Purposeful Insights

The Leadership Blind Spot No One Talks About

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:00:05 GMT

Self-awareness is one of the defining differences between leaders who create trust and leaders who quietly erode it. It shapes how a leader responds under pressure, how they handle feedback, how they communicate, and how safe other people feel in their presence. Yet it is also one of the easiest leadership capabilities to overestimate.

Most people assume they know how they come across.

Most people are wrong.

That’s the real blind spot.

A leader can believe they’re clear, while their team experiences them as abrupt. They can believe they’re decisive, while others experience them as dismissive. They can believe they’re calm, while their silence creates uncertainty. They can believe they’re empowering others, while their need for control leaves no room for ownership.

This is why self-awareness is not a soft add-on to leadership development . It is a core leadership skill.

Without it, even technically strong leaders create friction they cannot see. With it, leaders are far more likely to build trust, strengthen communication, improve team performance and create a healthier culture.

For learning and development professionals , this matters because many leadership challenges that appear to be about communication, collaboration, performance or culture are often rooted in something more fundamental. A leader doesn’t fully understand the impact they’re having on others.

For leaders themselves, the responsibility is personal. Self-awareness can’t be outsourced to HR, delegated to a facilitator or solved through good intentions alone. It needs deep reflection, feedback and the willingness to confront what may be uncomfortable. Painful, even.

This is where 360 feedback and executive coaching become so powerful when used well.

On their own, many 360 feedback processes create a moment of insight and then lose momentum. With the right support, they can become the start of real development.

The issue is not whether feedback matters. It does.

The question is whether leaders and organisations know what to do with it.

Why self-awareness is a core leadership skill

Self-awareness sits underneath almost every other leadership capability.

A leader who is self-aware is more likely to notice when stress is driving their behaviour. They are more likely to recognise when a strength is becoming overused. They are more likely to catch themselves before reacting defensively, speaking over others, shutting down dissent or creating confusion through mixed signals.

In practical terms, self-awareness affects how leaders:

listen in meetings
respond to challenge
give feedback
receive feedback
manage conflict
regulate emotion
model accountability
shape team culture

That last point is especially important.

Culture isn’t created through formal values, strategies, and policies. It’s shaped every single day through repeated leadership behaviours. Through tone. Through presence. Through what gets rewarded. Through what gets ignored. Through how safe it feels to speak honestly.

When a leader lacks self-awareness, they often create unintended consequences. They may think they are pushing for excellence, while their team experiences fear. They may believe they are moving quickly, while others experience chaos. They may see themselves as supportive, while their team experiences inconsistency.

The gap between intention and impact is where many leadership problems live. And that gap is often invisible to the person creating it.

How low self-awareness shows up in leadership

Low self-awareness rarely announces itself directly. It usually shows up in patterns.

These patterns are often subtle enough to be normalised by the leader and deeply felt by everyone around them.

They interrupt more than they listen

Some leaders dominate conversation without realising it. They jump in to correct, add context or show expertise. In their mind, they’re being engaged and helpful. In the room, other people experience them as controlling or uninterested in hearing different perspectives.

Over time, this reduces contribution. People stop offering ideas if they expect to be cut off or overruled.

They struggle to receive feedback without defensiveness

Leaders with low self-awareness often say they welcome feedback, until the feedback is what they don’t want to hear.

Then comes the justification. The explanation. The blame. The withdrawal.

Even when the response is subtle, the message lands loudly: it’s not safe to be fully honest here.

That’s how feedback cultures weaken. So, not through policy, but through reaction.

They blame the team without reflecting on their own role

When things go wrong, be it poor result, low engagement drops or new pressures, an unaware leader often looks outward first.

The team is not resilient enough.

People are too dependent.

Communication is poor.

Standards have dropped.

Sometimes those observations contain some truth. But when leaders don’t examine how their own behaviour may be contributing, they miss the most useful part of the picture.

They dominate discussion or overexplain

Some leaders fill space because silence feels risky. Others overexplain because they want to avoid being misunderstood. Others perform certainty because vulnerability feels unsafe.

