seasoned engineer may hold no formal leadership title but wields significant influence because of their deep technical expertise. Similarly, in a medical setting, a nurse with decades of experience may have more practical knowledge than a newer doctor, leading others to trust and seek their input.

There are three aspects about personal power that are important to point out:

It does not require a formal leadership position. People can develop and exercise personal power regardless of their rank or title.
It fosters voluntary followership. When people follow leaders with personal power, they do so because they want to—not because they feel forced to.
Over time, it strengthens relationships and enhances long-term influence. A leader who relies on personal power builds trust, loyalty, and engagement, making it easier to inspire lasting change.

---

---

The Pros and Cons of Organizational and Personal Power

Let’s now inspect these two different types of power more deeply.

In organizations, what type of power is most heavily relied upon? (They will answer “organizational power”)

Why is organizational power most commonly relied upon?

It is because organizational power:

Is easy to gain – All one needs to do is get promoted. It does not require that one change or improve.
Is easy to use – All one needs to do is lean into their position, offer rewards, or threaten punishment.
Results in immediate responses by others – People feel compelled to comply with the wielding of organizational power.

In all, organizational power requires relatively little of the leader. Again, all one needs to do is get promoted. They do not need to change anything about themselves.

On the other hand, personal power:

Is harder to gain – It requires that one change and improve to become someone other respect and want to be associated with.
Is harder to use – Personal power does not involve the use of leverage to get them to do something.
May not result in immediate responses by others – There is uncertainty with personal power. People will only respond if the personal power is wielded well and in a manner that serves the followers.

In all, personal power requires a lot of the leader. It requires them to change and improve to the degree that they become someone others want to follow.

Having learned about these types of power, now consider: Which type of power would you rather follow? (They will answer “personal power”)

The #1 Lesson of Leadership

This brings us to the #1 lesson of leadership, which will be foundational for this program. If we want to be an effective leader, we need to lead with personal power. Or, stated differently, if we want to be an effective leader, we need to become someone others want to follow.

Understanding the difference between organizational power and personal power is critical for leadership effectiveness. While organizational power may be necessary for maintaining order and structure, it alone is insufficient for creating a positive, high-performing culture. Leaders who rely solely on their authority may achieve compliance but will struggle to inspire genuine commitment.

On the other hand, personal power leads to deeper connections, greater motivation, and a sense of shared purpose. People are more likely to go the extra mile for a leader they respect and trust, rather than one they simply obey.

Knowing this, everything about this program is going to be focused on helping you become someone others want to follow. This program will help you in doing the hard work of improving and elevating yourself to become more of someone others want to follow. And, this program will help you to more effectively operate in a manner that will result in others wanting to follow you.

In the next module, we’ll start laying the foundation for how we go about becoming someone others want to follow.

Power Litmus Test

Before moving on, let’s now explore the degree to which you may be inclined to lead with organizational power versus personal power.

Consider this question: Do you think it is good or bad to develop close relationships to the people you lead?

What we have learned is that people who answer with, “bad,” primarily rely upon organizational power. Leaders who lead with organizational power like to keep their emotional distance from those that they lead because it allows them to better wield their organizational power. They feel it is difficult to be objective, administer rewards, and leverage punishments or threats if they are “too close” to the people they lead.

But, we have also learned that people who answer with, “good,” primarily rely upon personal power. For leaders who lead with personal power, it is necessary for them to develop great relationships with those they lead. By better knowing and understanding the people they lead, these leaders can better individualize their leadership to fully engage their employees in the organization’s purpose and mission.

---

Case Study 2:1

A great example of this is Phil Jackson, the former basketball coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Jackson understood that if he was going to get his players to perform at their highest levels and work effectively together, he would need to individualize his leadership to them. And, the only way he could do that is if he first developed close relationships to those that he led. An example of how he did this is that annually, he would select one book for each of his players to read. This was one way he felt he could help move and inspire his players uniquely. Had he given everyone the same book and had them read it, he recognizes it may have positively influenced some, but not all players would connect with it.

---

Module Conclusion

As we wrap up this module, it’s essential to reflect on the foundational lesson we’ve explored: leadership is not about position—it’s about influence. While organizational power can grant authority, true leadership is built on personal power, which comes from trust, respect, and the ability to inspire others to follow. Leaders who rely solely on their title or the use of rewards and punishments may achieve short-term compliance, but they will struggle to foster genuine engagement and long-term commitment.

The most effective leaders recognize that leadership is not about exerting control but about becoming someone others want to follow. This requires intentional personal development—enhancing our character, building strong relationships, and demonstrating expertise and authenticity in ways that naturally draw people toward us. While leading through personal power takes more effort and self-awareness, it yields stronger, more resilient teams and organizations.

As you move forward in this program, challenge yourself to assess how you are currently leading. Are you relying on organizational power, or are you actively developing the personal power that creates lasting influence? The journey to becoming a transformational leader is ongoing, and in the next module, we will begin laying the groundwork for how you can elevate yourself in ways that will inspire those around you. Leadership is not about demanding followership—it’s about earning it. Let’s continue this journey toward becoming leaders worth following.

---

Course Manual 3: The Two Sides of Ourselves

Doing Side/Being Side

Exercise 3:1

What do the following leaders have in common?


• Bobby Knight
• Sam Bankman-Fried
• Carly Fiorina
• Gordon Ramsay
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Bill Clinton
• Kenneth Lay
• Jeffrey Skilling

Participants will likely provide answers, like “they have all experienced success in business.”

But, they will also provide answers that relate to controversy surrounding their leadership.

These unique examples help set up an important point to be made next.

---

To help us understand how to develop personal power and become someone that others want to follow, we need to understand that there are two different sides of ourselves: Our Doing Side and our Being Side.

Our Doing Side is our level of talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The eight leaders presented earlier have demonstrated that they are all developed along their Doing Side, and these leaders have leveraged their Doing Side to reach a certain pinnacle of success.

We’ll define our Being Side more specifically later. But, for now, our Being Side represents the quality of our character, psyche, mindsets, and consciousness. Considering the eight leaders presented earlier, the controversy surrounding these leaders has much more to do with their Being Side than their Doing Side.

It is essential for us to get familiar with this framework because here is the reality: Most people are very familiar with their Doing Side; yet, most people are not very familiar with their Being Side. This is largely because most development efforts primarily focus on our Doing Side. Think about our education systems, athletic programs, and organizational development efforts. Almost 100 percent of their focus is on helping people expand out along their Doing Side. Very little attention is given to our Being Side.

This is unfortunate for at least three reasons:

First, our Being Side is directly connected to our personal power. Stated differently, the higher we are on our Being Side, the more we are someone that others want to follow.

Second, the higher our altitude along our Being Side, the more we can get out of our Doing Side. For example, if we have two people, and they both are equal on their Doing Side, it is the person who is higher on their Being Side that is going to be able to more effectively utilize their Doing Side skills and abilities.

Third, most leadership struggles are related to their Being Side as opposed to their Doing Side. For example, a significant portion of leadership struggles is connected to limitations in their emotional intelligence, and emotional intelligence is a Being Side ability, not a Doing Side ability.

Let’s step into this framework more deeply to help these two sides come to life more fully.

Low Doing/Low Being Quadrant

First, consider: Of the four quadrants, where do most people reside? The answer is the low/low quadrant. To explain this answer, let’s take each side at a time.

Let’s start with the Doing Side. Researchers studying top performers have found that in any given area of performance—think musicians, athletes, academics, leaders, etc.—if we look at the level of talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities across a population, what we will not find is a normal distribution, where most people have at a moderate level of skills and abilities and few people have low or high skills and abilities. Instead, what we will find is what is called a power law, or Pareto, distribution, which suggests that most people possess a low level of skills and abilities and very few have high levels of skills and abilities (but more than what would be expected under a normal distribution).

To bring this to life, let’s consider the distribution of musical ability across the population. It is safe to say that most people are near the left edge of the Doing Side, as most people do not know how to read music or play a musical instrument. If someone has taken two years of piano lessons, they are going to be further along the Doing Side than most people. But, they are still going to be far from the High Doing Side. It is only until a musician is very proficient with their instrument or vocal abilities that they will cross over into the High Doing Side. And the simple reality is the few people put in the effort to get to this High Doing Side level. Yet, on the extreme right edge of the Doing Side, you have a number of people who have won a lot of Grammy Awards. For example, Beyoncé has 32 Grammies, Sir Georg Solti has 31, Quincy Jones has 28, and Alison Krauss and Chick Corea both have 27. In fact, there are 18 people or bands who have won over 20 Grammy Awards. These are all outliers on their Doing Side, and make up the far right tail of the power-law distribution. This is far more than what would be expected under the normal distribution curve.

Next, let’s consider the Being Side.

The field of study most interested in understanding our Being Side is developmental psychology. Over the last 60 years, adult development psychologists have developed methods for assessing the quality and altitude of adults’ Being Side. Their research has revealed the following:

• Most adults, 64%, operate will low-quality psyche, mindsets, and consciousness.
• 35% of adults operate with moderate-quality psyche, mindsets, and consciousness.
• And, only 1% of adults operate with high-quality psyche, mindsets, and consciousness.

Workshop #2 will go into great depth on this research and these three Being Side levels, so we will hold off on that depth for now. But, just recognize that research has revealed that most people operate from a low Being Side altitude. And, these percentages also suggest the same power law distribution along the Being Side that we see along the Doing Side.

Thus, putting these two sides together, we can definitely state that most adults operate in the Low Doing/Low Being quadrant. And coming back to Collins’s leadership framework, this Low Doing/Low Being quadrant is where Level 3 leaders operate from. Research conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in partnership with adult development psychologists has found that only seven percent of leaders operate in this quadrant.

Now, if someone operates in the Low Doing/Low Being quadrant, does that make them a bad person? No. But if someone operates in the Low Doing/Low Being quadrant, it simply suggests that they are someone who, for both Doing Side and Being Side reasons, is more limited in their ability to meaningfully and significantly contribute to the environments they operate within compared to people who operate in the other quadrants.

Low Doing/High Being Quadrant

Second, what types of people operate in the Low Doing/High Being quadrant?

One answer might be “monks.”

Now, of course this is stereotypical, and surely monks can operate from any quadrant. But, Monks are generally considered to not have the talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities to lead an organization, suggesting that they are lower along their Doing Side.

But, monks are generally considered to stand out in their self-regulatory abilities. They have developed the skills to be mindful, present, and collected, particularly in times of stress or difficulty. And, these abilities are much more connected to one’s Being Side than one’s Doing Side.

It might be apt to state the following: We may not be willing to trust monks in matters of business, but we are generally willing to trust them in matters of life. This is because they possess wisdom about life, they have a high degree of character, and strong psyche and mindsets. And, as mentioned, they are extremely emotionally regulated. Nothing seems to faze them. They seem to operate in a space of deep mindfulness and consciousness. All of these attributes are indicative of someone who operates at a high Being Side level.

Consider for yourself: What percentage of the people that you know have developed strong self-regulatory abilities, such that they can stay mindful, present, conscious, and true to their values and purpose despite stress and difficulties? Research suggests that most people have not put in the effort to excel in these ways. Hence, only 1% of people operate with a high Being Side altitude.

High Doing/Low Being Quadrant

Third, what types of people operate in the High Doing/Low Being quadrant? Short answer: leaders.

Why is this the case? For starters, consider how most leaders are selected for leadership positions. Generally, people ascend into leadership roles because they have demonstrated exceptional Doing Side abilities—whether in sales, operations, project management, finance, or other domains. Organizations tend to reward and promote individuals who excel at executing tasks, meeting targets, and producing results. The logic is simple: if someone has been a high performer as an individual contributor or middle manager, they should be able to succeed at a higher level.

But does being a great task accomplisher necessarily mean that someone will be a great leader? Absolutely not. In fact, research suggests that many leaders struggle, not because they lack technical skills or business acumen (Doing Side abilities), but because they lack the Being Side development necessary for effective leadership.

To illustrate this, consider these shocking leadership statistics:

• Development Dimensions International reported that 60% of employees acknowledge that their boss damages their self-esteem.
• Positive change consultant Michelle McQuaid, Ph.D., found that 65% of employees said that having a better boss would make them happier than getting a pay raise.
• Gallup found that in the United States, a meager 36% of employees were found to be engaged in their work, and that managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement.

Gallup also reported that when it comes to performance reviews:

• Only 14% of employees strongly agree that the reviews they received inspired them to improve.
• Just 20% of employees strongly agree that their performance was managed in a way that motivated them to do outstanding work.
• Only 26% of employees strongly agreed that their manager continually helped them clarify priorities.

Hogan, a leadership assessment organization, reported that 75% of employees say that their immediate supervisor is the most stressful part of their job.

These statistics highlight a sobering reality: poor leadership is incredibly common. But why?

Is it more because:

Most leaders lack the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities to lead effectively?
Most leaders lack the Being Side sophistication to lead effectively?

While Doing Side deficiencies can certainly be a challenge, the evidence suggests that most leadership struggles stem from Being Side deficiencies.

The Reality of Level 4 Leadership

The High Doing/Low Being quadrant is where Level 4 leaders primarily operate. Research on leadership development suggests that 85% of leaders function at Level 4, meaning they are highly competent doers but lack the inner maturity to lead effectively. They might be sharp problem-solvers, strategic thinkers, or industry experts, but they often:

Struggle with emotional regulation and react impulsively under stress.
Lack self-awareness and fail to recognize how their behaviors impact their team.
Have rigid mindsets that prevent them from adapting to new perspectives.
Struggle to empower and develop others, focusing more on control and execution.

The reality is that being a talented individual contributor does not automatically translate to being a transformational leader. Leadership requires a different type of sophistication—one rooted in presence, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and wisdom.

Consider this: How many leaders do you know who embody the self-regulation, mindfulness, and wisdom of a Zen monk? The answer is likely very few.

This is not to say that leaders should aspire to monk-like detachment. However, they must cultivate the ability to self-reflect, regulate emotions, and engage with people in a way that fosters trust and psychological safety. Without this, even the most capable task-doers will struggle to build high-performing teams.

The Consequences of High Doing/Low Being Leadership

Leaders who operate primarily from the High Doing/Low Being quadrant can inadvertently create:

A Toxic Culture – Leaders who lack Being Side development often struggle with control, micromanagement, or emotional volatility, leading to fear-based cultures where employees feel disengaged.

High Burnout Rates – A leader who is highly task-driven but lacks emotional intelligence may push their team to exhaustion without considering the human costs.

Low Employee Engagement – As the Gallup statistics show, employees disengage when they feel unheard, unsupported, or undervalued—all of which stem from a leader’s Being Side deficiencies.

A Leadership Pipeline Problem – If organizations continue to promote leaders based solely on Doing Side accomplishments, they will perpetuate a cycle of ineffective leadership at every level.

The Path to a More Effective Leadership Approach

The good news is that Being Side development is not static—leaders can grow beyond the High Doing/Low Being quadrant. But doing so requires intentionality, self-awareness, and commitment to personal transformation. Leaders must shift from:

Commanding to Coaching – Moving from a directive leadership style to one that prioritizes developing others.
Control to Empowerment – Trusting their team rather than micromanaging every detail.
Reaction to Reflection – Taking time to pause, regulate emotions, and respond thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively.
Task-First to People-First – Recognizing that a leader’s success is measured not just by what they accomplish, but by how well they elevate those around them.

We’ll dive more deeply into these shifts, and others, throughout the course. This is because for leaders stuck in the High Doing/Low Being quadrant, developing self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and adaptability is not just an option—it is a necessity for sustained effectiveness, influence, and long-term impact.

High Doing/High Being Quadrant

Fourth, who are people and leaders who operate in the High Doing/High Being quadrant?

The people who operate in the High Doing/High Being quadrant are the most positively impactful leaders—those who not only achieve remarkable results but also inspire, uplift, and transform the people and organizations they lead. They are visionaries who understand that leadership is not just about achieving success but about making a lasting difference. These individuals embody a rare balance of action and character, seamlessly integrating their competencies with a deep sense of purpose, authenticity, and connection with others.

Think of figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Jacinda Ardern, Brené Brown, and Satya Nadella. These individuals have shaped history, changed cultures, and left enduring legacies. Their impact was not simply a result of their ability to strategize or execute plans; rather, it stemmed from their ability to inspire, empower, and elevate those around them.

Now, consider this: What was the foundation of their influence? Was it their Doing Side—their skills, strategies, and competencies—or was it their Being Side—their character, values, and presence? While their Doing Side was certainly well-developed, their true power and influence were deeply rooted in their Being Side. They cultivated self-awareness, integrity, resilience, and emotional intelligence, which allowed them to lead with conviction and create profound change.

Leaders who thrive in this quadrant are not simply task-oriented achievers; they are transformational figures who prioritize both results and relationships. They recognize that genuine leadership is not about commanding authority but about fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and shared purpose. Their ability to connect with others on a deeply human level makes them not only effective but also deeply respected and remembered.

The Being Side: The Differentiator of Great Leaders

Traditional leadership development often focuses on the Doing Side—improving knowledge, refining technical skills, and enhancing decision-making capabilities. While these elements are essential, they do not distinguish a great leader from a merely competent one. What truly separates extraordinary leaders is their Being Side—their mindset, emotional intelligence, and personal presence.

Great leaders possess qualities that cannot be acquired through technical training alone. These qualities must be cultivated internally through self-awareness, deep reflection, and intentional personal growth. The characteristics that define a leader in the High Doing/High Being quadrant include:

• Authenticity – They lead with honesty, transparency, and a deep sense of self. They do not put on a facade to gain influence; rather, they build trust by being genuine and consistent in their values and actions.

• Humility – They acknowledge their limitations and recognize that leadership is about service, not personal gain. Instead of seeking credit, they elevate those around them.

• Openness – They embrace new perspectives, welcome feedback, and remain adaptable in the face of change. Their willingness to learn and grow makes them more effective leaders.

• Vulnerability – They are not afraid to show their humanity. By acknowledging their struggles and imperfections, they create environments of psychological safety where others feel valued and empowered.

• Compassion – They lead with empathy, recognizing the needs and emotions of others. Their ability to connect on a human level fosters deep loyalty and commitment from their teams.

• Courage – They take principled stands and make difficult decisions, even when faced with opposition. Their courage is not reckless but rooted in conviction and integrity.

There are only some of the characteristics of truly elevated leadership. But, as you review these characteristics, consider: Are these characteristics developed through the focus on improving knowledge and skills (i.e., Doing Side development)? No!

These characteristics can only be developed through Being Side refinement.

Level 5 Leadership: A Rare but Attainable Standard

Unfortunately, great leaders that espouse these different characteristics are rare. But, these are the leaders Collins identifies as Level 5 leaders. In fact, PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that only 8% of executives operate at this level.

This means that there is a huge opportunity for organizations and us as leaders to focus on elevating to the Level 5 level and operate in this High Doing/High Being quadrant.

---

---

The Purpose of This Program: Elevating to High Doing/High Being Leadership

Now that you have clarity on this framework and how it relates to Level 5 leadership, we can now state that the purpose of this program is to help you elevate to lead and operate from the High Doing/High Being quadrant. This is not just about acquiring new skills—it is about deep personal transformation. It requires an ongoing commitment to refining your mindset, embracing self-awareness, and developing the internal attributes that define the world’s most effective leaders.

By investing in your Being Side alongside your Doing Side, you will not only enhance your ability to lead but also create a meaningful and lasting impact on those around you. The journey to becoming a High Doing/High Being leader is challenging, but the rewards—both personal and professional—are profound. This is the path to transformational leadership, and it is one that begins within.

---

Exercise 3:2

Now that you have stepped into this 2×2 framework, consider these two questions:

Are most leadership issues related to leaders’ Doing or Being Side?

Most will respond with “Being,” which is the correct answer. This isn’t to say that leaders can’t have issues with their Doing Side, but the majority of issues have to do less with their knowledge and skills and more to do with their ability to regulate themselves and rise above their fears and insecurities.

What side do most development efforts focus on?

Most will respond with “Doing,” which is the correct answer.