Whatever the driver, the result is similar. The leader takes up too much room, and collaboration shrinks.

They avoid difficult conversations or handle them reactively

Leaders with low self-awareness often have limited insight into their emotional triggers. That makes difficult conversations harder to navigate well.

Some avoid them until issues escalate. Others go in too hard, too fast, or too emotionally charged. In both cases, trust suffers.

They struggle to name their emotions in real time

A leader who can’t recognise frustration, fear, stress, shame, or insecurity in themselves is more likely to act from those states unconsciously.

That affects judgment, communication and behaviour under pressure.

They don’t realise the impact they have on others

This may be the most significant blind spot of all.

Leadership is relational. People are constantly reading cues from those with authority. Tone, pace, body language, energy, facial expression, silence, impatience, inconsistency. These micro-messages shape how safe, motivated and valued people feel.

Leaders don’t need to be perfect. But they do need to understand that their impact extends far beyond what they intended.

The impact on teams and culture

When self-awareness is low at leadership level, the effects spread quickly.

What begins as an individual blind spot often becomes a team pattern.

The sense of psychological safety weakens

If a leader reacts badly to challenge, criticism or uncertainty, people learn to manage the leader rather than speak openly. They say less. They protect themselves. They keep concerns to themselves until problems become harder to fix.

Trust becomes fragile

Trust is built through congruence. People need to know what to expect from their leader. They need emotional steadiness, honesty, accountability and a willingness to reflect.

A leader who lacks self-awareness often creates unpredictability. That makes trust harder to sustain.

Performance conversations become less effective

When leaders are unaware of how they deliver feedback, how they respond to feedback or how their tone lands, performance conversations become loaded.

Instead of driving growth, they trigger anxiety, resistance or confusion.

Ownership decreases

If leaders overdirect, interrupt, micromanage or unconsciously punish risk-taking, people become more cautious. Initiative drops. Creativity narrows. Team members wait to be told rather than stepping forward.

Emotional strain increases

Low self-awareness in leadership can make teams feel tense, scrutinised, or unsupported. Even when output remains high, emotional resilience drops. That can contribute to burnout, disengagement and attrition.

This is why self-awareness is not simply a personal development topic. It’s a business and culture issue.

Why self-awareness is hard to build alone

Here’s the paradox.

In my experience the very leaders who most need self-awareness are often least able to see the gaps on their own. And that’s not because they’re incapable. It’s that self-perception is limited.

We all create internal stories about who we are, how we lead, how we come across. Those stories are shaped by our motives, our stress levels, our past experiences, and our intentions.

But other people experience our behaviour, not our intentions.

That’s why self-reflection matters but isn’t enough on its own.

A leader might attend development sessions etc and genuinely want to improve. But without external input, they still risk missing the gap between what they mean and what others experience.

That’s where feedback becomes essential.

The link between feedback and coaching

Here’s the point many organisations miss.

Feedback creates awareness.

Coaching creates movement.

A 360-feedback process can reveal patterns a leader could not see alone. It can show how they are experienced by managers, peers, direct reports and others across the system. It gives breadth. It brings perspective. Surfaces blind spots.

But feedback alone rarely creates sustained change.

A report can inform. It can surprise. It can sting. It might even… motivate.

But behaviour change requires more than information.

It requires interpretation, reflection, prioritisation, practice, accountability.

Coaching provides this.

Executive coaching helps leaders process feedback without collapsing into shame or defensiveness. It helps them separate signal from noise, understand patterns, explore root causes and identify the behaviours that matter most.

Most importantly, coaching turns a feedback event into a development process.

Without coaching, leaders often fall into one of three traps:

they dismiss the feedback
they take it personally and become discouraged
they agree with everything and try to change too much at once

Absolutely none of those routes leads to meaningful growth.

With coaching, a leader is far more likely to ask better questions:

What is the recurring pattern here?
Where is this showing up most clearly?
What is the cost of not changing it?
Which behaviour would make the biggest difference?
What support or accountability will help this stick?