Recognizing the answer to these questions, introduces a few powerful takeaways:

What leaders most need help with is something that they are not getting from their standard development efforts.
When leaders engage in development focused on the Doing Side, such development can only be incrementally helpful, at best.
If leaders want to become someone that others want to follow, they need to focus on developing along their Being Side. Such development has the potential to be transformationally helpful.

---

Module Conclusion

Knowing of these takeaways, this program will primarily focus on helping you elevate along your Being Side. In the next workshop, we’ll dive into what this entails and we’ll also help you start assessing your altitude along your Being Side.

To set you up for being able to this, for the rest of this workshop, we will focus on helping you more deeply understand what our Being Side is. To start, during the next two modules, we’ll explore examples of poor leadership and exemplary leadership.

---

Course Manual 4: Common Leadership Issues

Exercise 4:1

In groups, have participants identify common leadership issues. Then, have them share some of their answers with the broader group.

Write the answers on a board.

The following leadership issues will likely come up:

Micromanagement
Lack of emotional intelligence
Avoidance of conflict
Lack of transparency
Saying one thing and doing another
Failure to build trust
Unfair practices
Inability to delegate
Neglecting employees and their development
Focusing solely on results

---

Leadership is often viewed through the lens of actions, decisions, and tangible results. However, beneath the surface, the most persistent leadership challenges stem not from a lack of skills or technical expertise but from deeper, internal factors that shape how leaders think, feel, and interact with others. In this module, we will examine three of the most prevalent leadership issues—micromanagement, deficiencies in emotional intelligence, and conflict avoidance—and explore why these challenges persist. By stepping into these common leadership pitfalls, we will uncover how they are more reflective of a leader’s Being Side than their Doing Side.

Jim Collins’s Level 5 Leadership framework highlights that the most effective leaders are those who transcend ego and personal insecurity, operating with a blend of deep humility and unwavering resolve. Yet, many leaders struggle to reach this level of effectiveness because they are hindered by self-protective tendencies. Micromanagement, for example, is not merely a flaw in delegation skills; it often arises from insecurities, perfectionist tendencies, and a fundamental lack of trust in others. Similarly, challenges with emotional intelligence are rarely due to a lack of training but instead stem from difficulties in self-regulation, heightened reactivity, and an underdeveloped capacity for empathy. Conflict avoidance, too, is not just about a lack of assertiveness training—it is deeply rooted in leaders’ fears, discomfort with confrontation, and the desire to protect their own emotional state.

Understanding these issues through the lens of the Being Side allows leaders to see that technical skills and management techniques alone are insufficient for addressing their leadership shortcomings. Instead, sustainable growth requires internal development—enhancing self-awareness, emotional stability, and the ability to navigate discomfort. By focusing on self-exploration rather than quick-fix strategies, leaders can begin to transform how they lead, shifting from control to trust, from reactivity to intentionality, and from avoidance to courageous engagement.

This module will challenge leaders to move beyond surface-level solutions and instead explore the underlying causes of their leadership struggles. Through this process, we will highlight how true leadership effectiveness is not defined solely by what leaders do, but by who they are. By developing a deeper awareness of their Being Side, leaders can unlock new levels of growth, impact, and effectiveness, fostering healthier teams and organizations in the process.

Micromanagement

Why is it that leaders micromanage? Is it more because they have deficiencies in their Doing Side (i.e., lack talent, knowledge, skills, or abilities), or is it more because they have deficiencies in their Being Side?

Micromanagement, at its core, stems from personal insecurities. When leaders feel insecure, they are prone to exert more control over their teams, processes, and outcomes. While they may believe that this approach ensures success, it often undermines trust, stifles creativity, and reduces engagement among their employees.

Common insecurities that lead to leaders exerting micromanaging control include:

A lack of trust

Leaders may not fully trust their team members to perform tasks to their expectations, either due to past experiences, unfounded assumptions, or a general reluctance to delegate. This lack of trust leads to excessive oversight, intervention, and the tendency to double-check everything.

Fear of failure

In high-stakes environments or under intense pressure, leaders who fear failure often try to control every detail, believing that doing so minimizes risks. They may feel that their personal involvement is necessary to ensure success, unintentionally signaling to their team that they do not trust them to perform effectively.

Perfectionism

Leaders who are perfectionists struggle to delegate because they believe their way is the only “right” way to do things. They focus excessively on small details rather than trusting the process, the team’s capabilities, or the potential for learning through iteration.

Early career insecurity

Many leaders are promoted because of their technical expertise rather than their leadership skills. As a result, they may find it difficult to shift from being an individual contributor to managing others. Without strong leadership training or mindset development, they may default to micromanaging because it feels familiar and gives them a sense of control.

Fear of problems or mistakes

Leaders who have experienced mistakes or underperformance in their teams may overcorrect by exerting excessive control. Rather than focusing on developing their team’s ability to handle challenges, they try to eliminate problems by managing every aspect of their work.

Desire for visibility or credit

Leaders who seek recognition or visibility may micromanage to ensure they are closely involved in all aspects of the work. By staying involved in every detail, they may believe they can ensure their contributions are noticeable, sometimes at the expense of empowering their team.

The Self-Protective Nature of Micromanagement

When leaders operate from these insecurities, their micromanagement is not necessarily malicious. In fact, it is often well-intended. They believe they are ensuring high standards, mitigating risks, or setting up their teams for success. However, at its core, micromanagement is a self-protective approach to leadership.

Micromanagement helps the leader feel more secure. By keeping a tight grip on tasks, decisions, and execution, the leader momentarily soothes their own fears and anxieties. They gain a sense of control that makes them feel more comfortable. Yet, this comes at a cost—one that is often invisible to the leader but painfully obvious to those they manage.

The Collateral Damage of Micromanagement

While micromanagement may offer leaders short-term relief, it creates long-term dysfunction in their teams and organizations. It stifles employee autonomy, reducing motivation and engagement. Employees who are micromanaged often feel demoralized, as their contributions are constantly questioned or overridden. Over time, this erodes trust, making team members less likely to take initiative, think creatively, or invest in their work.

Additionally, micromanaged teams tend to experience:

Reduced innovation – When employees are not trusted to make decisions, they stop thinking creatively and simply follow orders.
Increased burnout – Both the micromanaging leader and their employees experience heightened stress due to excessive oversight and lack of empowerment.
Slower decision-making – When every decision has to go through a single leader, bottlenecks form, reducing the organization’s agility and efficiency.
Higher turnover – Talented employees who feel stifled and disempowered are more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Shifting from Control to Trust

By recognizing that micromanagement is rooted in the Being Side rather than the Doing Side, leaders can begin to shift their approach. Instead of focusing on controlling their environment, they can focus on developing greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and trust in their team.

This requires internal work, such as:

Examining their fears – Leaders should reflect on what they are afraid will happen if they loosen their grip. Often, these fears are exaggerated or based on past experiences that are no longer relevant.
Building trust intentionally – Leaders can work on trusting their team by setting clear expectations, providing guidance without excessive oversight, and allowing space for learning from mistakes.
Reframing failure as growth – Instead of seeing mistakes as threats, leaders should view them as opportunities for learning, both for themselves and their teams.
Practicing delegation – Delegation is not just about offloading tasks; it is about empowering team members and giving them ownership over meaningful work.

Ultimately, leaders must recognize that the antidote to micromanagement is not just better delegation strategies—it is a transformation in how they see themselves and their role as leaders. True leadership comes not from controlling every detail but from fostering an environment of trust, empowerment, and growth.

Issues with Emotional Intelligence

The framework that I like best for defining emotional intelligence is below. It identifies that there are four factors of emotional intelligence:

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Management

---

---

When leaders possess low levels of emotional intelligence, they commonly misstep in the following ways:

• Poor communication – They fail to recognize how their tone, words, or timing affect others, leading to misunderstandings or resentment.

• Lack of empathy – They struggle to understand or validate the emotions and experiences of others, leading to disconnection and alienation.

• Inability to manage emotions – Leaders with low EI often react impulsively or inappropriately, such as showing anger, frustration, or defensiveness.

• Difficulty building relationships – They may come across as cold, unapproachable, or overly transactional, which hinders meaningful relationships with team members and peers.

• Avoidance of difficult conversations – Low-EI leaders often shy away from addressing conflicts or providing constructive feedback, fearing emotional discomfort.

• Blame others – They deflect responsibility for mistakes onto others instead of owning up to their own role, damaging their credibility and demoralizing the team.

• Resistance to feedback – They may react defensively to constructive criticism, viewing it as a threat rather than an opportunity for growth.

• Overly controlling behavior – Their inability to trust others’ abilities leads to micromanagement, which stifles creativity, initiative, and morale.

• Ignoring team morale and well-being – They fail to recognize when team members are stressed, disengaged, or burnt out, leading to high turnover and reduced productivity.

Is a Lack of Emotional Intelligence a Doing Side or Being Side Issue?

Now, is a lack of emotional intelligence and these common missteps more of a result of leaders’ Doing Side or Being Side?

While emotional intelligence is commonly thought of as a skill, neuroscience research suggests a different perspective.

Emotional intelligence is not primarily a Doing Side ability (a set of learned skills) but rather a reflection of the quality of a leader’s internal wiring—their Being Side.

Issues with emotional intelligence have more to do with the functionality of certain brain regions than a lack of skill.

Studies in neuroscience indicate that emotional intelligence is largely governed by the brain’s limbic system, particularly regions such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.

When a leader struggles with emotional intelligence, it is often due to an overactive threat response (amygdala hijack), which makes them reactive rather than reflective.

The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-order thinking, emotional regulation, and perspective-taking, is often underdeveloped in individuals with low EI.

This means that traditional efforts to improve EI through skills-based training (such as communication techniques or empathy exercises) are often ineffective because they do not address the root cause—the leader’s internal capacity to regulate themselves.

The Role of Self-Regulation and Emotional Maturity

Emotional intelligence is closely tied to self-regulation, which is a Being Side attribute.

A leader with high EI is not just skilled at recognizing emotions in others; they have also cultivated a level of inner stability and emotional maturity that allows them to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.

Leaders with low EI often lack this internal stability, making them more prone to defensiveness, blame, and avoidance.

Why Traditional EI Development Efforts Fall Short

Because emotional intelligence has more to do with internal regulation than external skill, conventional leadership development programs that focus on EI often miss the mark.

Teaching leaders to “listen better” or “use more empathetic language” does not address the underlying neurological and psychological factors that cause their struggles with EI in the first place.

Leaders who struggle with empathy, emotional regulation, or social awareness don’t necessarily lack knowledge of these concepts—they lack the internal capacity to embody them in real-time situations.

This is why a leader can attend multiple EI training sessions, intellectually understand the importance of emotional intelligence, yet still fail to apply it effectively when under stress, pressure, or conflict.

Avoidance of Conflict

The following are commonly instances where leaders avoid conflict, why they avoid the conflict, and some of the negative implications for such avoidance:

Addressing underperformance
Why: One possesses the fear of damaging relationships or causing emotional discomfort for themselves or the employee.

Negative implications:

• Reduced Team Morale: High-performing team members may feel frustrated and demotivated if they perceive that underperformance is tolerated.
• Lower Standards: The team’s overall productivity and quality of work may decline as poor performance goes unchecked.

Resolving interpersonal conflicts
Why: One doesn’t want to experience the discomfort associated with mediating emotional tensions.

Negative implications:

• Toxic Work Environment: Tensions can escalate, leading to hostility, reduced collaboration, and factionalism.
• Loss of Trust: Team members may lose confidence in the leader’s ability to manage the team effectively.
• Decreased Productivity: Energy and focus are diverted from tasks to interpersonal drama.

Responding to Team Resistance to Change
Why: One wants to avoid pushback, disruptions, and distractions.

Negative implications:

• Implementation Failure: Resistance can grow unchecked, derailing change initiatives.
• Lack of agility: Teams may become stuck in outdated or inefficient processes.

Handling Ethical Violations or Misconduct
Why: One possesses fears of losing a top performer, creating a scene, or damaging the violator’s reputation.

Negative implications:

• Culture Erosion: Employees may believe unethical behavior is tolerated, leading to more violations.
• Legal and Financial Risks: Ignoring misconduct could result in regulatory penalties or lawsuits.
• Reputation Risk: The organization’s integrity may be called into question if violations go unaddressed.

Often leaders possess the skills to deal with conflict (i.e., they have Doing Side abilities). The primary reason why leaders avoid conflict has much more to do with their Being Side deficiencies.

To make this come to life, consider the theme across these examples: Leaders who avoid conflict are generally seeking to protect their own comfort and emotions. This is a self-protective strategy that helps them feel better in the moment of conflict, but it is also a strategy that has significant negative implications for them, those they lead, and the organizational down the road.

Viewed from this lens, it suggests that most leaders avoid conflict because of their own insecurities, fears, and self-regulatory abilities, all connected to a leaders’ Being Side.

---

Exercise 4:2

Leveraging Exercise 4.1, divide the room up into groups. Have each group identify one of the common issues not discussed yet. Direct each group to explore the following:

Why do leaders commonly engage in this issue?
How does this issue help the leader in the short term? (Generally it helps them in self-protective ways)
How does this issue hurt the leader in the long term?
Does that issue have to do more with leaders Being Side or Doing Side? Why?

---

Module Conclusion

As we conclude this module, it becomes clear that the most persistent leadership challenges—micromanagement, deficiencies in emotional intelligence, and conflict avoidance—are not merely gaps in skill but reflections of a leader’s internal state. These issues arise from fears, insecurities, and self-protective tendencies that shape how leaders interact with their teams and organizations. Recognizing that leadership effectiveness is more about who we are than simply what we do is the first step toward meaningful and sustainable growth.

True leadership transformation requires an intentional focus on the Being Side. Leaders who develop greater self-awareness, emotional resilience, and trust in others create environments where innovation, collaboration, and accountability thrive. By addressing the root causes of these leadership struggles, rather than just their surface symptoms, leaders can cultivate a more authentic, empowered, and effective approach to guiding their teams. The path to Level 5 Leadership is not about mastering more skills—it is about evolving into the kind of leader who inspires lasting impact through personal growth and deepened relational capacity.

Next, let’s explore exemplary leadership.

---

Course Manual 5: Exemplary Leadership

In the last module, we effectively explored poor leadership. In this module, we’ll explore exemplary leadership.

Case Study 5:1 – Microsoft

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft is a Level 5 leader. He began his CEO tenure in 2014, after Steve Ballmer stepped down.

During Steve Ballmer’s CEO tenure from 2000-2014, Microsoft largely stayed stagnant, with their stock price staying roughly the same during that time frame. And, this was at a time when Microsoft’s major competitors, like Apple and Amazon were experiencing significant growth in their valuation.

At the time of the leadership transition to Satya Nadella, market experts agreed on two points: (1) Microsoft needed a massive transformation to stay viable in the marketplace, and (2) transforming Microsoft may be an impossible task.

Fast forward, ten years later, and Microsoft’s stock price is up over eight times and Microsoft has one of the largest market capitalizations of any organization in the world (from $300 billion to $2 trillion). Satya Nadella indeed transformed Microsoft, and he is regularly recognized as one of the best business leaders in the world.

What makes Satya Nadella such a great leader? Is it because he has certain talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities that others do not? Unlikely. In fact, if you compare Steve Ballmer and Satya Nadella, both of them have very similar backgrounds and rose up through Microsoft in similar positions. It is likely that their talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities are similar.

So, what has allowed Satya Nadella to be more effective as a leader?

Here are some key differences:

---

---

What do you think, do these differences have more to do with their Doing Sides or their Being Sides?

Possessing a short-term focus, engaging in controlling leadership, lacking empathy and adaptability, and failing to prioritize purpose, mission, and meaning generally does not occur because of a lack of talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities? These issues are the result of leading from a place of fear and insecurity.

Being a leader who focuses on long-term value creation, empowerment, empathy, growth mindset, and meaning is a signal that one is very cognitively and emotionally sophisticated, indicative of Level 5 leadership.

In fact, consider a difficult situation that occurred early in Satya Nadella’s tenure.

In 2016, Microsoft researchers unveiled an artificial intelligence-based chatbot called Tay. Upon releasing Tay to the public, Twitter trolls discovered that if they sent Tay racist, sexist, and other hateful messaging, Tay would regurgitate this messaging. It was a public relations nightmare for Microsoft.

Given what you know about Steve Ballmer, how do you think he would have handled this situation? It wouldn’t surprise me if he sought to fire the leaders of the project.

What did Satya Nadella do? Despite the setback, Nadella did not come down hard on the project’s leaders. Instead, he sent them a message that said, “Keep pushing, and know that I am with you.”

Satya Nadella created space for failure, problems, and mistakes, all things that Steve Ballmer sought to avoid. This is strong evidence that Nadella operates at a high Being Side altitude. He recognizes that if they are going to push the limits and be on the cutting-edge, failure, problems, and mistakes are inevitable, and a strong signal that they are right where they want to be. So, when failure, problems, and mistakes come up, he does not get angry or scared. Instead, he encourages with empathy and a growth mindset.

Throughout this program, we will continually come back to Satya Nadella as an exemplar of Level 5 leadership.

---

Let’s now build off this case study and explore (1) key characteristics of exemplary leaders, and (2) key differences between Level 4 leaders and Level 5 leaders. From there, we’ll dive into the rareness and importance of exemplary leadership.

Characteristics of Exemplary Leaders

As a group, come up with some of the most valuable and important characteristics of exemplary leaders. Consider the traits that make leaders not just effective, but transformational.

It is likely the following characteristics will come up as part of your discussion. Let’s dive into each and their connection to one’s Being Side.

Humility

Humility is the ability to recognize that leadership is not about personal status or recognition, but about serving a greater mission. Exemplary leaders demonstrate humility by prioritizing the success of their teams over their own ego. They openly acknowledge mistakes, seek feedback, and remain teachable. This quality fosters trust, encourages collaboration, and creates a culture where employees feel valued and empowered.

Resilience

Resilience is the capacity to navigate adversity, setbacks, and challenges without losing focus or determination. Exemplary leaders remain steady under pressure, learning from failures rather than being discouraged by them. Their resilience helps organizations withstand turbulence, inspiring teams to stay committed and motivated even in the face of uncertainty.

Patience

Patience in leadership means understanding that meaningful change takes time. Exemplary leaders are willing to invest in long-term growth rather than seeking immediate rewards. They recognize that cultivating strong cultures, developing people, and achieving transformational outcomes require perseverance and commitment. By practicing patience, they make more thoughtful decisions and create environments where sustainable success is possible.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability is often seen as a weakness, but for exemplary leaders, it is a powerful strength. When leaders are open about their challenges, uncertainties, and learning experiences, they create an atmosphere of psychological safety. Vulnerability fosters authentic relationships, encourages open communication, and builds trust within teams. It also allows leaders to connect on a human level, making them more relatable and inspiring.

Courage

Exemplary leaders display courage by making difficult decisions, standing by their values, and taking risks that align with their mission. They are unafraid to challenge the status quo, advocate for change, and confront uncomfortable truths. Courageous leadership is essential for innovation and long-term success, as it enables organizations to evolve and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Exemplary leaders listen deeply, recognize different perspectives, and prioritize the well-being of their people. Empathy fosters strong relationships, enhances collaboration, and ensures that decisions are made with consideration for those affected. When leaders lead with empathy, they cultivate loyalty, trust, and a more engaged workforce.

Being Side vs. Doing Side Reflection

Now, let’s take a moment to reflect on the characteristics we just explored. Which of these qualities do you think fall under the Being Side of leadership, and which belong to the Doing Side?

Discuss as a group and categorize each characteristic. Pay attention to how these traits shape a leader’s mindset, identity, and approach rather than just their actions.

The defining characteristics of exemplary leaders—humility, resilience, patience, vulnerability, courage, and empathy—are all aspects of the Being Side of leadership. These are not just skills that leaders practice but fundamental ways of being that shape their effectiveness.

By developing their Being Side, leaders elevate their ability to inspire, empower, and create lasting impact within their organizations.