Feedback and coaching should therefore not be treated as separate interventions. Together, they deepen self-awareness and increase the chances of real behaviour change.

Why 360 feedback fails so often

360 feedback is still one of the most widely used tools in leadership development.

And yet many leaders go through it without much changing afterwards.

To be clear, this is not because 360 feedback is flawed in principle. Unfortunately, the process is often poorly positioned, poorly supported or poorly followed through.

It is treated as an event rather than a process

Too many organisations invest heavily in survey design, administration and reporting, only to stop once the report is delivered.

The leader receives the feedback. Perhaps there is a brief debrief. Then attention moves elsewhere.

Insight IS generated but not embedded.

The purpose is unclear

If leaders or raters believe the process is really about performance judgement rather than development, honesty goes of the window. Defensiveness comes in.

The quality of the data depends heavily on the perceived purpose.

Feedback is too vague to act on

Let’s face it: comments like “be more strategic” or “you need to improve your executive presence" rarely translate into behaviour change without further unpacking.

Leaders need specific, observable themes they can work with, get their teeth into.

The emotional impact is underestimated

Receiving feedback, especially from multiple sources, can be uncomfortable. Even experienced leaders can feel exposed, misunderstood or overwhelmed.

When organisations ignore the emotional side of feedback, they reduce the chances of reflection.

Too much data and too little focus

A detailed report can create noise as easily as clarity. Leaders don’t usually need a list of twelve things to work on. They need help identifying the one or two shifts that would have the greatest impact.

Managers aren’t equipped to support the process

Line managers can play a crucial role after 360 feedback, but, in our experience, too few are trained to hold developmental conversations well. Without support, the follow-up becomes shallow or avoidant.

How to get 360 feedback right

Used well, 360 feedback can be a powerful tool for leadership development.

But it works best when it’s part of a wider system of reflection, coaching and behavioural follow-through.

Start with clear developmental intent

Leaders need to know why the process exists and how the information will be used. So do the people giving feedback.

If the primary purpose is development, that message must be explicit and consistent.

Design for behaviour, not vague traits

Questions should focus on observable leadership behaviours. That makes feedback more reliable and more useful.

The goal is to generate insight leaders can actually use, not corporate-sounding descriptions.

Debrief properly

Don’t underestimate the debrief.

A thoughtful debrief helps the leader process the feedback, identify patterns, regulate emotional reaction and avoid jumping to simplistic conclusions.

Pair it with executive coaching

This is where the real value grows.

Executive coaching helps leaders move beyond reaction into reflection. It helps them translate themes into action, uncover the assumptions driving their behaviour and build more intentional habits.

Focus on one or two priorities

Breadth feels productive. Focus is what creates change.

The most effective development plans usually centre on a very small number of behaviour shifts, practised consistently over time.

Build in follow-up and accountability

Behaviour change needs reinforcement.

That may include coaching sessions, manager check-ins, reflective practice, pulse feedback, or a revisit to the original development goals after several months.

The role of L&D in building self-aware leaders

For learning and development professionals, the challenge is larger than delivering a tool or programme.

It is about creating the conditions in which self-awareness can grow.

That means L&D has an important responsibility to move organisations beyond one-off feedback mechanisms and towards more integrated development.

Position self-awareness as a performance issue, not a soft skill

When self-awareness is framed as optional or secondary, it gets sidelined. L&D can help reframe it as central to leadership effectiveness, team performance and culture.

Integrate feedback with coaching and manager support

A 360-feedback process without coaching support often leaves value on the table. L&D can design leadership development journeys that connect feedback, reflection, executive coaching and practical follow-through.

Build capability in line managers

Managers are often the bridge between insight and behaviour change. If they lack coaching capability, much of the developmental potential is lost.

Create a culture where reflection is normal

The best development cultures don’t hang around waiting for annual cycles to talk about growth. They make feedback, reflection and behavioural awareness part of everyday leadership.

The responsibility of the leader

Organisations and L&D teams have a role to play, but self-awareness ultimately requires personal ownership.

Leaders can’t say they value growth while resisting the discomfort that growth often involves.