Key Differences Between Level 4 Leaders and Level 5 Leaders

Throughout this program, we will dive deeply into many of the key differences between Level 5 and Level 4 leaders. But for now, let’s highlight some of the key differences, according to Jim Collins:

---

---

Leading from Ego vs. Leading from Mission

A defining characteristic of Level 4 leaders is their tendency to lead from a place of personal ego. Their leadership approach is often fueled by their desire for personal success, recognition, and influence. While this can drive strong short-term results, it frequently leads to decisions that prioritize personal gain over the greater good of the organization. Ego-driven leadership can also create a competitive rather than collaborative environment, as such leaders may seek to elevate their own standing rather than fostering collective growth.

In contrast, Level 5 leaders operate from a place prioritizing the organizational mission. Their primary focus is not on personal accolades but on creating lasting value for their stakeholders. This requires humility, a trait that allows them to put the organization’s long-term success ahead of their immediate personal interests. By leading with mission over ego, Level 5 leaders cultivate a sense of shared purpose, ensuring that employees are motivated by a deeper commitment rather than by fear or the desire to appease leadership.

Short-Term Results vs. Long-Term Success

Level 4 leaders are often fixated on achieving short-term results, as these provide tangible evidence of their success and justify their leadership. This ambition can drive performance but often comes at the cost of sustainable growth. The focus on immediate wins can lead to decisions that sacrifice long-term stability, such as cutting costs at the expense of employee development or prioritizing short-term financial gains over long-term innovation.

On the other hand, Level 5 leaders exhibit an unrelenting will to do what is best for the organization, even when it means making sacrifices in the short term. They understand that long-term success requires patience, resilience, and a willingness to endure setbacks for greater future rewards. By maintaining a vision beyond immediate results, they build organizations that not only perform well today but also remain resilient and competitive over time.

Authority and Micromanagement vs. Purpose and Empowerment

A common approach for Level 4 leaders is to exert control through authority, charisma, and micromanagement. They often believe that their direct involvement is essential for achieving results and may struggle to delegate responsibilities effectively. This hands-on approach can create dependency, stifle innovation, and limit the development of other leaders within the organization.

Conversely, Level 5 leaders rely on purpose, inspiration, and quiet strength to empower their teams. They recognize that sustainable success is achieved through the collective efforts of a highly motivated workforce. Rather than controlling every aspect of execution, they foster an environment of trust, autonomy, and accountability. By instilling a strong sense of purpose, they enable their teams to operate with confidence and creativity, driving superior results without excessive oversight.

Lack of Succession Planning vs. Investment in Future Leaders

Level 4 leaders often overlook the importance of succession planning and organizational sustainability. Their primary concern is typically their own performance and legacy, leading them to view leadership development as a secondary priority. As a result, they may fail to groom successors or establish robust systems that ensure continuity, leaving the organization vulnerable when they depart.

In contrast, Level 5 leaders take a proactive and intentional approach to developing future leaders. They recognize that their success is measured not just by what they achieve personally but by the enduring strength of the organization after they leave. They dedicate time and resources to mentoring emerging leaders, cultivating a leadership pipeline, and establishing systems that foster long-term growth. This commitment ensures that their impact extends well beyond their tenure.

Hold Tightly to the Past vs. Grab Ahold of the Future

Level 4 leaders often operate with a fixed mindset, preferring to rely on established methods and past successes. Their reluctance to embrace change can hinder innovation and adaptability, leaving their organizations vulnerable to shifting market dynamics. This resistance to change can also create a culture of complacency, where employees feel discouraged from experimenting and pushing boundaries.

Level 5 leaders, on the other hand, embrace a growth mindset. They actively seek opportunities for learning, innovation, and continuous improvement. Their openness to new ideas fosters a culture of adaptability, ensuring that the organization remains agile and forward-thinking. By encouraging experimentation and constructive failure, they cultivate an environment where employees feel empowered to drive meaningful progress.

By understanding and embodying the principles of Level 5 leadership, organizations can cultivate a leadership culture that prioritizes long-term success, collective empowerment, and sustained growth. The shift from Level 4 to Level 5 leadership is not merely about acquiring new skills but about fundamentally transforming one’s approach to leadership and organizational stewardship.

Do you sense some of these differences between Steve Ballmer and Satya Nadella.

---

Exercise 5:1

In small groups, answer the following questions:

Do the differences between Level 4 and Level 5 leaders seem to be connected more to one’s Doing Side or Being Side?
Which of these differences do you feel are the most significant for leadership effectiveness?
Who are examples of Level 5 leaders that you are aware of?

---

Case Study 5:2 – Indra Nooyi

Below is a description of Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo.

Use the table above, to determine if she operated more as a Level 4 or Level 5 leader.

Indra Nooyi served as PepsiCo’s CEO from 2006 to 2018. Nooyi took the helm at PepsiCo during a time of growing concerns over health, environmental sustainability, and shifting consumer preferences. She foresaw the decline in demand for traditional snack foods and beverages, pushing the company to diversify its product portfolio with healthier offerings, such as Quaker Oats and Tropicana. Nooyi introduced the “Performance with Purpose” strategy, which integrated financial performance with environmental and social sustainability. This approach balanced shareholder expectations with societal needs, showing her ability to manage complex, interconnected challenges. She faced criticism and pushback for shifting PepsiCo’s focus toward health and sustainability but maintained her commitment to long-term value creation. She demonstrated unwavering resolve in pursuing a bold transformation, even when it meant taking difficult and unpopular decisions.

Nooyi was known for her deep personal connection with employees and stakeholders. For instance, she wrote handwritten thank-you notes to employees’ families, recognizing their support in their loved ones’ careers. Nooyi fostered a culture of collaboration and inclusivity, encouraging diverse perspectives and creating a workplace where employees felt valued and empowered. Despite her high-profile role, Nooyi consistently deflected credit to her team and emphasized the collective effort behind PepsiCo’s success.

Under Nooyi’s leadership, PepsiCo’s revenues grew by more than 80%, and its market capitalization rose significantly. The “Performance with Purpose” strategy established PepsiCo as a leader in corporate sustainability, influencing industry standards. She successfully repositioned PepsiCo as a forward-thinking organization with a diversified portfolio, reducing reliance on traditional snack and soda products.

What of this information stands out to you as being the most aligned with Level 5 leadership? Why?

Indra Nooyi’s tenure at PepsiCo demonstrates how a leader can balance cognitive complexity with emotional intelligence to navigate challenges and drive meaningful change. Her blend of visionary thinking, humility, and resilience exemplifies the qualities of a vertically developed and Level 5 leader.

---

In this module, Satya Nadella and Indra Nooyi have been featured as examples of Level 5 leaders, which, again, only make up approximately 8% of leaders. While Level 5 leadership is rare, the effects are profound. Namely, Level 5 leaders create a competitive advantage and they operate as force multipliers.

Why Exemplary Leadership Creates a Competitive Advantage

Exemplary leadership isn’t just a higher level of leadership—it’s a strategic advantage. While many leaders focus on maximizing efficiency, controlling outcomes, or driving short-term performance, Level 5 leaders unlock a deeper, more sustainable form of success. Their ability to lead from purpose, humility, and conviction creates advantages that extend far beyond individual decision-making.

1. They Unlock Innovation

Exemplary leaders don’t just execute the status quo; they create environments where people feel safe to experiment, challenge assumptions, and push boundaries. They encourage a culture of curiosity and adaptability, ensuring that their organizations remain at the forefront of change rather than reacting to it. By focusing on long-term value creation rather than short-term results, they foster the kind of risk-taking that leads to breakthrough innovations.

2. They Retain and Inspire the Best Talent

People don’t just work for exemplary leaders—they are inspired by them. Unlike leaders who rely on authority or fear, exemplary leaders create meaning and purpose. They cultivate an intrinsically motivated workforce, where people feel a deep connection to their work and the organization’s mission. As a result, these leaders attract and retain top talent, reducing turnover and increasing engagement.

3. They Make Organizations More Resilient

Turbulent times expose the true strength of an organization, and exemplary leaders are uniquely equipped to navigate uncertainty without reactivity. Rather than making fear-based decisions, they operate with a deep conviction in their purpose and long-term vision. They create cultures that are flexible, adaptable, and emotionally strong, ensuring their organizations not only survive but thrive in changing environments.

4. They Redefine Success

Level 4 leaders often measure success through personal achievement and short-term wins. Level 5 leaders, in contrast, redefine success beyond themselves. They think in decades, not quarters. They measure their success not just in financial results, but in the strength of the organization’s culture, people, and long-term impact. By taking a broader view of success, they ensure that their leadership leaves a lasting mark.

Exemplary Leadership as a Force Multiplier

One of the most defining characteristics of exemplary leadership is its ability to amplify the success of everyone around the leader. While Level 4 leaders often rely on personal effort, control, and authority, Level 5 leaders shift the focus away from themselves. Instead of doing more, they bring out more in others. Instead of commanding, they inspire followership. Instead of creating dependency, they create self-sustaining momentum.

1. They Expand the Capacity of Others

Level 4 leaders often believe they must be at the center of every decision. In contrast, exemplary leaders expand the decision-making ability of their teams, equipping others to take ownership and responsibility. They provide guidance, but they don’t micromanage. This allows their organizations to operate at a much higher level of effectiveness than a single leader ever could.

2. They Create a Culture of Ownership

Exemplary leaders cultivate leaders, not followers. By building trust and setting clear expectations, they empower their teams to step up, take risks, and drive the organization forward. This distributed leadership approach creates a sense of ownership at every level, ensuring that performance and momentum do not depend on a single person.

3. They Elevate the Collective Intelligence of Their Organizations

Rather than relying on their own ideas or expertise, Level 5 leaders tap into the collective wisdom of their teams. They ask great questions, encourage diverse perspectives, and listen deeply before making decisions. This approach results in better solutions, stronger collaboration, and a more engaged workforce.

4. Their Impact Outlasts Their Tenure

Because Level 5 leaders focus on empowering others rather than accumulating personal accolades, their influence continues even after they leave. They build cultures, systems, and leaders that sustain their organization’s success for years to come. This is the true mark of exemplary leadership: success that continues beyond the leader’s direct involvement.

---

Exercise 5:2

To help participants internalize the difference between Level 4 and Level 5 leadership by applying the concepts to real-world leadership scenarios.

Format:

Break into small groups (3–5 people).
For each scenario, read the situation aloud.
Discuss and capture:

How a Level 4 leader would likely respond
How a Level 5 leader would likely respond
The likely impact of each approach on the individual, the team, and the culture

Be ready to share insights with the larger group

Scenario 1: The Public Mistake

A team member makes a significant mistake during a client presentation. It reflects poorly on the team, and you notice several people on the client side visibly lose confidence.

Discuss:

How might a Level 4 leader address this immediately and in the aftermath?
How might a Level 5 leader approach the moment and the follow-up?
What message would each leader send to the rest of the team?

Scenario 2: The Missed Deadline

A key project deadline is missed by one of your direct reports. When you investigate, you find the employee has been overwhelmed but didn’t speak up or ask for support. The delay is frustrating and has ripple effects across teams.

Discuss:

What would a Level 4 leader likely prioritize in this situation? How would they respond to the employee?
How might a Level 5 leader view the issue differently—and what would they do or say?
What impact would each approach have on psychological safety and future communication?

Scenario 3: The Rising Star

One of your high-performing team members is showing signs of disengagement. They’ve hinted that they don’t feel challenged and are considering opportunities elsewhere. You value them and don’t want to lose them.

Discuss:

How might a Level 4 leader respond to keep this person on the team?
How would a Level 5 leader think about the opportunity—not just for retention, but for development and alignment?
What long-term consequences might each style of response create for the team or organization?

Facilitator Tip:

After each scenario, prompt groups to reflect on:

What mindset underlies each leader’s response?
How does humility or long-term focus show up?
Which approach fosters deeper trust, accountability, and cultural health?

---

Module Conclusion

Now that there has been coverage on a variety of Level 5 leaders, let’s come back to a core question: Does the effectiveness of these leaders seem to be connected more to the leaders’ Doing Side or Being Side?

Surely, leaders’ Doing Side has helped them to be effective, but it is their Being Side that they have leveraged to have the positive and uplifting impact that they have had.

For the rest of this workshop, we will be focusing deeply on what our Being Side is.

---

Course Manual 6: What is Our Being Side?

Defining Our Being Side

Earlier in the Workshop, it was suggested that our Being Side represents the quality of our character, psyche, mindsets, and consciousness. But, we have not yet formally defined what our Being Side is. We will take a big step toward doing that in this module.

Let’s start with an analogy, using a computer: Does a computer have something that controls and regulates its operation, something that operates automatically, undergirds everything it does, and contains programming that it is prone to replicate?

The answer is, “yes.” The aspect of a computer that does all these things is the computer’s operating system.

Now, consider people. What do you think? Do people have an internal operating system that:

Controls and regulates their operation,
Operate automatically,
Undergirds everything that they do, and
Contains programming that they are prone to replicate?

Again, the answer is, “yes.”

We all have an internal operating system, and our Being Side represents the quality of our internal operating system. And, the degree to which our internal operating system contains programming for value creation as opposed to self-protection determines the quality of our internal operating system and altitude along our Being Side.

What is Our Internal Operating System?

We all possess an internal operating system. At its core, our internal operating system is the subconscious framework that governs how we perceive, interpret, and respond to the world around us. It functions as an automatic guidance system, filtering our experiences, shaping our emotional reactions, and directing our behaviors—often without our conscious awareness.

Much like a computer’s operating system, which processes inputs and generates outputs according to its programming, our internal operating system takes in information from our environment, processes it through our pre-established mental frameworks, and then produces corresponding reactions. The quality of this internal programming directly influences our ability to navigate complexity, manage relationships, and lead effectively.

The Role of the Nervous System in Our Internal Operating System

Our internal operating system is deeply intertwined with our nervous system, which is designed to maintain our well-being by regulating our responses to external stimuli. Neuroscientific research suggests that much of our decision-making and emotional regulation happens below the level of conscious thought. The autonomic nervous system, particularly through the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) responses, plays a crucial role in shaping our automatic reactions to stress, challenge, and uncertainty.

For instance, when faced with a difficult conversation at work, an individual with self-protective programming may instinctively perceive the situation as a threat, triggering defensive behaviors such as withdrawal or argumentation. Conversely, someone with value-creation programming will likely process the situation as an opportunity for growth, enabling them to engage constructively and navigate the conversation with composure.

The Foundational Role of Our Internal Operating System

Our internal operating system not only operates automatically and often subconsciously, but it also directs almost everything that we do. In fact, Psychologists have reported that at least 90 percent of our thinking, feeling, judging, and acting are driven by our internal operating system’s subconscious automatic processing.

If our internal operating system possesses high-quality programming, it will help us effectively navigate leadership, challenge, pressure, and complexity. But, if our internal operating system possesses lower-quality programming, it will hold us back, get in our way, and limit us.

---

Exercise 6:1

We all have an internal operating system, but most people are not fully in touch with their internal operating system. Let’s take a first step at getting in touch with our internal operating system. Do you have any If-Then programming, where if something happens, then you automatically and subconsciously respond in a certain way?

Try to If-Then statements that capture aspects of your internal operating system’s programming.

Here are some examples:

If I receive constructive criticism, Then I get defensive.
If someone cuts me off while driving, Then I get angry.
If I am feeling vulnerable, Then I armor up or move away.
If my organization announces a change, Then I immediately want to resist it.

Try to come up with 5 different If-Then example statements.

Once you come up with 5 different If-Then statements, then evaluate them:

Are the Then aspects of these examples generally automatic, knee-jerk reactions?
For each, is the programming more about self-protection or about value creation?
Which of these gets in my way of leading more effectively or being a positive influence on others?

---

Connecting to Our Internal Operating System

This exercise should help you to connect with your internal operating system. And, it might have helped you identify aspects of your internal programming that are not yet aligned with the person and leader that you want to be. That is ok. We all possess self-protective programming that hold us back. The only way that we will rise above this programming is if we clearly identify it and do the work of reprogramming our internal operating system. We will spend quite a bit of time doing this in our upcoming workshops.

Before we dive more deeply into how our internal operating system functions. Let’s illuminate an important idea related to your If-Then statements.

Let’s take the first example above: If I receive constructive criticism, Then I get defensive.

It is likely that an individual that possesses this programming (1) knows that constructive criticism can be beneficial for their learning and growth, and (2) possess the skills to listen effectively. Stated differently, it is likely that the individual possesses the Doing Side abilities to be able to navigate receiving constructive criticism. But, that does not necessarily mean that they possess the Being Side abilities to be able to effectively receive constructive criticism.

This is an important idea because, most of the time, leaders possess the adequate knowledge and skills to lead effectively. There is a reason why they have been promoted into a leadership position. But, what generally holds leaders back is not limitations in their Doing Side, but self-protective programming that are a part of their Being Side. This is part of the reason why 85% of leaders operate in the High Doing-Low Being quadrant.

Let’s now dive deeper into how our internal operating system functions.

How Our Internal Operating System Functions

Our nervous system is our body’s command center. It is the major controlling, regulatory, and communication system in our body. This highly organized network is designed to fulfill its primary job, which is to keep us alive.

Fortunately, we do not often encounter life or death situations. Thus, how our nervous system operates is that it directs ourselves and our body away from pain and toward pleasure, however we define pain and pleasure.

While our nervous system utilizes a number of different subsystems to avoid pain and direct us toward pleasure (e.g., homeostasis, reflexes, and balance), one of the primary subsystems that it uses is our internal operating system. In fact, there are six ways our nervous system utilizes our internal operating system to help us avoid pain and experience pleasure. Let’s walk through these six functions.

Function 1: Our internal operating system is always “on,” meaning that it is always running. It is always:

Taking in signals from our environment,
On alert for any indications that our safety is in question, and
Sending messages from our senses to our brain to inform our brain of our current status.

Function 2: Our internal operating system is programmed to direct us toward pleasure and away from pain. As such, our internal operating system is wired and attuned to help us stay on track to fulfill our needs, whatever they might be.

Function 3: Our internal operating system uses a four-step process to receive and interpret the information that our senses absorb. This near-simultaneous four-step process proceeds as follows:

Step 1: Our internal operating system uses our senses to continually take in information from our environment and then sends that information to the door of our brain.

Step 2: Because our brain is limited in the information that it can process, at the door of our brain, our internal operating system filters out irrelevant information and only filters in what it deems important for the avoidance of pain and fulfillment of pleasure.

Step 3: For the information that is filtered into the brain, our internal operating system is responsible for processing and interpreting that information.

Step 4: Our internal operating system determines the appropriate response that our body should take based on the information filtered in and how it has been interpreted.

Let’s use the contributive criticism If-Then statement to make this come to life.

If Larry receives constructive criticism from his boss:

Step 1: He will take the verbalization of that criticism in through his ears. He will also take in the sights of the situation via his eyes. This information will be sent to the door of his brain.

Step 2: At the door of his brain, Larry’s internal operating system will determine what gets filtered in. Larry’s internal operating system will likely let in the content of what was said and the body language of the person who delivered the constructive criticism. But, his internal operating system may not let in some of what was communicated (e.g., a compliment that came before or after the constructive criticism) or some aspects about the context (e.g., what color pants the other person was wearing).

Step 3: Larry’s internal operating system contains programming to interpret constructive criticism as an attack. So, as soon as the verbalization of the constructive criticism gets filtered into the brain, Larry’s internal operating system automatically and nonconsciously turns on alarm bells indicating that he may be in danger.

Step 4: As a result of this interpretation, Larry’s internal operating system automatically and nonconsciously reacts to that constrictive criticism by getting defensive and rebutting the criticism without fully processing the value of that criticism.

---

---

Function 4: As was articulated in this example, our internal operating system generally processes the information filtered into the brain automatically and nonconsciously. “Automatically” means that we do not have to do anything to activate this four-step process and we cannot stop this process from occurring. “Nonconsciously” means that our internal operating system engages in this four-step process below our conscious awareness.

Function 5: Our internal operating system develops patterns of processing. Stated differently, our internal operating system knows that there are certain situations that we regularly encounter, and in order to streamline the processing of those situations, it develops pattens of interpretation (Step 3) and response (Step 4). These patterns of processing help enhance speed of processing and conserve brain energy.

It is likely that you possess a pattern of processing for constructive criticism, getting cut off on the freeway, feeling vulnerable, and organizational change (along with thousands of other relatively common situations). And, let’s be honest: some of our programming patterns are more productive and helpful than others.

Generally, programming patterns that are self-protective are justifiable (they protect us in the moment), yet they tend to hold us back from having the long-term positive impact we ideally desire. Alternatively, programming patterns that are value creating often involves stepping into some element of discomfort in the moment to operate in a manner that leads a long-term positive impact.

For example, getting defensive after receiving constructive criticism helps us feel better in the moment, but it limits our learning and development in the long-term. Alternatively, sitting with constructive criticism will likely make us feel uncomfortable or bad in the moment, but it will help us to become better and more effective over the long-term.

Function 6: The patterns of processing involved in our internal operating system (i.e., programming) can be changed.

If Larry currently contains programming that causes him to get defensive when he receives constructive criticism, it is possible for him to change and upgrade his programming in manner that allows him to better sit with and process constructive criticism.

---

Case Study 6:1 – Brené Brown

Brené Brown is a professor and social worker who has become a near household name because her books, TED talks, podcast, and programming on Netflix and HBO Max. Six of her books have been #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, Dare to Lead, and Atlas of the Heart.

In each of her books, she shares examples of how she has awakened to patterns of processing that originally felt right and good to her, but were ultimately limiting to her. And, she discusses how, upon learning about these patterns, she has disrupted and upgraded those patterns to transformationally become better.

For example, in Daring Greatly, she explores a programming pattern that originally felt right and good, but was ultimately limiting. This pattern was associated with her willingness to be vulnerable.

Reflecting on a conversation with her therapist, she wrote:

I frickin’ hate vulnerability…I can’t stand opening myself to getting hurt or being disappointed. It’s excruciating… I hate how it makes me feel… It makes me feel like I’m coming out of my skin.

For most of her life, when feelings of vulnerability would arise, Brené Brown would armor up and move away from vulnerability. In her words, when she would start to feel vulnerable, she would “Clean the house. Eat peanut butter. Blame people. Make everything around me perfect. Control whatever I can—whatever’s not nailed down.” She was wired to “keep everyone at a safe distance and always have an exit strategy.”

While this programming was justifiable because it prevented her from stepping into the uncomfortable emotions of vulnerability, such programming came at a cost. For example, it caused her to be controlling, regardless of how that made others feel. Further, it prevented her from being courageous and living wholeheartedly.

Over time, through efforts to upgrade her programming and with the help of her therapist, Brené Brown gradually rewired her internal operating system to the point where, when presented with the option to be vulnerable, she now is inclined to step toward vulnerability. Her nervous system no longer rings warning bells designed to protect her immediate emotions. Instead, her nervous system seeks to help her effectively step into vulnerability so that she can have a more value creating impact on the people she is serving or leading.

---

As mentioned previously, each of us has some self-protective programming that is keeping us safe and comfortable in the short-term, but it is also likely holding us back from being a more elevated leader and having a more positive impact within our spheres of influence. But, the good news is that we can awaken to and upgrade our programming.

To conclude this model, let’s revisit our definition of our Being Side. Our Being Side is:

The degree to which our internal operating system is wired for value creation as opposed to self-protection.

---

Exercise 6:2

Help participants identify one piece of self-protective programming, understand how it currently operates, and begin imagining a more value-creating version of that pattern.

Instructions (Small Groups or Pairs):

Identify the Pattern (5 min)
Think back to the “If-Then” exercise you completed earlier. Choose one statement that:

Feels especially limiting or problematic in your leadership, and
Clearly reflects self-protective programming

Example:

“If someone challenges my idea in a meeting, then I shut down and stay quiet.”

Diagnose the System (10 min)

In your pair or group, walk through these prompts:

What pain is this pattern trying to avoid?
What might it be costing you or your team in the long term?
Where do you think this pattern came from (e.g., early experience, prior workplace, cultural norm)?
What leadership qualities or impact does this limit?

Design a New Pattern (10 min)

Now rewire the programming by creating a new value-creating version of the pattern:

“If someone challenges my idea in a meeting, then I stay curious, ask one clarifying question, and thank them for their input.”
The goal isn’t perfection—it’s choosing a healthier, more aligned response.

Share One Shift (5 min)

Each person shares their upgraded pattern with their group. Encourage feedback, reflection, or “I’ve done that too” moments.

Facilitator Wrap-Up:

Debrief with the larger group:

What did you notice as you tried to rewire your pattern?
How did it feel to name your self-protective wiring?
What support might help you implement this new pattern in real life?

Optional Bonus Prompt (Reflection or Journal):

“What would be possible for me as a leader if I consistently operated from this upgraded pattern?”

---

Module Conclusion

Understanding our internal operating system is a critical step in our leadership development journey. This module has illuminated how our subconscious programming influences our perceptions, decisions, and actions—often in ways we don’t fully recognize. By examining the ways in which our nervous system and ingrained patterns shape our leadership behaviors, we gain the opportunity to shift from reactive, self-protective tendencies to a more intentional, value-driven approach.

Recognizing and refining our internal programming is not an overnight process, but it is an essential one. The ability to identify self-protective tendencies and replace them with value-creating behaviors requires self-awareness, intentional practice, and continuous reflection. As leaders, our goal is to cultivate a Being Side that fosters growth, resilience, and meaningful impact in our organizations and communities.

As you move forward, reflect on the insights gained in this module and apply them to your daily interactions. Challenge yourself to notice your internal programming in action and ask whether it aligns with the leader you aspire to be. In the upcoming modules, we will explore additional tools to further elevate your leadership by deepening your understanding of meaning-making and expanding your window of tolerance. These concepts will build upon what we have covered here, helping you continue your journey toward a more effective and conscious leadership style.

In the next two modules, we will explore two factors associated with our internal operating system that will help us start to reveal the quality and altitude of our Being Side: Our meaning making and our window of tolerance.

---

Course Manual 7: Meaning Making

When we understand the six functions of our internal operating system it becomes clear that one of the primary jobs of our internal operating system is to automatically, quickly, and nonconsciously assign meaning to our world and the things within it. This job is called “meaning making.”

Here is what is fascinating about meaning making: Everybody’s internal operating system is responsible for meaning making, but everyone does not assign the same meaning to the same things.

---

Exercise 7:1

To help participants see that how we interpret situations (our meaning-making) is shaped by our internal operating system—and that different levels of meaning-making can either limit or elevate our leadership impact.

Instructions (Small Groups):

Review the List Below:

As a group, read through the list of scenarios and experiences:

Receiving constructive criticism
A team member pushing back
Being passed over for a promotion
Organizational change
A colleague getting more recognition
Making a visible mistake
Team conflict

For each one, briefly discuss:

What are some different ways people might interpret or “make meaning” of this?
Which interpretations seem more self-protective?
Which interpretations seem more value-creating or sophisticated?
What might influence someone’s meaning-making in this situation?

Choose 2–3 to Explore Deeply:

Don’t try to go through the entire list. Pick two or three that spark the richest conversation.

Reflect Together:
After discussing your examples, consider:

Do some ways of making meaning elevate leadership more than others?
What determines whether we interpret something in a self-protective or value-creating way?
What does this reveal about how our internal operating system is shaping our leadership?

Group Share-Out:

Be ready to share one example with the broader group, along with one insight about meaning-making.

---

---

Facilitator Wrap-Up:

Use the following prompts for the large-group debrief:

What did you notice about how meaning-making shapes our reactions?
How might our meaning-making limit or expand our leadership capacity?
Where do you see opportunities to upgrade your own meaning-making?

---

The simple reality is that two different people can experience the same thing, yet their internal operating system can automatically and nonconsciously make meaning of the experience in different ways. Consider the following examples:

• Failure – It can be seen as a signal that one is a failure, but it can also be seen as an opportunity to learn and grow
• Vulnerability – It can be seen as a sign of weakness, but it can also be seen as a sign of strength
• Stillness – It can be seen as being uncomfortable, but it can also be seen as a necessary part of living healthily and wholeheartedly
• Conflict – It can be seen as destructive, but it can also be seen as an opportunity for better understanding
• Challenging project – It can be seen as an overwhelming burden, but it can also be seen as an exciting opportunity
• Mistakes – They can be seen as a problem, but they can also be seen as things that happen as a part of learning, growth, and pushing our limits

For each of these examples, is there a better and more sophisticated way of making meaning of these things? The answer is complicated, but the answer is ultimately, “yes.”

Ultimately, the quality of our meaning making (which is largely done automatically and subconsciously by our internal operating system) dictates the effectiveness of our leadership. And, it is the quality of one’s meaning making that separates Level 5 leaders from Level 4 leaders.

In this module, we’ll start with a focus on one of the areas where leaders struggle the most with their meaning making: failure. Then, later, we will dive into other common areas of struggle.

Making Meaning of Failure

Let’s take failure for example.

Failure is an inevitable part of any growth journey, yet the way we make meaning of failure fundamentally shapes how we respond to challenges, take risks, and ultimately develop as leaders.

Two Distinct Mindsets About Failure

At the heart of meaning-making around failure are two common perspectives:

Failure as a Reflection of Self-Worth (Self-Protective Meaning-Making)

– People who internalize failure as a personal reflection of their inadequacy tend to see setbacks as evidence that they are not good enough.
– This mindset fosters a fear of failure, leading individuals to avoid challenging opportunities, stick to what they already know, and minimize risks.
– The short-term benefit is avoiding the discomfort of failure-related emotions such as shame and embarrassment. However, the long-term consequence is stagnation—limited learning, personal development, and professional growth.

Failure as a Catalyst for Growth (Value-Creating Meaning-Making)

– Others interpret failure as a valuable learning experience—an opportunity to gather insights, iterate, and improve.
– Leaders who adopt this perspective embrace challenges, take calculated risks, and remain open to experimentation.
– While this approach does not eliminate negative emotions like disappointment, it reframes failure as an essential step in the journey to mastery and innovation.

The Long-Term Impact of Meaning-Making

The way we make meaning of failure determines how we engage with our own potential:

• Short-Term Self-Protection → Avoidance of challenges, reduced willingness to innovate, a preference for certainty, and a fragile self-concept.
• Long-Term Value Creation → Increased resilience, greater adaptability, higher tolerance for ambiguity, and a growth-oriented leadership style.

Research on high-performing leaders shows that those who thrive in complex and uncertain environments are those who have rewired their internal operating systems to see failure as a stepping stone rather than a final judgment.

Failure in Leadership Can Be a Defining Moment

History is filled with stories of transformational leaders who reframed failure as an opportunity:

Satya Nadella and Microsoft’s AI Chatbot Failure

Instead of punishing the team responsible for the chatbot Tay’s failure, Nadella encouraged them to “Keep pushing, and know that I am with you.”

This response created psychological safety, reinforcing a culture where innovation thrives despite setbacks.

Nadella’s approach aligns with leaders who view failure as an essential part of making groundbreaking progress.

Thomas Edison and the Light Bulb

Edison famously stated, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

This mindset enabled him to persist through countless experiments before achieving success, setting the stage for one of the most impactful inventions in history.

Sara Blakely and the Power of Failure

The founder of Spanx credits her success to how her father encouraged her to talk about her failures at the dinner table.

This practice shifted her mindset—failure was not something to be feared but a sign that she was trying and growing.

Meaning Making of Level 5 Leaders

Level 5 leaders—those who blend deep personal humility with an unrelenting professional will—stand out not just for their accomplishments, but for how they interpret and respond to challenges. Their internal operating systems are fine-tuned to make meaning in ways that drive value creation, rather than self-protection. This advanced way of meaning making allows them to cultivate resilience, inspire innovation, and lead with a long-term vision.

How Level 5 Leaders Make Meaning

To better understand the mindset of a Level 5 leader, consider how they make meaning of the following challenges:

Vulnerability

Many leaders associate vulnerability with weakness, fearing that admitting mistakes or uncertainty will diminish their credibility. However, Level 5 leaders reframe vulnerability as a strength. They recognize that by being open about their challenges, they build trust, create psychological safety, and encourage authentic collaboration within their teams.

Stillness

Some leaders interpret stillness or reflection as unproductive. They equate busyness with effectiveness. Level 5 leaders, however, understand that stillness is a strategic advantage. Taking time for deep thinking and introspection enables them to make better decisions, regulate their emotions, and cultivate clarity amid complexity.

Conflict

A self-protective leader may view conflict as divisive and try to suppress it to maintain harmony. A Level 5 leader, however, sees conflict as a gateway to greater understanding and innovation. They encourage constructive debate, knowing that diverse perspectives challenge assumptions and lead to superior solutions.

Challenging Projects

Difficult initiatives can be overwhelming for those with a self-protective mindset, leading them to resist change or minimize ambition. Level 5 leaders, however, see such projects as opportunities to stretch capabilities, push boundaries, and inspire their teams toward meaningful achievements.

Mistakes

Whereas some leaders treat mistakes as liabilities to be hidden or punished, Level 5 leaders view them as integral to growth. They foster environments where employees feel safe experimenting, knowing that learning occurs through trial and error. By normalizing mistakes, they enable a culture of continuous improvement.

Example: Satya Nadella’s Leadership Approach

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, exemplifies the meaning-making approach of a Level 5 leader. When Microsoft’s AI chatbot, Tay, encountered a major failure, a self-protective response might have been to scapegoat the team and implement harsher oversight. Instead, Nadella saw the setback as a learning opportunity to reinforce a culture of innovation. Rather than punishing his team, he reassured them with, “Keep pushing, and know that I am with you.” This response encouraged calculated risk-taking, sustained psychological safety, and ultimately positioned Microsoft for greater breakthroughs in AI development.

Deepening the Leadership Implications of Meaning-Making

Should start to be getting a sense of this: Leaders’ meaning-making influences their ability to effectively interpret and respond to their environments. And, this has massive implications for the culture of the groups that they lead. Leaders with higher quality internal operating system build more value-creating cultures of engagement, innovation, and agility. Let’s step into each of these topics.

Meaning-Making and Employee Engagement

Employee engagement depends on how individuals interpret their roles and contributions. Leaders who emphasize purpose, growth, and contribution create environments where employees feel valued and motivated.

Self-Protective Meaning-Making: Leaders who see disengagement as laziness may resort to micromanagement or punitive measures, eroding trust.
Value-Creating Meaning-Making: Leaders who view disengagement as a sign of misalignment seek root causes and foster psychological safety and ownership.

Example: Satya Nadella’s Culture Shift at Microsoft

When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, he saw a rigid, risk-averse culture as a leadership challenge. He emphasized learning and curiosity, shifting Microsoft’s mindset and reigniting engagement.

Meaning-Making and Innovation

Innovation flourishes when individuals feel safe to experiment. Leaders’ meaning-making of failure determines whether organizations embrace or resist innovation.

Self-Protective Meaning-Making: Leaders who see failure as a personal threat foster blame cultures, discouraging risk-taking.
Value-Creating Meaning-Making: Leaders who view failure as part of innovation encourage calculated risks and learning from setbacks.

Example: Google’s Approach to Failure

Google’s “psychological safety” approach encourages employees to test ideas, pivot quickly, and share learnings from failed projects, leading to innovations like Gmail and Google Maps.

Meaning-Making and Organizational Agility

Agility—the ability to adapt to change—is crucial in today’s business landscape. Leaders’ meaning-making impacts how organizations respond to transformation.

Self-Protective Meaning-Making: Leaders who see change as a threat resist transformation and slow adaptability.
Value-Creating Meaning-Making: Leaders who view change as an opportunity foster resilience and confidence.

Example: Netflix’s Transformation

Reed Hastings viewed industry disruption as an invitation to innovate, successfully transitioning Netflix from DVD rentals to a global streaming giant.

Meaning-Making and a Learning Culture

Continuous learning is a competitive advantage. Leaders shape whether teams see learning as a burden or an opportunity.

Self-Protective Meaning-Making: Leaders who see skill gaps as weaknesses discourage employees from seeking development.
Value-Creating Meaning-Making: Leaders who embrace learning foster cultures where growth, feedback, and improvement are valued.

Example: The U.S. Military’s After-Action Reviews (AARs)

The U.S. military uses AARs to extract lessons from successes and failures, encouraging continuous improvement rather than assigning blame.

Meaning Making: Four Key Lessons

Level 5 leaders uplift their organizations through constructive meaning-making. They frame challenges as opportunities, setbacks as learning moments, and uncertainty as a catalyst for progress.

By prioritizing engagement, innovation, agility, and learning, leaders create sustainable excellence. Effective leaders don’t just react to events—they shape the narrative that defines their organizations’ evolution.

There are four key lessons that we should take away from this module:

There Are Two Primary Ways of Making Meaning: Self-Protective and Value-Creating.

Our internal operating system automatically assigns meaning to the experiences we encounter. This meaning-making process can operate in two distinct ways:

Self-Protective Meaning Making focuses on avoiding discomfort, maintaining control, and preventing perceived threats to our identity or self-worth. It prioritizes short-term security but can limit growth and adaptability.
Value-Creating Meaning Making embraces challenges, learning, and transformation. It prioritizes long-term development over short-term comfort, fostering leadership effectiveness, innovation, and resilience.

Both Ways of Making Meaning Are Justifiable—But Lead to Different Outcomes.

Each perspective is valid within its own frame of reference. The self-protective approach is not inherently wrong—it serves an important function in preserving emotional security and stability, particularly in the short-term. However, it often leads to stagnation, avoidance, and a fixed mindset. In contrast, a value-creating approach promotes adaptability, continuous learning, and greater leadership effectiveness. Leaders who embrace value-creating meaning making are more likely to navigate uncertainty, build stronger relationships, and unlock personal and organizational potential.

We All Have Self-Protective Programming—But It Can Be Rewired.

Self-protective meaning making is deeply ingrained, shaped by past experiences, social conditioning, and our psychological wiring. While it provides a sense of safety, it often limits our capacity to lead at a higher level. Recognizing and challenging self-protective patterns is a critical step toward transformation.

Example: A leader who interprets vulnerability as a weakness may avoid asking for help or admitting mistakes, limiting team trust and collaboration. By rewiring their internal operating system to see vulnerability as a strength, they can foster psychological safety and team cohesion.

Upgrading Our Meaning-Making Process Is Essential for Level 5 Leadership.

Level 5 leaders have evolved their internal operating systems to favor value creation over self-protection. They see failure as a learning opportunity, conflict as a path to greater understanding, and challenges as a means of growth. Cultivating this mindset requires intentional practice, self-awareness, and a willingness to embrace discomfort in the short term to create greater value in the long term.

---

Course Manual 8: Window of Tolerance

Let’s now dive into another way to investigate the quality and altitude of our Being Side by considering our window of tolerance.

From our meaning making module, you should have a sense that people who are more programmed for value creation meaning making have greater tolerance for short-term discomfort in the pursuit for long-term value creation than those who are programmed for self-protection. This level of greater tolerance is commonly referred to by psychologists as our “window of tolerance.”

But, what exactly is our “window of tolerance?”

What is Our Window of Tolerance?

Our window of tolerance refers to the range within which we can stay regulated, engaged, and functioning effectively when faced with stress, adversity, or discomfort. This concept, introduced by clinical psychologist Dr. Dan Siegel, serves as a foundational framework for understanding how individuals respond to stress and challenge. Within this optimal zone, we are emotionally balanced, cognitively flexible, and capable of making deliberate choices. However, when stressors push us beyond this range, we enter dysregulated states that impair judgment, decision-making, and leadership effectiveness.

Neuroscientific Foundations of the Window of Tolerance

At a neurological level, the window of tolerance is regulated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and its interplay with higher-order brain functions. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive functioning, emotional regulation, and complex decision-making, plays a key role in keeping us within this window. However, when stress overwhelms our system, subcortical regions such as the amygdala (which processes threats) and the limbic system (which governs emotional responses) take over, leading to dysregulated states.