That means:

being willing to hear things that challenge self-image
resisting the urge to explain away every difficult comment
asking how behaviour lands, not just what was intended
seeking feedback well before problems escalate
committing to behaviour change, not vague self-improvement language
staying in the work long enough for others to feel the difference

This is where coaching can make the difference between insight and avoidance.

A good coach doesn’t flatter. A good coach creates the conditions for honesty, reflection and responsibility. They help leaders see themselves more clearly and choose how they want to lead with greater intention.

Final thoughts

The leadership blind spot no one talks about is the belief that intention is enough. Clearly, it’s not.

Leaders are judged, rightly or wrongly, by the impact they have on other people. If that impact is out of step with what they believe they are creating, self-awareness becomes one of the most important skills they can develop.

That’s why self-awareness belongs at the centre of leadership development.

It sharpens judgment.

It improves relationships.

It strengthens trust.

It supports better feedback cultures.

It helps leaders regulate themselves under pressure.

It creates better conditions for teams to perform.

And it’s why 360 feedback, when paired with executive coaching and thoughtful follow-through, can be so effective.

A report alone will not change behaviour, but a well-supported process can help leaders uncover blind spots, deepen self-awareness and make changes their teams can actually feel.

Strong leadership begins with insight and the courage to act on it.

If you are serious about developing leaders who can hear feedback, reflect honestly and lead with greater impact, get in touch to find out more about our award-winning leadership development and coaching support.

P.S. Can a leader be effective without self-awareness, yes or no?

Delegation for Leaders: How to Let Go Without Losing Control

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:16:48 GMT

The irony of leadership is that the very traits that propel you to the top – technical mastery, a relentless drive for excellence, and a "hands-on" approach are often the same traits that prevent you from leading effectively once you arrive. Learning how to delegate as a leader is the primary driver of organisational scale.

Transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader requires a fundamental shift in work values, time application, and professional skills . Yet, many leaders remain stuck in the "doing" phase, struggling to overcome micromanagement, fearing that if they loosen their grip, quality will plummet. The data, however, suggests the opposite: according to Gallup , CEOs with high delegation talent generate 33% more revenue than those who don’t.

As leadership expert Craig Groeschel notes:

When you delegate tasks, you create followers. When you delegate authority, you create leaders.

Craig Groeschel

This article shares some insights on how to break the cycle of micromanagement by reframing control not as the oversight of tasks, but as the strategic distribution of authority

The Psychology of the "Control Trap" (Overcoming Micromanagement)

The "Control Trap" is rarely a matter of ego; it’s a psychological byproduct of how our brains perceive risk and value.

For many leaders, the fear of losing control is rooted in two cognitive biases: the self-enhancement effect , where we tend to value work more highly simply because we were involved in it, and the faith-in-supervision effect , which creates a false sense of security when we watch over a shoulder. This mental hurdle is particularly high at the Operational Level , where the primary challenge is shifting from "managing self" to "managing others".

The stakes of failing to bridge this gap are high: a study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) found that while 46% of companies are concerned about their workers’ delegation skills, only 8% provide training on it.

At this stage, leaders often struggle to delegate routine tasks because they still view their personal output as their primary value-add. Overcoming this trap requires an honest admission: your job is no longer to be the best "doer" in the room, but to work more efficiently by freeing up your time for strategic and critical tasks.

The Delegation Safety Valve

One of the greatest drivers of the " fear of losing control " is the fear of being blindsided by a mistake you didn't see coming. Leaders often micromanage as a defensive strategy against hidden errors. However, research by Amy Edmondson suggests that high-performing teams don't necessarily make fewer mistakes; they are simply more likely to report them.

By creating psychological safety , you ensure that team members surface issues early instead of hiding problems you can’t see. This reduces the leader's anxiety because "control" is replaced by "transparency."

When employees feel safe to say, "I've hit a roadblock," the leader can coach them with questions and feedback rather than taking the work back in a panic. This culture of openness is the ultimate insurance policy for a delegating leader

Redefining Managerial Control: From "How" to "What".