The ANS operates through two primary branches:

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) – The Fight-or-Flight Response

– The SNS prepares the body to respond to perceived threats by increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormone (cortisol) levels.
– Leaders in hyperarousal mode may exhibit emotional reactivity, impulsivity, or difficulty maintaining composure under pressure.

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – The Rest-and-Digest Response

– The PNS restores equilibrium after stress, facilitating calmness, reflection, and clear thinking.
– However, extreme activation of the PNS can lead to a hypoarousal state (shutdown), where leaders become disengaged, avoidant, or emotionally numb.

The balance between these systems determines whether we remain within our window of tolerance or move into dysregulation.

Dysregulation: The Two Extremes of the Window of Tolerance

When leaders are pushed beyond their window of tolerance, they typically enter one of two states:

Hyperarousal (Fight-or-Flight Mode)

– Characterized by increased anxiety, emotional reactivity, impulsivity, or anger
– Associated with over-controlling behavior, excessive micromanagement, or poor decision-making under stress
– Leaders in hyperarousal mode may be rigid, defensive, or prone to conflict escalation

Hypoarousal (Freeze Mode)

– Marked by emotional numbness, withdrawal, passivity, or detachment
– Can manifest as avoidance of difficult conversations, disengagement from strategic decision-making, or inability to motivate teams
– Leaders in hypoarousal mode may become indecisive, overly accommodating, or disengaged from their responsibilities

Both states compromise leadership effectiveness by impairing cognitive flexibility, emotional intelligence, and the ability to inspire and guide others.

---

---

Exploring the Width of Our Window of Tolerance

Not all leaders experience stress and adversity in the same way. While some remain composed and adaptable, others become reactive, overwhelmed, or disengaged. The ability to stay grounded under pressure—rather than shifting into hyperarousal (fight-or-flight) or hypoarousal (freeze or shutdown)—depends largely on the width of one’s window of tolerance.

What Determines the Width of Our Window of Tolerance?

The width of our window of tolerance is not static; it is shaped by multiple factors, including:

Early Life Experiences & Attachment – Individuals raised in environments with consistent support and secure attachment tend to develop wider windows of tolerance. Conversely, those who experienced chronic stress or unpredictable caregiving often have narrower windows, making them more sensitive to perceived threats in leadership situations.

Nervous System Conditioning – Our autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a key role in determining our ability to stay within our window. Those with a more regulated ANS can handle stress without overreacting or shutting down, while those with an overactive or dysregulated ANS may struggle to maintain emotional stability.

Exposure to Adversity & Stress Resilience – The way leaders have responded to past challenges affects how they tolerate stress today. Those who have progressively built resilience through experience tend to have wider windows.

Cognitive & Emotional Regulation Strategies – Leaders who actively develop mindfulness, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence are more capable of expanding their window over time.

Meaning-Making Framework – As discussed earlier in the course, the way individuals make meaning of stress and challenge directly influences their capacity to tolerate discomfort. Leaders programmed for self-protection tend to have narrower windows, whereas those focused on value creation are more capable of enduring short-term discomfort for long-term gain.

Signs of a Narrow vs. Wide Window of Tolerance

A narrow window of tolerance may manifest as:

• Emotional volatility (frequent frustration, anxiety, or defensiveness)
• Avoidance of difficult conversations or situations
• Difficulty focusing under pressure
• Reactive decision-making
• Increased physical tension or exhaustion from stress
• A need for excessive control to feel safe in uncertainty

A wide window of tolerance is reflected in:

• The ability to remain present and emotionally stable under stress
• Adaptability and openness to uncertainty
• A willingness to engage with difficult emotions rather than avoid them
• Thoughtful, intentional decision-making even in high-stakes situations
• The ability to recover quickly from setbacks without prolonged emotional disruption

While every leader experiences stress, the difference lies in their capacity to remain regulated and engaged within their window of tolerance.

Reflection: Assessing Your Window of Tolerance

Take a moment to evaluate your own window of tolerance. Consider the following:

When you face stress or adversity, do you tend to react impulsively, withdraw, or remain composed?

How do you typically respond when receiving difficult feedback? Do you feel defensive, dismissive, or open?

What happens to your decision-making under high pressure? Do you maintain clarity, or do you struggle with impulsivity or avoidance?

Are you able to tolerate discomfort in service of long-term goals, or do you seek immediate relief?

Do you notice physical signs of dysregulation (tension, racing heart, fatigue) when under stress? How do you manage them?

These questions are not about judgment but awareness. The more we understand our patterns, the more we can intentionally work to expand our window.

---

Exercise 8:1

Let’s explore the same topics as in the prior module. For each of the following, rate your window of tolerance for the following:

Failure
Vulnerability
Stillness
Conflict
Challenging project
Mistakes

Don’t just consider your own perspective. Also consider how your family members or subordinates would rate you.

---

The Leadership Implications of the Window of Tolerance

A leader’s ability to remain within their window of tolerance has profound implications for their effectiveness. Those with a wide window of tolerance can navigate challenges with composure, staying present, solution-oriented, and emotionally intelligent under pressure. They foster trust, resilience, and a sense of stability within their teams.

Conversely, leaders with a narrow window of tolerance are more prone to emotional dysregulation, reactive decision-making, or avoidance behaviors. This can lead to diminished team morale, inconsistency in leadership, and increased organizational stress.

The well-known quote from Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth,” perfectly illustrates this concept. Leaders operating within their window of tolerance can absorb setbacks without losing sight of their vision. However, those with a narrow window may abandon strategy, shift into self-protective behaviors, or struggle to maintain clarity and purpose when faced with adversity.

Let’s next explore specific examples of how leaders’ windows of tolerance have impacted their strategies and risk taking.

---

Case Study 8:1 – Comparison of Two Leaders

In the early 2000s, two prominent business leaders faced critical decisions that would define their legacies and shape their organizations: Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, and Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart. Both leaders encountered situations requiring significant risk-taking under pressure, but their responses—driven by the widths of their respective windows of tolerance—led to strikingly different outcomes for their organizations and cultures.

Howard Schultz: Resilience Under Pressure

Howard Schultz had built Starbucks into a global coffee powerhouse, but by 2008, the company was struggling. Rapid overexpansion, declining store performance, and the global financial crisis had tarnished Starbucks’ brand and profitability. Schultz, who had stepped down as CEO in 2000, returned to the helm to address the crisis. He was confronted with the challenge of not only stabilizing the business but also restoring the company’s identity and values.

Schultz’s approach exemplified a leader operating with a wide window of tolerance. Despite the mounting pressure of declining profits and widespread public scrutiny, he maintained composure and approached the situation with a steady and deliberate mindset. Instead of succumbing to panic or making reactive decisions, Schultz invested time in understanding the root causes of Starbucks’ challenges. His ability to remain emotionally regulated enabled him to weigh options objectively and take bold yet calculated actions.

One of Schultz’s most daring moves was closing 7,100 Starbucks stores for a day to retrain baristas on the art of making espresso. This decision was heavily criticized at the time, with skeptics viewing it as an unnecessary expense during a financial crisis. However, Schultz saw it as an essential step to realign the company’s operations with its core values of quality and customer connection. He also paused Starbucks’ aggressive expansion strategy, choosing instead to focus on improving existing store performance and customer experience.

The financial impact of this decision was immediate and significant, but Schultz’s wide window of tolerance allowed him to prioritize long-term brand integrity over short-term profitability. His clear communication of purpose and rationale for his decisions fostered trust among employees and stakeholders. This trust, in turn, reinvigorated Starbucks’ organizational culture, emphasizing resilience, quality, and customer care. The results were transformative: Schultz’s leadership stabilized Starbucks financially and emotionally, leading to a remarkable turnaround marked by renewed customer loyalty and robust growth.

Doug McMillon: Hesitation in the Face of Risk

Doug McMillon became CEO of Walmart in 2014, inheriting a retail giant facing growing competition from e-commerce platforms like Amazon. One of the critical challenges during his tenure was deciding how aggressively Walmart should pivot to online retail and invest in digital transformation. While McMillon recognized the urgency of adapting to the shifting retail landscape, his narrower window of tolerance influenced his approach.

Under pressure to deliver consistent financial results, McMillon initially hesitated to commit significant resources to e-commerce initiatives. His cautious nature led to incremental investments in digital technology rather than bold, transformative actions. For example, while Amazon was aggressively acquiring startups and innovating in logistics, Walmart’s early efforts to compete in the digital space were slower and less coordinated. The company focused on maintaining its low-cost leadership model, which limited its ability to take the financial risks necessary to overhaul its e-commerce infrastructure.

This hesitancy stemmed from McMillon’s discomfort with the uncertainty and potential volatility associated with major shifts in strategy. His narrower window of tolerance made it challenging for him to fully embrace the risks required to position Walmart as a leader in the digital age. The consequences of this cautious approach were evident: Walmart’s online market share lagged behind Amazon, and the company struggled to attract younger, tech-savvy consumers.

While McMillon eventually increased investments in e-commerce, including the acquisition of Jet.com in 2016, the delayed response cost Walmart valuable time and market share. Employees and analysts noted that the company’s culture during this period reflected a sense of conservatism and resistance to change, which hindered innovation and agility. Although Walmart remains a dominant player in retail, the initial reluctance to take bold risks limited its ability to lead in the e-commerce revolution.

---

Key Lessons on Window of Tolerance

The contrasting stories of Howard Schultz and Doug McMillon highlight how the width of a leader’s window of tolerance profoundly impacts their effectiveness, especially in high-stakes situations. Leaders who cultivate a wider window of tolerance not only navigate stress more effectively but also influence the behaviors and culture of those around them. Below are five key lessons about the window of tolerance and its role in leadership.

1. Internal Regulation Shapes External Outcomes

A leader’s ability to stay regulated under pressure directly impacts their decision-making and long-term effectiveness. Howard Schultz’s steady and composed approach allowed him to focus on strategic, value-driven decisions that preserved Starbucks’ identity and long-term viability. His ability to tolerate discomfort—such as criticism for closing stores for retraining—enabled him to act in alignment with his core values rather than reacting out of fear or pressure.

In contrast, Doug McMillon’s narrower window of tolerance contributed to his initial hesitation in making bold digital investments for Walmart. His discomfort with uncertainty and risk led to incremental changes rather than transformative ones, causing Walmart to lag behind Amazon in e-commerce. This illustrates that when leaders remain within their window of tolerance, they can maintain clarity, assess risks wisely, and act decisively. However, when they move beyond their tolerance range, fear, anxiety, or avoidance can cloud judgment, leading to missed opportunities or reactive decision-making.

2. A Leader’s Window of Tolerance Shapes Organizational Culture

Leaders don’t just manage strategy; they shape the emotional tone of their organizations. A leader’s window of tolerance affects not only their individual behavior but also the psychological safety, adaptability, and resilience of their teams.

Schultz’s ability to stay composed under stress allowed him to model resilience and trust, fostering a culture at Starbucks where employees could remain engaged despite uncertainty. His leadership cultivated a sense of confidence in the company’s direction, which helped Starbucks employees embrace change and adapt effectively.

By contrast, McMillon’s initial reluctance to take bold action signaled hesitation and conservatism within Walmart’s corporate culture. Employees, sensing their leader’s cautious approach, mirrored that hesitation, leading to slower innovation and less risk-taking at all levels of the organization. Leaders who remain within their window of tolerance create environments where employees feel secure enough to take calculated risks, experiment, and push boundaries. Those who frequently operate outside their window—whether in hyperarousal (reactivity, anxiety) or hypoarousal (detachment, avoidance)—often create cultures marked by fear, indecision, or rigidity.

3. The Role of Risk Tolerance in Decision-Making

Leadership often requires making difficult decisions in ambiguous and high-stakes environments. The ability to take calculated risks while staying emotionally regulated is a key differentiator between effective and ineffective leaders.

Schultz’s window of tolerance allowed him to take bold risks, such as closing stores for retraining and prioritizing long-term brand integrity over short-term profits. He understood that enduring short-term discomfort was necessary to achieve lasting success.

McMillon’s narrower window of tolerance meant that he was less comfortable with high-stakes uncertainty, leading to a preference for incremental adjustments over bold moves. While his decisions were not inherently bad, they reflected a leader who was less able to tolerate the emotional discomfort that comes with making transformative changes.

This lesson underscores that leaders with wider windows of tolerance can engage with risk without being overwhelmed. They can weigh long-term benefits against short-term challenges, whereas those with a narrower window may struggle to act decisively in the face of uncertainty.

4. Window of Tolerance Affects Communication and Trust

A leader’s ability to stay emotionally balanced affects not just their decisions but also how they communicate and build trust with stakeholders. Leaders who remain within their window of tolerance tend to communicate with clarity, confidence, and steadiness—even in times of crisis.

Schultz demonstrated this by clearly articulating his vision to Starbucks employees and customers, reassuring them about the company’s direction. His calm and composed presence made it easier for employees to trust that his decisions were made with long-term well-being in mind.

Conversely, leaders who frequently operate outside their window of tolerance may struggle with erratic communication—either by appearing overly aggressive and reactive (hyperarousal) or withdrawn and unresponsive (hypoarousal). McMillon’s initial hesitancy to make bold decisions was accompanied by a lack of clear and inspiring communication about Walmart’s digital transformation, contributing to uncertainty among employees and stakeholders.

Effective leaders recognize that their emotional regulation directly impacts how they are perceived. A steady, balanced leader inspires confidence, while an overwhelmed or detached leader can generate doubt and hesitation in others.

5. A Wider Window of Tolerance Enables Sustainable Leadership

Leadership is a long-term endeavor, requiring resilience and adaptability over time. Leaders who cultivate a wide window of tolerance are better equipped to sustain high performance without burnout or emotional exhaustion.

Schultz’s ability to tolerate discomfort allowed him to lead Starbucks through an extended period of transformation, maintaining energy and vision despite external pressures. His resilience ensured that he could operate effectively without succumbing to stress or decision fatigue.

Leaders with narrower windows of tolerance, however, often find themselves in cycles of overreaction and withdrawal, leading to inconsistent leadership patterns. They may push too hard in moments of crisis, only to disengage or burn out later. Developing a wider window of tolerance helps leaders maintain emotional steadiness across time, enabling them to lead with consistency and endurance.

Concluding Window of Tolerance

Howard Schultz and Doug McMillon’s experiences illustrate the profound influence of a leader’s window of tolerance on the effectiveness of their leadership. For leaders aiming to succeed in today’s complex business environment, cultivating a wide window of tolerance is not just advantageous—it is essential. By remaining emotionally grounded and clear-headed in the face of stress, leaders can inspire confidence, foster resilience, and create lasting value for their organizations.

The content and case study in this module should help you to understand the following key ideas:

Leaders vary in the width of their windows of tolerance.

Having a wide window of tolerance is necessary for effectively navigating the challenges and complexity of leadership.

Leaders with wider windows of tolerance have a higher quality internal operating system and are more elevated along their Being Side.

---

Exercise 8:2

Collaboratively create a practical guide of strategies leaders can use to stay within (or return to) their window of tolerance in high-stakes moments. This reinforces learning while generating shared tools the group can use going forward.

Instructions (Small Groups – 4–5 people):

Create a “Window Recovery Toolkit” (15–20 min):

As a group, brainstorm and document practical tools, habits, or approaches that help a leader:

Recognize when they are drifting outside their window (hyper- or hypo-arousal)
Regulate themselves in real-time to stay grounded
Re-enter the window after a stress-triggering event

You can break the brainstorming into three buckets (Recognize / Regulate / Re-enter), or use prompts like:

What helps a leader notice they’re dysregulated?
What calms the nervous system in the moment?
What practices expand someone’s window over time?

Encourage them to pull from neuroscience, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, personal experience, and leadership behaviors.

Give It a Name:

Have each group name their “Leader’s Window Toolkit.” Encourage creativity:

Examples: The Calm Under Fire Playbook, Leadership Under Pressure Manual, Your Window-Rescue Kit

Post and Share (Optional – if in person):

Have each group write or post their toolkit on a flipchart or wall. During a gallery walk or quick presentations, let each group highlight one or two of their favorite tools or insights.

Debrief Prompts (Facilitator-Led):

What tools or strategies stood out across groups?
What was surprising or new to you?
What does this tell us about what leaders need—not just intellectually, but physiologically?

Why This Works:

Synthesizes the science and personal insight into actionable leadership tools
Encourages group co-creation and peer learning
Reinforces that leadership growth isn’t just cognitive—it’s physiological and behavioral

---

Setting Up the Upcoming Modules

Over the prior two modules, we have introduced two concepts that are core to our internal operating system and revealing of our altitude along our Being Side: meaning making and window of tolerance.

A primary lesson from this content is that Level 5 leaders:

Make meaning of world in highly sophisticated ways (value creating as opposed to self-protecting), and Possess wide windows of tolerance.

Putting this content into context, remember that most leaders (92%) operate at a low to medium Being Side altitude, which suggests that most leaders have issues and limitations associated with their meaning making and windows of tolerance. While that is not great, the good news is that we can do something about it. Leaders can improve the sophistication of their meaning making and widen their window of tolerance.

In the coming workshops, we’ll focus directly on evaluating and upgrading the quality and sophistication of your internal operating system, all for the purpose of helping you elevate along your Being Side.

Before we can get into that, it is important to explore the factors that cause people and leaders to struggle with meaning making, possess a narrow window of tolerance, have self-protective programming, and operate at a low Being Side altitude. So, for the next three modules prior to our concluding module, we are going to explore three factors that explain why most people and leaders operate at a low Being Side altitude. When we have a better understanding of these factors, we will ultimately have more clarity about how to go about elevating along our Being Side.

---

Course Manual 9: Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma

The Prevalence and Impact of Trauma

In the mid-1990’s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente partnered together for one of the largest investigations into childhood trauma. They were interested in determining later-life health and well-being of people who have experienced childhood trauma. What they learned has been groundbreaking.

First, they have learned that about 64% of people have experienced childhood trauma. This finding has led other trauma researchers to estimate that at least 70% of all adults have experienced psychological trauma in their lifetime.

Second, they learned that the more childhood trauma one has experienced, the more issues they have with their health, behavior, and life potential. For example, for those who have experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), researchers have found that compared to those who have experience no ACEs, they are:

1. 30 times more likely to commit suicide
2. Face a 20-year decrease in life expectancy
3. 7 times more likely to suffer from alcoholism
4. 14 times more likely to be a victim of violence
5. 15 times more likely to commit violence
6. 20 times more likely to be incarcerated.

Why is this?

What trauma researchers have learned is that essentially the more trauma one experiences, the more their body’s internal operating system becomes wired for self-protection as opposed to value creation.

What is Psychological Trauma?

Many people consider trauma to be extreme or harmful experiences. But, that is not the best way to define trauma.

The best way to define trauma, and particularly psychological trauma, is that it is a psychological wounding. More specifically, psychological trauma is nervous system adaptations (which can be considered psychological wounds) that are the result of hurtful or jarring experiences that we have had.

These adaptations are our body’s natural way of protecting ourselves in extreme moments of stress and pain and to help us avoid similar stress and pain in the future. While such adaptations are helpful for limiting pain and ensuring our safety in the short-term aftermath of a stressful experience, such adaptations generally negatively impede how one processes and operates in their world outside of the context of trauma.

---

Case Study 9:1 – Impact of Psychological Trauma

Background

Tom’s early career involved two high-intensity professions: the military and emergency medical services. During his military tenure, Tom faced significant combat situations that required constant vigilance and the ability to respond decisively to life-or-death scenarios. After transitioning from the military, he served as an emergency medical technician (EMT), where his role frequently involved providing critical care to individuals in traumatic and often life-threatening circumstances. These experiences ingrained in Tom a deeply ingrained focus on problem prevention, which became a defining feature of his approach to work and leadership.

Upon entering the corporate sector, Tom ascended to the role of vice president within a technology company. Despite his technical competence and dedication, Tom struggled to adapt his leadership style to the demands of this new environment. This disconnect became a focal point of his leadership journey.