To overcome the fear of losing control, a leader must first redefine what "control" actually looks like. Many leaders mistakenly believe that control is found in the "how": the specific sequence of steps, the phrasing of an email, or the layout of a spreadsheet.

However, the Leadership Pipeline Model suggests that as you advance, you must shift your work values to focus on results rather than individual tasks. This transition requires moving from controlling the process to controlling the outcomes by defining clear success criteria and boundaries, then allowing your team to choose the path to get there. The data supporting this shift is significant.

According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review , managers who delegate effectively can generate substantially more value for their organizations; specifically, CEOs who excel at delegation have been shown to generate 33% more revenue than those with low delegation scores. This is because delegation is a "force multiplier" that allows the leader to focus on strategic initiatives while simultaneously building the "leadership bench" within the company.

To implement this without feeling like you are "checking out," you must employ tools that provide visibility without interference. One such tool is the RACI Matrix , which establishes exactly who is Responsible for doing the work, Accountable for the outcome, Consulted for input, and Informed of progress.

Directing the efforts of others toward a predetermined goal is management; delegating the responsibility for results is leadership.

Stephen Covey

By establishing these roles upfront, you replace the anxiety of the unknown with a structured flow of information. For example, if you are delegating a risk assessment for a major project, you should specify the exact result you expect, such as "a risk assessment matrix of the DCC project by 5pm Thursday", including the required response for each identified risk.

This level of clarity ensures that you maintain "control" over the quality and deadline without needing to micromanage the drafting process.

The 7 Levels of Delegation: Mastering Managerial Decisions and Balancing Trust

One of the primary reasons leaders fear delegation is the "all-or-nothing" fallacy – the belief that you either do it yourself or throw someone into the deep end without a lifejacket. Jurgen Appelo’s 7 Levels of Delegation defines how authority is distributed and provides a nuanced framework that allows leaders to "dial" the level of authority based on the complexity of the task and the competence of the individual. This model acknowledges that delegation is not a binary choice but a spectrum of decision-making authority.

The 7 levels range from Level 1 (Tell) , where the manager makes the decision alone, to Level 7 (Delegate) , where the manager leaves the decision entirely to the team and does not even wish to know the details that would "clutter their brain".

Between these extremes lie collaborative stages like Level 3 (Consult) , where you seek input before deciding, and Level 4 (Agree) , where you reach a group consensus. Using this model reduces fear because it allows for "low-risk" delegation. You can start a new team member at Level 2 (Sell) – where you make the decision but explain your reasoning to get buy-in and gradually move them toward Level 6 (Inquire) as they demonstrate reliability.

A Stanford University study found that "autonomy is a key driver of employee engagement and productivity." By using these levels to delegate decision-making authority – not just tasks – you are directly contributing to the Managerial Level goal of building competence and speed in middle management.

For instance, a project manager might set the decision for "Project Management Method" at Level 2 (Sell) , explaining the benefits of an agile framework to the team to ensure alignment before giving them full autonomy over daily stand-ups.

This structured approach ensures that the leader remains as involved as necessary, but as hands-off as possible, eventually allowing them to delegate the ownership of initiatives required at the highest Leadership Levels .

Building Evidence and Scaling Trust

The final hurdle in overcoming the fear of losing control is moving from theoretical acceptance to practical execution. Leaders often fail at delegation because they attempt to offload high-stakes projects before building a foundation of "evidence-based trust".

To scale trust without compromising the organisation, leaders must implement a "start small" strategy that treats delegation as an iterative skill rather than a one-time event.

This approach aligns with the Leadership Pipeline Model , which emphasizes that developing future leaders requires a gradual handover of ownership and initiatives to groom successors and focus on enterprise strategy.

The Power of "Low-Risk" Practice

The journey begins by identifying low-risk tasks where the "downside" of a mistake is manageable. By delegating these smaller items first, you create a safe environment for both yourself and your team member to practice the mechanics of the RACI Matrix .

This allows you to verify if the individual is Responsible for the work and if you are successfully staying Accountable for the outcome without hovering. According to data from LinkedIn Learning’s Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development.