Trauma and Nervous System Adaptation

Tom’s prior roles in the military and as an EMT necessitated a nervous system that was hypersensitive to potential threats. This adaptation, while critical for survival in those environments, manifested as a hyper-vigilant approach to problem avoidance in his corporate role. Tom’s primary focus as a leader was not on driving innovation or achieving strategic goals but on preventing problems from arising. This mindset translated into behaviors such as avoiding risks, hesitating to delegate tasks, and becoming overly involved in operational details to ensure nothing went wrong.

During a reflective exercise, Tom articulated the root of his approach: “In my line of work, when problems occur, people can die.” This statement epitomized the depth of his prevention mindset, shaped by years of operating in high-stakes environments. However, his inability to recalibrate this mindset for the relatively lower-stakes context of a corporate setting created challenges. He struggled to trust his team, avoided initiatives that carried potential risks, and fostered a culture of overprotection that stifled creativity and empowerment among his employees.

The concept of the “window of tolerance” offers a useful lens to understand Tom’s challenges. This framework describes the range of emotional and physiological arousal within which individuals can function effectively. Tom’s past experiences had significantly narrowed his window of tolerance, particularly concerning uncertainty and potential problems. This hypersensitivity meant that even minor organizational challenges triggered disproportionate stress responses, limiting his capacity to lead effectively in a dynamic and collaborative environment.

Outcome and Lessons Learned

Unfortunately, Tom’s inability to adapt his leadership approach led to organizational challenges. His overprotectiveness and lack of trust in his team hindered collaboration and innovation, ultimately prompting the organization to request his early retirement. This outcome highlights the critical need for organizations to recognize and address the impact of trauma-induced nervous system adaptations on leadership effectiveness.

Tom’s journey illustrates the profound impact of trauma and nervous system adaptations on leadership effectiveness. While these adaptations served him well in high-stakes environments, they became a barrier to success in his corporate role. By adopting trauma-informed approaches and prioritizing nervous system regulation, organizations can better equip leaders to navigate the complexities of modern leadership and unlock their full potential.

---

Defining trauma by neurological impact is helpful for at least two reasons:

First, it explains why two people can experience a similar negative event, yet it affects one person much more than the other. Specifically, some people, perhaps because they have a wider window of tolerance, can experience a stressful experience, but it does not result in neurological self-protective adaptations. But, someone else, perhaps because they have a more narrow window of tolerance, can experience the same stressful experience, and their body engages in significant neurological self-protective adaptations.

Second, it forces us to connect with our body’s nervous system and how it regulates our internal operating system.

The Impact of Psychological Trauma on Our Body’s Nervous System

To gain a deeper understanding of the impact of psychological trauma on our body, it is essential to examine a crucial aspect of our nervous system: the stress response system. The stress response system plays a central role in protecting us and ensuring our survival. Let me illustrate this with an example.

Imagine standing at the edge of a high cliff. What does your body instinctively signal you to do? If your stress response system is functioning properly, it will trigger physical changes aimed at keeping you safe—most likely urging you to step away from the edge. Specifically, stress hormones are released into your body to heighten your ability to react to threats. Your nerves become heightened, your heart rate increases to pump more oxygen through your system, your pupils dilate to improve vision, and your palms may sweat, enhancing your grip if you need to hold on to something. These remarkable adjustments showcase how the stress response system is designed to protect us in potentially dangerous situations.

It’s important to recognize that, just as people differ in physical strength, individuals also vary in the robustness of their stress response systems. Some individuals can process and handle significant stress in healthy ways, while others may have a less resilient system that leaves them more vulnerable to stress. This variability ties into the concept of the window of tolerance introduced earlier.

When exploring how trauma affects the body, it’s essential to consider what happens during intensely stressful situations. Psychological trauma occurs when the stress of an experience surpasses the capacity of the stress response system to manage it. In such moments, the body may take drastic measures to protect itself, either by going into overdrive or shutting down almost entirely. These extreme responses often suppress cognitive and emotional processing, allowing the person to detach from the immediate pain or distress. While this “emergency shutdown” helps ensure survival during a critical event, it can lead to lasting neurological changes that affect the body’s internal systems long after the event has passed. These adaptations, while self-protective, are the very essence of trauma—a psychological wounding.

Given the variation in stress response system strength, individuals with weaker systems are more susceptible to trauma and the subsequent self-protective neurological changes. Several factors influence the resilience of the stress response system, including the level of support available during and after a traumatic experience, genetic predispositions, self-regulation skills, coping mechanisms, and even the individual’s age at the time of the event.

With these insights, we can understand why two individuals might respond differently to the same traumatic event, such as combat or a car accident. For one, the experience may result in significant psychological wounding, while for the other, it might not have lasting effects. Trauma isn’t defined solely by the event itself but by the neurological adaptations that arise when stress exceeds the body’s capacity to cope. As such, while certain experiences are commonly associated with trauma, their impact ultimately depends on the unique resilience of each person’s stress response system and the mitigating factors surrounding the event.

The Two Neurological Adaptations of Psychological Trauma

When people experience psychological trauma in this manner (i.e., the stress of the situation exceeds their ability to effectively deal with that stress), our body’s nervous system has to take rather drastic measures (i.e., adaptations) to help ensure our safety and survival. And, these adaptations do not just affect us in the moment of trauma. There are lasting consequences to how our brain functions.

To dive into these neurological adaptations and lasting consequences, we need to know a little about three brain networks that are the central brain networks used for processing our world and determining how we should navigate our world. They are: the salience network, the default mode network, and the central executive network. They are described as follows:

The Salience Network. The salience network serves as the brain’s emotional control center, comprising the amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. It performs two key functions. First, it acts as a signal processor, detecting environmental cues, identifying which ones are most relevant or significant, and interpreting those that require attention. This is where emotions are assigned to signals, making it the brain’s primary center for emotional interpretation. Second, the salience network facilitates appropriate behavioral responses (take note of the word “appropriate,” as we will revisit this later). To do so, it decides which of two other brain networks should be activated to ensure an efficient and effective reaction to the processed signals.

The Default Mode Network. The salience network engages the default mode network when it determines that conscious processing is unnecessary, as the default mode network handles nonconscious processing. This network includes the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. Operating below our conscious awareness, it performs several critical functions. First, it acts as the driver of our autopilot. For instance, have you ever driven somewhere without paying much attention, only to realize you arrived without recalling the journey? That was your default mode network at work. Second, it uses self-related information—such as bodily sensations, autobiographical memories, and future visions—to guide actions that align with our needs, desires, and interests. Third, it plays a significant role in social navigation by influencing how we perceive others’ emotions, demonstrate empathy, and adhere to moral principles.

The Central Executive Network. When the salience network determines that conscious processing is required, it activates the central executive network. This network, which includes the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the posterior parietal cortex, oversees cognitive control processes. These processes involve managing attention, solving problems rationally, and making deliberate decisions.

---

---

It is common for people to think that our central executive network is our “driver” because it is our home for conscious thought and it is the only network where we are consciously aware of its operation. But, for the most part, the autopilot of our default mode network is driving us. In fact, psychologists state that 90 percent of our thinking, feeling, judging, and acting are driven by our nonconscious automatic processes (largely driven by our default mode network).

Ideally, all three of these brain networks will work effectively together as a cohesive team. When that happens, one is able to accurately encode their world and navigate their world in optimal and effective ways.

But, psychological trauma disrupts how effectively these three brain networks. In fact, there are two common neural adaptations that occur in the aftermath of psychological trauma: hypervigilance and dissociation.

Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is an adjustment to our internal operating system that makes us more sensitive to potential threats to our safety, well-being, and comfort. While we want our body to identify potential threats, it is disruptive when the potential threats that are identified are not actually threats.

At the brain network level, hypervigilance involves two primary adaptations. First, the salience network, responsible for signal processing and emotional responses, becomes overly active. It begins detecting potential threats in signals it would typically overlook and is more likely to label those signals as dangerous. Second, the default mode network’s capacity to effectively regulate the salience network is reduced. As a result, individuals experiencing hypervigilance are more likely to perceive signals that would ordinarily be seen as safe as threatening.

This was Tom in the case study above. His internal operating system was prone to see things that we actually safe, like a mistake by his subordinate, as being life-threatening, when in reality, no one’s life was actually threatening.

Dissociation

The second way our body can adapt to trauma is by dulling its capacity to experience the pain associated with it, a neural adaptation known as dissociation. Neurologically, it is the opposite of hypervigilance.

When individuals encounter trauma—particularly events involving intense physical or emotional pain—if the pain exceeds what the body can manage, the nervous system may take drastic action by severing the connection to emotions and feelings. While this disconnection allows for survival in the moment, it often results in a long-term reduction in the ability to access and process emotions.

On a brain network level, dissociation occurs when the default mode network becomes overactive, exerting excessive regulation over the salience network. This imbalance suppresses the extent to which emotions and feelings can surface, disrupting the brain’s typical emotional functionality.

The Primary Impact of Psychological Trauma on Leaders

One of the key takeaways from learning about trauma is that the self-protective wiring that we adopt as a result of prior trauma can show up and limit us as leaders today.

This impact is best explained through the lens of emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is a vital ability for leadership effectiveness. In fact, consider the following statistics:

– Emotional intelligence was found to be the strongest predictor of performance out of 34 essential workplace skills, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs (TalentSmartEQ).
– Over 80% of competencies that differentiate top performers from others are in the domain of emotional intelligence (Daniel Goleman).
– Salespeople with high emotional intelligence produced twice the revenue of those with average or below average emotional intelligence (Hay Group).
– Employees with high emotional intelligence are more likely to stay calm under pressure, resolve conflict effectively, and respond to co-workers with empathy (TalentSmartEQ).

Emotional intelligence is best defined by breaking it down to four skills, two related to our connection and management of our own emotions and two related to our ability to connect with and navigate others’ emotions. These skills are:

1. Self-Awareness – Our ability to connect with and accurately identify our own emotions when they occur

2. Self-Management – Our ability to effectively regulate and control our own emotions and impulses

3. Social-Awareness – Our ability to connect with and accurately identify the emotions and perspectives of others

4. Relationship Management – Our ability to effectively navigate the emotions and perspectives of others

What neuroscientists have discovered is that if individuals’ internal operating systems have wiring associated with hypervigilance or dissociation, they are likely going to struggle with emotional intelligence.

Specifically, when people have hypervigilant wiring, their overactive salience network will diminish their capacity to engage in:

• Self-management – As they have a diminished ability to regulate and control their own emotions and impulses
• Social-awareness – As they will be prone to get too caught up in their own emotions and experiences that they will have a difficult time connecting with and identifying the emotions and perspectives of others.

And, when people have dissociative wiring, their overactive default mode network will diminish their capacity to engage in:

– Self-awareness – As they struggle to connect with and accurately identify their own emotions
– Relationship management – Since they struggle to connect with their own emotions, they will have a challenge effectively navigating the emotions of others

We should consider emotional intelligence to be one of the most important abilities as leaders. And, what we have now discovered is that the neurological adaptations related to our past trauma, if left untreated and unhealed, will hinder our ability to be emotionally intelligent.

Module Conclusion

After learning about trauma and how it impacts our internal operating system, you should now have greater clarity about how our past trauma can negatively affect and restrain our Being Side altitude.

This is critical to understand because it suggests that if we have Being Side deficiencies related to our past trauma, it suggests that if we want to elevate as leaders and become Level 5 leaders, we may have to do the work of healing from our past trauma.

---

Exercise 9:1

Watch this video clip: How to Fix Leadership Development | Dr. Gottfredson | TEDxColeParkStudio

And then, discuss the following:

What about the content in this module and/or this TED Talk do you find most interesting?
Out of hypervigilance and dissociation, is there one that you feel you may struggle with more than the other?
Have you ever worked with leaders who are hypervigilant or dissociated? What was that experience like?

---

Course Manual 10: Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture

Exercise 10:1

Have each participant answer the following questions on a 5-point scales from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree:

If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you. (Reverse-coded)
Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.
People on this team sometimes reject others for being different. (Reverse-coded)
It is safe to take a risk on this team.
It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help. (Reverse-coded)
No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts.
Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued.

To score this short assessment, take the following steps:

Reverse score items 1, 3, and 5.

That means, if you answered:

1, then make it a 5
2, then make it a 4
3, keep it the same
4, then make it a 2
5, then make it a 1

Add up your score across the seven items
Divide that score by 7 to produce an average score

We’ll come back to this assessment and score later in this module.

---

In this module, we are going to explore an environmental factor that play a significant influence on the altitude along our Being Side, or stated differently, the degree to which our body’s internal operating system is wired for self-protection as opposed to value creation.

This environmental factor is our current culture.

We can think about our current culture as being the culture of any group we are affiliated: work culture, family culture, team culture, etc.

What organizational psychologists have learned is that when there is more fear and competition built into a culture, the more its members will become wired for self-protection; and when there is more safety and cooperation built into a culture, the more its members will become wired for value creation.

When fear and competition dominate a culture, individuals’ internal operating system will become attuned to personal survival. They will seek to operate in a manner that best helps them personally get ahead or gain resources. Simultaneously, they will become more sensitive to detecting threats and warding off danger. When this occurs, there is a diminishment of trust, and higher-ordered operation amongst team members, including creativity, collaboration, and strategic thinking. Further, over time, in such cultures, people will increasingly become unwilling to take risks or innovate because such actions have the potential to not go well. So, to help ensure one stays “on good ground,” they prefer to do only have is “tried and true.”

On the other hand, when safety and cooperation dominate a culture, individuals’ internal operating system will feel secure enough to take risks, express ideas, and make mistakes without fear of judgment or retaliation. This sense of safety reduces one’s need to consistently detect threats or ward of danger, which allows them to place their attention on focus on creating value. They are able to focus more on finding truth (even if it is hard truths), solving problems, sharing knowledge, and co-creating value. This not only enhances individual performance, but create a feedback loop that amplifies collective innovation and resilience.

The Neuroscience Behind Fear in Organizations

Our brains are wired for survival. This fundamental truth explains why cultures of fear have such a profound impact on employees’ internal operating systems. When fear is a dominant force in an organization—whether due to high-stakes competition, punitive leadership, or uncertainty—employees’ neurological responses shift toward self-protection. Understanding the neuroscience behind these responses helps us see why fear stifles creativity, collaboration, and strategic thinking, limiting employees’ ability to contribute effectively.

The Brain’s Response to Fear: The Self-Protection Mode

At the core of our fear response is the amygdala, a small but powerful part of the brain responsible for detecting threats and triggering survival mechanisms. When an employee perceives a workplace environment as threatening—whether due to harsh criticism, lack of job security, or distrust— the amygdala becomes hyperactive. This leads to a cascade of physiological and cognitive effects:

Increased vigilance and defensiveness – Employees become more attuned to potential threats, interpreting ambiguous situations in the most self-protective way possible.
Reduced risk-taking and innovation – Fear inhibits the brain’s ability to engage in creative problem-solving, as the focus shifts to avoiding mistakes rather than exploring new ideas.
Impaired collaboration – A heightened fear response makes individuals more self-serving, reducing their willingness to share knowledge, cooperate, or contribute beyond their immediate responsibilities.
Short-term focus over long-term strategy – Fear triggers a stress response that prioritizes immediate survival over complex, future-oriented thinking.

The more frequently employees experience workplace fear, the more ingrained these patterns become in their internal operating systems. Over time, this creates a culture where employees operate from a place of guardedness, working to protect themselves rather than striving to create value.

How Organizational Culture Shapes Neural Wiring

The human brain is plastic—it adapts and rewires itself based on repeated experiences. If an organization perpetuates a culture of fear, employees’ brains will become conditioned to operate in a near-constant state of self-preservation. This means leaders who unintentionally create fear—through unpredictable decision-making, harsh feedback, or lack of transparency—are fostering workplaces where employees’ cognitive capacity is directed toward survival rather than performance.

Fear also has a compounding effect. Once employees perceive a workplace as threatening, their brains become more sensitive to stress, making them more likely to react defensively in future interactions. This cycle can erode morale, decrease engagement, and increase burnout, all of which diminish an organization’s overall effectiveness.

Altogether, neuroscience reveals that fear-based workplace cultures create a biological imperative for self-preservation, reducing employees’ ability to contribute meaningfully. Without intervention, fear can become embedded in an organization’s culture, shaping how employees think, behave, and interact. By understanding these principles, leaders can recognize the unintended consequences of fear and begin to create conditions that allow employees to shift from survival mode toward more constructive and engaged ways of working. This sets the stage for the next critical discussion: how psychological safety provides the foundation for a healthier and more productive workplace.

Psychological Safety

One of the most critical cultural elements influencing leadership success is psychological safety. At its core, psychological safety refers to an environment where individuals feel safe to express ideas, voice concerns, and take risks without fear of humiliation or retribution. This concept, pioneered by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, has profound implications for how employees engage in their work and whether they focus on self-preservation or value creation.

For leaders striving to elevate their Being Side—their internal mindset, emotional intelligence, and presence—understanding psychological safety is essential. Without it, employees and teams will operate in a state of guardedness, prioritizing their own security over the broader mission of creating value for stakeholders. Conversely, in an environment of psychological safety, individuals can channel their cognitive and emotional resources toward innovation, problem-solving, and collaboration.

The Foundation of Psychological Safety

Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” It is not about being agreeable or avoiding conflict, but rather fostering an atmosphere where individuals can engage in constructive dialogue, challenge assumptions, and contribute openly without the fear of damaging their reputation or standing within the organization.

When psychological safety is lacking, employees may withhold valuable insights, resist asking questions, and avoid voicing concerns—behaviors that stem from a fundamental fear of making mistakes or being seen as incompetent. In such environments, organizations suffer from reduced adaptability, innovation, and performance. Leaders who wish to elevate their leadership altitude must cultivate psychological safety to shift their teams from a mindset of self-protection to one of collective advancement.

Psychological Safety and the Shift from Self-Progection to Value Creation

One of the greatest barriers to high-impact leadership is an organizational culture that inadvertently encourages self-preservation. Employees who feel unsafe in their work environment are more likely to engage in impression management—prioritizing how they are perceived over the actual substance of their contributions. This defensive posture stifles creativity, dampens engagement, and ultimately detracts from the organization’s ability to serve its primary stakeholders effectively.

On the other hand, when psychological safety is present, employees are free to focus on their work’s intrinsic value. They can challenge existing norms, explore innovative solutions, and engage in honest discussions that lead to meaningful progress. In essence, psychological safety is a prerequisite for fostering cultures where people move beyond personal survival toward making a true impact.

Levels of Psychological Safety

Timothy R. Clark’s framework on psychological safety provides a useful lens for understanding its progression within teams and organizations. He outlines four distinct stages:

• Inclusion Safety: Individuals feel a basic sense of belonging and acceptance within the group. Without this foundation, deeper levels of psychological safety cannot take root.
• Learner Safety: Individuals feel comfortable asking questions, making mistakes, and seeking feedback without fear of embarrassment or punishment.
• Contributor Safety: Employees feel empowered to share their ideas, insights, and expertise without hesitation.
• Challenger Safety: The highest level, where individuals not only feel safe contributing but also feel encouraged to challenge the status quo, question decisions, and drive innovation.

---

---

Organizations that foster all four levels create environments where employees are more engaged, resilient, and committed to delivering value rather than merely protecting themselves.

Exercise 10.1 involved a measure of psychological safety.

---

Exercise 10:2

What was your score in Exercise 10.1?

If your score was above a 4.0, that means that your team has relatively high psychological safety and is more conducive to the formation of value creative wiring.

If your score was below a 4.0, that means that your team has a culture that is likely feeding self-protective wiring, with the lower the score, the greater the social pressure to adopt self-protective wiring.

In small groups, reveal your score and discuss the following:

Do you see a correlation between your score and your team’s willingness to take risks, express ideas, and make mistakes?
Do you see a correlation between your score and your team’s willingness to take risks and be innovative?
What are aspects about your team’s culture that are fueling either fear or safety?

For example, are incentive systems causing people to be more self-protective or value creating?

Have individuals share their insights with the broader group. And, facilitate a discussion about how they have seen psychological safety vary across teams and organizations across their careers and what difference it made.

---

Exercise 10:3

Watch this video: How Google builds the perfect team

Then, discuss the following questions:

What were the two most important factors for the formation of psychological safety?
How would you rate your team on those two factors?
Do you agree with the statement that psychological safety is “the single greatest correlate with a group’s success?”
Do you think your organization, your leader, or you place adequate attention on psychological safety?

---

Case Study 10:1

Think back to the Microsoft example from earlier, and the note that Satya Nadella sent to the project leaders of the artificial intelligence bot named Tay. Did his note move toward greater psychological safety or away from psychological safety?

Since Satya Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft, Microsoft’s stock price is up almost 10 times. Do you think there is a correlation between Microsoft’s success and Satya Nadella’s emphasis on psychological safety?

Psychological safety has been a cornerstone of Microsoft’s transformation under CEO Satya Nadella. When Nadella took the helm in 2014, Microsoft was grappling with a toxic, competitive internal culture that stifled collaboration and innovation. Teams were siloed, and employees often avoided taking risks for fear of failure or criticism. Nadella recognized that fostering psychological safety—where employees feel safe to voice ideas, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of negative consequences—was critical to driving the company’s turnaround and enabling sustainable growth.

There are five ways psychological safety has contributed to Microsoft’s Success:

Fostering a Growth Mindset

Nadella emphasized the importance of a growth mindset, which encourages employees to see challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement rather than threats. This shift in mindset reduced the fear of failure and encouraged employees to experiment and innovate. Nadella’s focus on psychological safety helped employees feel comfortable embracing uncertainty, taking risks, and learning from mistakes, all of which are essential for driving innovation in a rapidly changing tech landscape.

Encouraging Collaboration Across Silos

Under Nadella’s leadership, psychological safety became a foundation for breaking down silos within Microsoft. Employees were encouraged to work collaboratively across teams and share knowledge without fear of losing status or resources. This cultural shift fostered a more cohesive and innovative organization, enabling the company to build integrated solutions like Azure, Microsoft Teams, and the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Empowering Diverse Voices

Psychological safety allowed Microsoft to tap into the collective intelligence of its workforce by empowering employees to share ideas and perspectives, regardless of rank or background. This inclusivity supported diversity of thought, which is critical for creating customer-centric products and solutions. Employees felt confident that their contributions would be valued and considered, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability.

Driving Customer-Centric Innovation

Nadella encouraged employees to adopt a customer-first approach, rooted in empathy. By cultivating psychological safety, employees felt empowered to engage deeply with customer feedback and experiment with solutions that addressed their needs. This led to the development of transformative products and services, such as the expansion of Azure into a market-leading cloud platform.

Building Resilience and Adaptability

Psychological safety also played a role in enabling Microsoft to pivot and adapt in a highly competitive industry. For example, by fostering a safe space for open dialogue and feedback, Nadella encouraged teams to identify and address weaknesses in real time. This adaptability has been crucial in maintaining Microsoft’s relevance and competitiveness, particularly as it expanded into areas like AI and cloud computing.

psychological safety under Nadella’s leadership has been pivotal to Microsoft’s revival. By creating a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and free to innovate, Microsoft has positioned itself as a leader in the tech industry, with a strong foundation for continued success.

---

Trust

In any organization, trust serves as a fundamental pillar that shapes workplace culture, team dynamics, and overall performance. When trust is present, employees feel safe, engaged, and empowered to contribute meaningfully. Conversely, when trust is lacking, individuals operate in a state of self-protection—guarding information, avoiding risks, and prioritizing personal security over collective progress. For leaders aiming to elevate their Being Side, fostering trust is essential to creating an environment where employees can shift from self-preservation to value creation.

Understanding Trust in Leadership

Trust in leadership extends beyond personal credibility or good intentions—it is the foundation of a psychologically secure and high-performing workplace. Trust is built through consistent actions that demonstrate reliability, integrity, competence, and genuine care for others. When leaders establish a climate of trust, employees are more likely to take initiative, collaborate effectively, and contribute their best ideas without fear of retribution.

Research in organizational psychology suggests that trust operates at multiple levels:

Interpersonal Trust – Trust between individuals, such as between a leader and their direct reports or among team members.
Institutional Trust – Confidence in the organization’s systems, policies, and leadership to act in fair and ethical ways.
Self-Trust – The belief in one’s own abilities and judgment, which is influenced by the surrounding culture and leadership environment.

Leaders must actively cultivate all three forms of trust to ensure employees can operate in value creation mode rather than self-preservation mode.

Trust as a Catalyst for Value Creation

A workplace climate characterized by trust enables employees to direct their cognitive and emotional energy toward productive endeavors rather than defensive behaviors. When employees trust their leaders and colleagues, they are more likely to:

Share ideas and insights openly, fostering innovation.
Take calculated risks, driving progress and problem-solving.
Collaborate effectively, reducing silos and improving teamwork.
Engage in constructive conflict, leading to better decision-making.
Feel a deeper connection to the organization’s mission and goals.

Without trust, these behaviors are replaced by self-protection mechanisms—hesitation to speak up, fear of failure, reluctance to collaborate, and disengagement from meaningful work. Leaders who cultivate trust create an atmosphere where employees feel safe to step beyond their comfort zones, knowing they will be supported rather than punished for their contributions.

The Building Blocks of Trust

Trust is not built overnight; it requires continuous effort and alignment between words and actions. While trust can be conceptualized in various ways, several key elements consistently emerge as essential to its formation:

Competence – Employees trust leaders who demonstrate expertise and sound decision-making. Leaders must show they are capable of guiding the organization effectively.
Integrity – Trust is strengthened when leaders act with honesty, fairness, and consistency, ensuring their words align with their actions.
Reliability – Predictability in behavior builds confidence. When leaders follow through on commitments, employees feel secure in their roles.
Empathy – Demonstrating genuine care for employees fosters trust. Leaders who listen, validate concerns, and show appreciation create deeper connections.
Transparency – Open communication about organizational decisions, challenges, and expectations prevents misinformation and reduces uncertainty.

When these elements are present, trust becomes embedded in the organizational culture, allowing employees to operate with confidence and focus on meaningful contributions rather than self-preservation.

In all, trust is a cornerstone of effective leadership and a prerequisite for high-performing organizations. It determines whether employees feel safe enough to contribute fully or whether they retreat into self-protection mode. Leaders who cultivate trust create conditions where employees can focus on collaboration, innovation, and meaningful work.

Conclusion

Level 5 leaders understand the power and importance of psychological safety and trust, and they invest heavily in each. Throughout this program, we will continually come back to the these topics of psychological safety and trust and how you as a leader can more effectively foster cultures of safety and trust so that you can better create an environment where your people can be more value creators and less self-protectors.

---

Course Manual 11: Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence

Neurodivergence

Thus far, we have covered how our internal operating system might become more wired for self-protection because of past trauma and unsafe cultures. Each of these factors are things that occur external to us that impact our internal operating system. In this module, we’ll cover a factor that is internal to us that can impact the wiring of our internal operating system. That factor is neurodivergence.

Neurodivergence refers to variations in the way individuals think, process information, learn, and behave, which differ from what is considered “neurotypical” or the societal norm. The term embraces a spectrum of differences in brain function and cognitive processes, including conditions like autism, ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette syndrome, and others. Neurodivergence highlights that these differences are not deficits or disorders to be “fixed,” but rather natural variations in human cognition.

The reason why it is important to bring up neurodivergence is because neurodivergence is a direct indication that one’s internal operating system functions differently than those who are considered “neurotypical.” And, while these variations are natural, that does not always mean that they are helpful, particularly as it relates to the programming of our internal operating system.

In this module, we’ll focus on the most common neurodivergence: ADHD.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that roughly six percent of adults have had a diagnosis of ADHD. But, the actual prevalence of ADHD is likely significantly higher than that. Researchers from Ohio State University have found that 25 percent of adults think they have ADHD, but have not sought out or received an actual diagnosis.

What is ADHD?

ADHD is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition that significantly impacts the quality and complexity of executive functioning.

Individuals with ADHD face notable challenges in two key areas: (1) maintaining focus on goals while resisting distractions, and (2) suppressing impulsive behaviors. Research indicates that those with ADHD demonstrate about a 30% lag in these capabilities compared to individuals without the condition. Consequently, their internal operating systems are (1) more inclined toward self-preservation, driving them to prioritize short-term gratification, and (2) less optimized for value-driven activities, such as creating strategic plans, staying focused, processing information effectively, prioritizing tasks, and managing attention selectively.

While these neurological differences pose challenges, many individuals and leaders with ADHD find ways to be highly effective and successful. In some cases, they even leverage these traits to their advantage. Nevertheless, the executive functioning differences associated with ADHD do influence the overall sophistication, efficiency, and adaptability of one’s internal operating system.

To fully understand why and how this is, it is helpful to dive into how ADHD directly impacts our brain. During the trauma module, we introduced three brain networks that are in control of processing our world: salience network, default mode network, and central executive network. And, we covered how trauma can disrupt the relationships between these networks by causing the salience network or the default mode network to become stronger and less able to be regulated by the other.

ADHD affects these same brain networks, but in a different way. ADHD is a diagnosis that generally signals that the functional connectivity between these three brain networks is weaker than those who are considered “neurotypical.” As a result of this weaker functional connectivity, individuals with ADHD exhibit neurological differences that contribute to a more reactive stress response system and a narrower window of tolerance, making them more likely to develop patterns of behavior oriented toward self-protection rather than value creation.

Seven Executive Function Issues Commonly Associated with ADHD

Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D., is a recognized ADHD expert and has published multiple books on the topic. He outlines seven executive function issues that people with ADHD tent to struggle with. As we go over these, please consider the following questions:

Do these issues seem more like Doing Side issues or Being Side issues?
Do you feel like you struggle with any of these issues?

---

---

Executive Function Issue #1 – Diminished self-awareness: Individuals with ADHD often struggle to stay fully attuned to their thoughts, speech, emotions, and actions. They tend to operate on autopilot, especially in situations where a more mindful and intentional approach would be beneficial, such as during moments of high stress or sensory overload. As a result, they are more susceptible to distractions and reactive behaviors, which can hinder their ability to respond in proactive, deliberate, and thoughtful ways.

Executive Function Issue #2 – Diminished inhibition or self-restraint: Individuals with ADHD often find it challenging to pause and reflect before reacting to a stimulus. This can lead them to respond in ways that prioritize immediate self-protection, reducing their capacity to act intentionally and focus on long-term value creation.

Executive Function Issue #3 – Diminished working memory: Our working memory allows us to draw from past experiences to guide our actions in the present (hindsight) or to plan for future goals (foresight). However, individuals with ADHD often find it challenging to engage with both. Their difficulty with hindsight means they struggle to learn from past experiences, frequently lose track of what they’re supposed to be doing, and often forget instructions, rules, or commitments. Likewise, their trouble with foresight leads to increased distractibility, difficulty maintaining focus on long-term objectives, and a reduced ability to stay persistent in pursuing goals over time. As a result, they tend to be more reactive, responding to immediate stimuli or emotional impulses rather than staying focused on their broader intentions.

Executive Function Issue #4 – Diminished time management abilities: Individuals with ADHD often have difficulty perceiving and managing time. They may struggle to use the passing of time as a guide for regulating their actions. This can lead to challenges such as failing to plan for deadlines, misjudging how much time tasks will take, and having difficulty recognizing the consequences of missing deadlines. As a result, they are more likely to have trouble honoring time commitments to others.

Executive Function Issue #5 – Diminished emotional self-control: Individuals with ADHD often have difficulty regulating their emotions, making them more prone to emotional reactivity. When coupled with challenges in hindsight, this not only leads to emotional outbursts but also makes it harder for them to learn from past mistakes where their emotional responses have caused issues.

Executive Function Issue #6 – Diminished self-motivation: Individuals with ADHD often find it challenging to complete routine tasks. When faced with these tasks, they are more likely to gravitate toward activities that are more stimulating, exciting, or rewarding, typically prioritizing self-interest over tasks that create value. Additionally, the combination of low self-motivation and limited foresight makes it difficult for individuals with ADHD to persistently work toward large, long-term goals or meaningful purposes. This challenge is amplified when those goals or purposes are not personally aligned with their immediate needs or self-benefit.

Executive Function Issue #7 – Diminished self-organization, planning, and problem solving: Individuals with ADHD often have difficulty with planning and problem-solving. They find it challenging to generate a variety of possible solutions to a problem and struggle to determine the most effective sequence of steps to take. As a result, overcoming obstacles can be particularly difficult for them.

---

Exercise 11:1

Having learned about these executive functioning issues, what do you think:

Do you think it is common for leaders to struggle with any of these issues?
If one struggles with these issues, is that more because of Doing Side deficiencies (i.e., lack of knowledge or skills) or Being Side deficiencies (i.e., internal operating system programming)?

What does your answer here suggest about how to best approach developing leaders?

---

ADHD and Leadership Decision-Making: Challenges and Considerations

Leaders are constantly required to make decisions that impact their teams, organizations, and long-term strategies. Effective decision-making hinges on the ability to evaluate information, anticipate consequences, regulate emotions, and maintain a balance between urgency and deliberation. However, for leaders with ADHD, these processes can be uniquely complex due to executive function differences that influence cognitive flexibility, impulse control, and working memory.

The Impact of ADHD on Decision-Making Processes

Leaders with ADHD may experience challenges in three critical areas of decision-making: information processing, impulse regulation, and long-term strategic thinking. These challenges stem from neurological differences in attention, emotional regulation, and executive function, which affect how individuals gather, analyze, and act on information.

1. Information Processing and Prioritization

One of the most fundamental aspects of decision-making is the ability to process large amounts of information, identify key details, and prioritize effectively. Leaders with ADHD often struggle with information overload, finding it difficult to filter out irrelevant details while focusing on the most critical elements of a decision. This can lead to either:

Analysis Paralysis – Getting stuck in overanalyzing details and struggling to determine which factors should drive the decision.
Impulsive Decision-Making – Quickly selecting an option without fully considering the consequences due to difficulty maintaining focus on long-term objectives.

For instance, a leader with ADHD may sit through a strategy meeting and come away feeling overwhelmed by competing priorities. With multiple projects requiring attention, they might struggle to organize tasks effectively, leading to missed deadlines or hasty choices driven by immediate demands rather than strategic importance.

2. Impulsivity and Emotional Regulation in Decision-Making

ADHD is often associated with weaker impulse control, which can result in leaders making reactive decisions based on immediate emotions rather than carefully evaluating long-term consequences. This impulsivity can manifest in various ways, including:

Making snap judgments without fully considering the downstream effects.
Interrupting or overriding team discussions in favor of a personally preferred solution.
Struggling to tolerate uncertainty, leading to premature decisions to reduce discomfort.

For example, a leader with ADHD might receive critical feedback on a new initiative and immediately react defensively, changing the course of action without giving themselves time to reflect on whether adjustments are truly needed. This can create inconsistencies in leadership style and make it difficult for teams to follow a clear vision.

3. Long-Term Strategic Thinking vs. Present Bias

Effective leadership requires foresight and planning, yet ADHD often contributes to a present-oriented mindset. Leaders with ADHD may find it challenging to sustain focus on distant goals, instead prioritizing what feels urgent or stimulating in the moment. This can make it harder to:

Maintain a consistent strategic vision over time.
Allocate resources effectively for long-term projects.
Anticipate and mitigate risks before they become critical.

A leader with ADHD may thrive in brainstorming sessions, generating innovative ideas and dynamic solutions. However, they may also struggle with the follow-through required to execute these plans, leading to frequent shifts in priorities and unfinished initiatives. While their adaptability can be an asset, it must be balanced with structured planning to ensure consistent leadership.

The Double-Edged Sword of ADHD in Leadership

While the challenges of ADHD in decision-making are significant, it is important to recognize that these same traits can also lead to strengths. Leaders with ADHD are often highly creative, adaptable, and capable of making quick, bold decisions in fast-paced environments. Their ability to think outside the box and embrace change can be a powerful asset—provided they develop strategies to manage impulsivity and enhance long-term planning.

In the next section, we will explore actionable strategies that leaders with ADHD can implement to optimize their decision-making processes while leveraging their natural strengths.

---

Case Study 11:1

Sal, the founder and CEO of a rapidly growing technology firm, has built the company from the ground up over the past decade. In the last two years, the company has had dramatic growth, going from 500 employees to 1,000 employees. As the company scales, Sal’s leadership style has become more strained, revealing executive function challenges that are beginning to impact both his leadership effectiveness and the well-being of his employees.

Sal’s organization is hard-driving and focused on high performance, but this culture has been difficult for the executive team to sustain under Sal’s leadership. One of Sal’s biggest struggles is setting a clear and consistent strategic direction for the company. He frequently finds it difficult to maintain a long-term vision or engage in foresight, instead focusing on immediate tasks and short-term demands. As a result, the organization often lacks a clear sense of where it’s headed, leaving the team feeling uncertain about the company’s goals and priorities.

Compounding this issue, Sal has a tendency to micromanage. Despite the company’s growth, he struggles to delegate tasks, becoming involved in the smallest details of day-to-day operations. His inability to step back and trust his executive team has led to frustration within the leadership group. Sal’s rushed approach to everything—constantly moving from one task to another—also hampers his ability to prioritize effectively. His time management issues are evident in his habit of canceling meetings with his executive team, leaving key discussions unresolved and employees feeling undervalued and unheard.

Emotionally, Sal can be reactive, especially when problems or mistakes arise. His emotional outbursts tend to be disproportionate, which only adds to the growing tension within the organization. Employees feel that they are walking on eggshells, unable to approach Sal without fear of triggering an emotional response. This unpredictability has further eroded the trust between Sal and his team.

As a result, Sal’s leadership has contributed to a noticeable increase in employee burnout and turnover. The executive team members, while still working hard, are becoming disillusioned with Sal’s micromanagement and lack of vision. They are adapting to please him, but the absence of psychological safety has led to a work environment where employees feel disempowered and disengaged.

Despite these struggles, Sal has shown remarkable resilience. His frenetic work ethic allows him to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, and he can quickly shift from one responsibility to the next. However, his tendency to react impulsively and disregard long-term planning is preventing the company from operating with a clear, strategic focus.

The organization is at a crossroads. While Sal’s leadership has driven significant growth, the executive team is increasingly burdened by the strain of working under his leadership style. For now, the team is adapting, but the long-term sustainability of this approach is uncertain, and the organization’s ability to maintain its culture of high performance will depend on whether Sal can address his leadership challenges.
This case study is based on an actual leader that has ADHD.

---

Exercise 11:2

After reading the case, discuss the following questions:

Have you ever worked with a leader like Sal?
Where did you see some of Sal’s ADHD executive functioning issues rear their ugly head?
Did Sal’s ADHD seem to help him in any way?

---

What Leaders Can Do About ADHD

ADHD researchers have found that ADHD is largely genetically related, meaning that it is more nature, and less nurture. But that doesn’t mean that those with ADHD can’t do anything to overcome their executive functioning issues associated with ADHD.

Contrary to common belief, ADHD from childhood does not go away when one becomes an adult. But, the degree to which ADHD affects them may change over time because they may pick up different habits or practices that help mitigate the negative effects of ADHD.

While natural adaptations to habits and even neurological connections are likely to occur for people with ADHD, if they want to take greater strides in reducing the limiting the negative impact of ADHD, they have some options.

Here are some initial, more surface-level practices to consider:

• Engage in mindfulness practices – Such practices can help them strengthen their brain’s ability to not act impulsively and allow them to pause before reacting.
• Implement regular check-ins – Instead of getting caught up in every detail, schedule periodic check-ins with team members. This allows leaders to remain informed without micromanaging, and it gives team members a sense of autonomy while maintaining accountability.
• Use visual planning tools – Tools like visual boards, mind maps, or task management apps (e.g., Trello, Asana) can help with organizing tasks and maintaining focus. These tools provide external reminders and a visual structure that can counteract distractibility.
• Break down large goals – Leaders with ADHD can struggle with long-term vision and planning. It’s critical to break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks with clear deadlines. By focusing on one step at a time, leaders can make consistent progress without feeling overwhelmed.
• Use a structured schedule – Relying on a clear, structured schedule is crucial for managing time. Encourage the use of digital calendars and reminders, with built-in buffers for unexpected events or tasks that may overrun. Consistency is key to developing this habit.
• Set time limits for tasks – Leaders with ADHD may struggle with time estimation and procrastination. One approach is to set specific time limits for tasks (e.g., “I will spend 30 minutes on this task”). This helps avoid distractions and encourages focused work.
• Work with a coach – Business leaders with ADHD may benefit from working with an executive coach who understands ADHD and can help them develop strategies to manage their executive function challenges. Coaches can also help with emotional regulation and time management.

And, if leaders with ADHD want to consider deeper-level practices to consider, they might want to consider the following:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy – This is a therapeutic process that can help individuals with ADHD reframe their thinking and behavior patterns.
• Neurofeedback therapy – This is a type of biofeedback that uses real-time monitoring of brain activity to help individuals learn to regulate their brainwaves. For leaders with ADHD, neurofeedback can be an effective tool to improve attention, focus, and emotional regulation. By training the brain to achieve more optimal patterns of activity, neurofeedback can help individuals with ADHD enhance their self-control, reduce impulsivity, and improve cognitive functioning.

Both of these approaches help individuals to strengthen the connective functionality across the salience network, default mode network, and central executive network, which is effectively upgrading one’s internal operating system.

---

Exercise 11:3

We have just wrapped up discussion about three disrupters of our altitude along our Being Side: trauma, culture, and neurodivergence. Each of these disrupters can cause one to have or develop more self-protective programming, as opposed to value creating programming.

In small groups, discuss the following questions:

Which of these three disrupters did you find most interesting to learn about?
We all have self-protective wiring. And, this self-protective wiring largely comes from one of these three factors. Do you have a sense of where your self-protective wiring might come from? (We’ll dive more into this in the coming workshops)
How does this information impact:

How you think of yourself as a leader?
How you should lead others?

---

Module Conclusion

Understanding the impact of neurodivergence, particularly ADHD, on leadership and executive functioning offers valuable insights into how leaders operate under stress, manage their teams, and make decisions. While ADHD-related executive function challenges can create obstacles in maintaining long-term vision, regulating emotions, and managing time effectively, leaders who embrace self-awareness and implement targeted strategies can mitigate these difficulties and even leverage their strengths. Practices such as mindfulness, structured scheduling, and externalized organization systems can enhance leadership effectiveness, while deeper interventions like neurofeedback and cognitive-behavioral therapy can strengthen the internal operating system itself.

---

Course Manual 12: Elevated Leadership

Reviewing Where We Have Been

At the beginning of this workshop, we introduced the model of Level 5 leadership, which contains three key ideas:

1. Leaders can operate at different levels of sophistication.
2. The higher the level—or more sophisticated the leader—the more successful the organization or team will be. The level that leaders operate at sets the ceiling for their group.
3. If we want to elevate an organization or group, we need to elevate the sophistication of its leaders.

These ideas set the stage for this entire program. The focus and purpose of this program have been to help you elevate your sophistication as a leader so that you can have a more positive and transformational impact on your organization, the groups you lead, and the people you influence.

Twenty years ago, few people, including Jim Collins, knew how to help leaders elevate to the Level 5 level. Today, however, we have gained a clearer understanding of how leaders can develop the capacity for transformational leadership. The challenge is that while we now understand the path to elevated leadership, many leaders are still unaware of how to embark on this journey.

This workshop has aimed to help you uncover and awaken the key to unlocking more elevated leadership, including Level 5 leadership. We have identified that key as the Being Side of leadership. If we want to elevate our leadership sophistication, we must awaken to our Being Side altitude and learn how to elevate along our Being Side.

Key Learnings from This Workshop

Throughout this program, we have explored a variety of foundational ideas and concepts. Let’s revisit some of these key insights:

The #1 lesson of leadership is that if we want to become an elevated leader, we must become someone that others genuinely want to follow. This requires leading with personal power, rather than relying solely on positional authority.

We have two sides of ourselves: the Doing Side and the Being Side. To become more of someone that others want to follow, we must focus on and elevate along our Being Side.

Most significant leadership struggles stem from a low Being Side altitude. The best and most effective leaders stand out, not because of their Doing Side, but because of their Being Side—their ability to lead with authenticity, emotional intelligence, and inner stability.

Our body operates with an internal operating system that regulates our behaviors, often subconsciously. This internal system controls how we perceive and respond to challenges, and it is wired either for self-protection or value creation.

The way to gauge our altitude along our Being Side is to recognize how much our internal operating system is programmed for self-protection versus value creation.

The way to elevate along our Being Side is to upgrade our programming—shifting away from self-protective tendencies and toward a mindset of expansion, trust, and contribution.

Two primary ways we can assess our Being Side altitude are by examining:

How we make meaning of the world. Do we interpret challenges through a self-protective lens or through a growth-oriented, value-creating lens?

The width of our window of tolerance. How well can we regulate ourselves and remain composed under stress?

Three primary factors disrupt our Being Side altitude:

• Psychological trauma
• An unsafe or toxic culture
• Neurodivergence

Each of these factors can contribute to a self-protective operating system that limits our leadership effectiveness.

---

Exercise 12:1

In small groups, answer the following questions:

Of these ideas and concepts, which have been the most eye-opening and insightful to you? And, why?
Of these ideas and concepts, which currently feels the most unclear?
Of these ideas and concepts, which do you want to learn more about?

---

Why Elevated Leadership Matters More Than Ever

The world is experiencing rapid and profound changes, making leadership more complex than ever before. Organizations today operate in an environment of constant disruption, driven by technological advancements, shifting workforce expectations, economic volatility, and global interconnectivity. Traditional leadership models—rooted in command, control, and short-term execution—are proving inadequate in the face of these new realities. The leaders who thrive in today’s landscape are those who have elevated beyond transactional management to become adaptive, emotionally intelligent, and visionary leaders.

One of the primary drivers of this shift is the acceleration of technological change. The rise of artificial intelligence, automation, and digital transformation has fundamentally altered the way organizations operate. According to a 2023 McKinsey report, AI and automation are expected to disrupt nearly 25% of all current job functions over the next decade. Leaders who cling to rigid structures and outdated methods will struggle to keep pace, while those who can navigate ambiguity, cultivate agility, and foster innovation will position their organizations for sustainable success. Elevated leaders are not simply reacting to technological shifts—they are proactively shaping the future by empowering their teams to experiment, iterate, and embrace change rather than resist it.

Another critical factor necessitating elevated leadership is the changing expectations of the workforce. Employee engagement and retention have become pressing concerns for organizations across industries. Research from Gallup indicates that only 23% of employees worldwide are actively engaged in their work, with many citing a lack of trust, autonomy, and purpose as key reasons for disengagement. The most effective leaders today recognize that engagement is not driven by financial incentives alone but by a sense of purpose, psychological safety, and opportunities for growth. Elevated leaders understand that their role is not just to direct employees but to create environments where individuals feel valued, empowered, and motivated to contribute their best work. This requires deep self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and a commitment to leading with personal power rather than positional authority.

Moreover, organizations are facing growing social and environmental responsibilities that demand a shift in leadership mindset. The ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) movement has placed unprecedented pressure on companies to demonstrate ethical leadership, corporate responsibility, and sustainable business practices. A study by Deloitte found that more than 60% of executives believe their organizations must adopt a purpose-driven leadership approach to remain competitive. Leaders who fail to integrate long-term value creation into their decision-making will struggle to attract top talent, retain customer loyalty, and maintain credibility in an increasingly values-driven marketplace. Elevated leaders are those who prioritize mission over ego, long-term impact over short-term gains, and collective well-being over individual success.

Finally, uncertainty and volatility have become permanent features of the business landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored how fragile and interconnected global markets are, revealing the limitations of traditional hierarchical leadership. In today’s world, organizations require leaders who can navigate crisis with composure, make decisions with incomplete information, and foster resilience within their teams. Elevated leaders develop cognitive complexity—the ability to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously, anticipate unintended consequences, and make principled yet flexible decisions. They are not paralyzed by uncertainty; rather, they cultivate adaptive capacity within their organizations, ensuring that teams can pivot quickly and seize emerging opportunities.

As the business world continues to evolve, the need for Level 5 leaders—those who blend humility with fierce resolve, wisdom with adaptability, and vision with execution—has never been greater. Elevated leadership is no longer a luxury but a necessity for organizations that seek to thrive amid complexity. Those who invest in developing their Being Side, expanding their emotional intelligence, and leading with values-driven intentionality will not only drive business success but also create lasting, positive impact on their organizations and the broader world. The future belongs to those who recognize that leadership is not about control—it is about elevating oneself and others to new levels of possibility.

Charting Where We Are Going

With this foundation laid, we now turn our attention to where this program is headed next.

This program contains two parts:

Elevating Ourselves as Leaders – The first part of the program will focus on deep, transformative work to elevate along the Being Side. This will involve introspection, self-awareness exercises, and developing a Personal Vertical Development Plan. This plan will guide our continued elevation as leaders beyond this workshop.
Implementing Elevated Leadership – The second part of the program will shift from self-work to organizational impact. We will explore what Level 5 leaders do uniquely compared to Level 4 leaders, and we will walk through the process of implementing Level 5 leadership behaviors in the organizations, teams, and groups that we lead.

To close out this workshop, let’s explore the power of doing this Being Side work through a case study of Benjamin Zander, the founder and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.

---

Case Study 12:1 – Benjamin Zander’s Journey to Level 5 Leadership

Background and Early Leadership

Benjamin Zander, founder and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, once embodied the stereotypical image of the classical music conductor: authoritative, demanding, and fixated on personal recognition. In the music world, conductors have often been perceived as mythical yet somewhat tyrannical leaders—towering figures who dictate precisely what and how their musicians play. For the first half of his career, Zander fit this mold perfectly.

Reflecting on his early leadership, Zander admitted that his focus was almost entirely inward. He viewed himself as the central figure in his orchestra—the one whose interpretation of the music mattered most. In his eyes, musicians were not partners but instruments to fulfill his vision. His ultimate goal was not collective success but personal acclaim. Audience applause, critical praise, and opportunities to advance his career were his driving forces. Under this mindset, Zander pushed his musicians relentlessly, often berating them for mistakes and creating a stifling environment where their voices were neither heard nor valued.

This inward-focused leadership came at a significant cost. Musicians under Zander’s baton felt infantilized and subordinate. He rarely allowed dialogue, let alone collaboration, about how a piece should be played. Mistakes were punished harshly, and burnout was common. A striking statistic from this period underscores the toxic environment common in orchestral music at the time: a study found that job satisfaction among orchestral musicians ranked below that of prison guards.

The question, then, is clear: Who will play better music—a group that feels dissatisfied, overlooked, and exhausted or one that feels valued, engaged, and inspired? In his early years, Zander, like many leaders operating at Level 4, struggled to recognize this obvious truth.

The Epiphany

Midway through his career, Zander experienced a profound realization—a moment that would forever change his approach to leadership. In a moment of reflection, he recognized a fundamental truth: while he may have been the face of the orchestra, he did not play a single note. This epiphany forced him to confront an uncomfortable reality. His role as conductor was not to exert control but to unlock the full potential of the musicians around him. He realized that his obsession with personal success had stifled his orchestra’s ability to thrive.

This awakening helped Zander see that he had been operating as a Level 4 leader—one who focuses on personal achievement, often at the expense of others. He began to recognize that true leadership at Level 5 requires humility and a commitment to empowering others. A Level 5 leader understands that their success is inseparable from the success of their team. Zander saw that his real power lay not in dictating every note but in enabling his musicians to reach their fullest potential.

At its core, this was a shift on Zander’s Being Side. It was not about strategy or technique but about who he was as a leader. His mindset shifted from asking, “How great can I become?” to asking, “How can I help my musicians play as beautifully as they are capable of?”

The Transformation into a Level 5 Leader

This epiphany sparked a dramatic transformation in Zander’s leadership—a transformation characterized by humility, collaboration, and a focus on unlocking the greatness in others.

One of Zander’s first acts was revolutionary in the world of orchestral music: he began leaving blank sheets of paper on each musician’s stand, inviting their feedback and observations. This simple yet radical act sent a powerful message—their voices mattered. In an environment where conductors had historically been unquestionable authorities, Zander created space for dialogue, trust, and mutual respect. His musicians, once stifled and disengaged, began to feel seen, valued, and involved.

Zander also changed the way he interacted with his musicians during rehearsals. No longer did he berate mistakes or enforce his own rigid interpretation of the music. Instead, he fostered an environment where musicians were encouraged to contribute their own artistry. He began listening—truly listening—to what his players had to say. For the first time, they were collaborators, not tools.

A pivotal moment came when Zander incorrectly reprimanded a musician for missing a cue. Realizing his mistake, Zander stopped the rehearsal, publicly acknowledged his error, and apologized. For many in the orchestra, this was unprecedented. Several musicians later told him that they couldn’t remember the last time a conductor had admitted a mistake, let alone apologized for it. This moment of humility signaled to the orchestra that Zander had changed—he was no longer operating as an authoritarian leader but as a servant leader, willing to model vulnerability and openness.

Over time, these changes had a profound effect on the orchestra. Musicians began to feel a sense of ownership in the music they were creating. They were no longer just following orders; they were active participants in something larger than themselves. This shift in mindset led to higher engagement, deeper commitment, and, ultimately, more beautiful music.

Zander summarized his new approach with a powerful question: “How much greatness am I willing to grant people?” By focusing on enabling his musicians to be their best, Zander unlocked a level of collective performance that had previously eluded him. His journey illustrates a profound truth about leadership: when leaders elevate themselves to Level 5, they unlock the magic of the groups and organizations they lead.

Leadership Lessons for the Reader

Benjamin Zander’s story offers two core lessons for anyone seeking to elevate their leadership:

Elevating as a Leader is Possible: Zander’s transformation from a self-focused, Level 4 leader to an empowering, Level 5 leader is proof that growth on the Being Side is achievable. His journey was not about learning new techniques but about shifting his mindset and embracing a new way of being.
Level 5 Leadership Unlocks Collective Greatness: When Zander shifted his focus from personal achievement to empowering his musicians, the orchestra flourished. The more he focused on helping others reach their potential, the more successful the orchestra became.

Zander’s story invites us to reflect on our own leadership. Are we operating with an inward mindset, focused on our own success, or are we empowering those around us to thrive? Are we asking, “How much greatness can I achieve?” or are we asking, “How much greatness am I willing to grant others?”

For visual depictions of Alan Mulally and his leadership consider showing one of these video clips:

Benjamin Zander – Shining Eyes
Benjamin Zander – Work (How to give an A)
The transformative power of classical music | Benjamin Zander | TED

---

Exercise 12:2

As a large group, discuss the following questions:

What most impresses you about Benjamin Zander?
What can you learn from Benjamin Zander that you can implement into your leadership right now?

---

Common Pitfalls & Challenges in Leadership Growth

Leadership growth is not a linear path, nor is it always comfortable. True elevation—especially to Level 5 leadership—requires more than developing new strategies or refining management techniques. It demands deep personal transformation, an inner shift that many leaders struggle to embrace. While this program provides the roadmap for such growth, it is essential to acknowledge the common pitfalls that can derail progress. By understanding these challenges, we can better navigate them and commit to the work necessary to elevate ourselves as leaders.

1. The Trap of Focusing Solely on the Doing Side

For many leaders, growth has traditionally been measured in terms of external achievements: acquiring new skills, increasing efficiency, and refining strategic execution. This Doing Side development is familiar, tangible, and often rewarded in organizational settings. However, the path to Level 5 leadership requires a shift in focus toward the Being Side—elevating our mindsets, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and overall presence.

A common pitfall is assuming that leadership development is primarily about acquiring more tools for the Doing Side. This belief leads to a cycle of seeking external solutions to what are ultimately internal challenges. But no amount of external refinement can compensate for a lack of internal growth. Leaders who do not actively cultivate their Being Side will find themselves hitting the same barriers, no matter how much they improve their technical capabilities.

2. Avoiding the Discomfort of Being Side Development

Even when leaders recognize the importance of their Being Side, many struggle to engage in the deep work required to elevate it. Why? Because this type of growth requires stepping into discomfort. It forces leaders to confront long-held beliefs, question their self-protective tendencies, and unearth aspects of themselves they may prefer to ignore.

The journey to Level 5 leadership is not about doing more—it is about becoming more. And becoming more requires courage. It requires facing fears of vulnerability, uncertainty, and change. Many leaders hesitate to engage fully in this work because it disrupts familiar ways of operating. The subconscious mind resists transformation, clinging to patterns that feel safe, even if they are limiting.

Yet, avoiding this discomfort comes at a cost. Leaders who resist deep self-work may continue to operate from a place of reactivity rather than intentionality. They may struggle to inspire true followership, relying instead on positional authority rather than personal power. To become someone others genuinely want to follow, leaders must be willing to engage in the difficult but rewarding process of inner growth.

3. The Illusion of Quick Fixes

In a results-driven world, leaders often seek fast solutions to complex challenges. The temptation is to find a book, a seminar, or a new framework that promises transformational results with minimal effort. But the reality is that Being Side development does not happen overnight, nor can it be outsourced.

Many leaders fall into the trap of intellectualizing personal growth—understanding the concepts without embodying them. They may read about emotional intelligence or mindset shifts, but without active and sustained practice, these insights remain theoretical. True transformation happens through consistent, intentional effort. It requires patience, reflection, and a willingness to experiment with new ways of thinking and leading.

4. Resistance to Deep Self-Reflection

Elevating as a leader requires an honest examination of one’s current state. This means identifying blind spots, questioning ingrained assumptions, and recognizing self-protective tendencies that may be limiting leadership effectiveness. However, deep self-reflection can be uncomfortable, as it may surface insecurities or patterns that are difficult to acknowledge.

A common pitfall is dismissing or minimizing areas for growth. Some leaders may rationalize their behaviors, attributing challenges to external factors rather than internal dynamics. Others may recognize needed changes but delay taking action, convincing themselves that now is not the right time. The truth is that growth does not happen when it is convenient—it happens when we commit to it, even in the face of discomfort.

5. Lack of a Structured Approach to Growth

Finally, one of the biggest challenges leaders face is knowing how to engage in Being Side development effectively. Unlike Doing Side growth, which often comes with clear steps and measurable outcomes, Being Side growth can feel abstract and ambiguous. Without a structured approach, leaders may feel overwhelmed and uncertain about where to start.

The good news is that this program is designed to provide the necessary framework and support for this journey. We will take this process one step at a time, ensuring that leaders have the guidance, tools, and community needed to navigate their development successfully. Growth does not happen in isolation, and through this structured approach, leaders can move forward with confidence and clarity.

Embracing the Challenge

Elevating to Level 5 leadership is not easy, but it is deeply rewarding. It is a journey that requires intentional effort, resilience, and a willingness to embrace discomfort. By recognizing these common pitfalls, leaders can prepare themselves to navigate challenges with greater awareness and commitment.

The invitation is simple but profound: Will you lean into this work? Will you step beyond the familiar and embrace the deeper transformation required to elevate your leadership? If so, know that you are not alone in this journey. With the right structure, support, and mindset, the path to elevated leadership is not just possible—it is inevitable.

Final Reflection

Elevating to Level 5 leadership requires more than skill development—it demands a fundamental transformation of how we see ourselves and our role as leaders. As you move forward, the challenge is not to do more, but to become more—to evolve your internal operating system so that you lead with humility, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to creating lasting impact.

Are you ready to lead at an elevated level? The journey starts now.

---

Project Studies

Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 3) – Finance

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 7) – Legal

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 8) – Management

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Leadership Levels0) – Production

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Project Study (Part 12) – Education

The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Mastering Self process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:

01. Leadership Levels
02. Lesson of Leadership
03. The Two Sides of Ourselves
04. Common Leadership Issues
05. Exemplary Leadership
06. What is Our Being Side?
07. Meaning Making
08. Window of Tolerance
09. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Psychological Trauma
10. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Our Current Culture
11. Disrupter of our Being Side #1: Neurodivergence
12. Elevated Leadership

Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.

---

Program Benefits