Delegation is that investment. Starting small provides the "proof of concept" that your team is capable, which systematically dismantles the self-enhancement bias that tells you "only I can do this right."

Creating Structure Through Progress Checkpoints

To prevent the "panic-pullback" – where a leader takes back a task at the first sign of trouble – you must agree on a simple check-in rhythm. This is not about constant hovering; rather, it is about setting progress checkpoints at specific milestones.

For example, schedule a mid-point update and a final review. During these sessions, focus your reviews on progress and risks rather than re-doing the work in your own style. As Amy Gibson and other management experts suggest, providing the relevant resources, training, and authority is essential for success. If a leader signals their availability without intervening prematurely, they foster a sense of trust while maintaining a safety net.

Reflection and the Feedback Loop

True growth in delegation comes from the "post-mortem." After a task is completed, take time to recognize the effort and reflect on the process. Discuss what went well and what could be improved for future tasks.

This reflection is vital for the leader to realize that their initial fears were likely exaggerated. Statistics from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) indicate that companies that prioritize "high-performance" leadership cultures are 3x more likely to have a formal process for developing leadership pipelines. Your reflection sessions are the informal version of this pipeline development.

Strengthening Capability and Psychological Safety

Ultimately, the goal is to match tasks to the potential, strengths, and motivations of your team members. When you align a task with someone's natural skill set, the quality of work is inherently higher, which naturally reduces your need to worry.

Furthermore, you must create psychological safety so that team members feel comfortable surfacing issues early. If they hide problems because they fear your reaction, you lose the very control you were trying to maintain. By coaching with questions and providing context rather than taking work back, you empower your team to solve their own problems.

As the 7 Levels of Delegation suggests, the ultimate goal is to reach Level 7 (Delegate) , where you leave the decision to the team entirely, freeing your brain to focus on the high-level strategy that only you can provide.

How to Delegate Without Micromanaging: Your Strategic Delegation Checklist

1. Preparation & Alignment

Identify the Level: Determine if this is an Operational (routine task), Managerial (decision-making), or Leadership (ownership/initiative) level task.

Select the Right Person: Match the task to the individual’s potential, strengths, skills, and motivations .

Define the RACI : Explicitly state who is Responsible (doing the work) and who is Accountable (owning the final outcome).

2. Setting the Framework

Establish the "What" and "When" : Provide a clear deadline and a specific description of the result you expect.

Select a Delegation Level: Use the 7 Levels of Delegation to decide how much authority you are granting (e.g., Level 3: Consult vs. Level 5: Advise).

Verify Resources: Ensure the person has the training, authority, and context required to succeed.

3. Oversight Without Over-Managing

Schedule Checkpoints : Set specific milestones for updates to avoid last-minute surprises or "hovering".

Signal Availability : Let them know you are available for support but reiterate that you trust them to lead the task.

Coach, Don’t Correct : If a roadblock arises, use questions to guide them rather than taking the task back.

4. Review & Development

Recognise & Reflect : After completion, discuss what went well and identify areas for future improvement.

Build the Pipeline : Use the reflection to decide if the next task should be delegated at a higher level of authority to further develop their leadership skills.

Effective delegation is the ultimate insurance policy for a growing team. When you replace the anxiety of micromanagement with the transparency of RACI and Psychological Safety, you create an environment where mistakes are surfaced early and solved collaboratively. Use the checklist above to start small, build evidence-based trust, and empower your team to lead the way.

Stuck in the Middle: Why Mid-Level Leaders Face Unique Identity and Loyalty Conflicts

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:09:29 GMT

Middle managers report some of the lowest engagement scores across all organisational levels, according to Gallup.

According to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report , manager engagement fell from 30% to 27% in 2024, which was the sharpest decline of any worker category. Meanwhile, individual contributor engagement remained flat at 18%. This "engagement gap" is particularly severe for female managers, whose engagement plummeted by 7 points in a single year.

The middle manager is the most neglected, yet most critical, link in the corporate chain. If they aren’t engaged, the rest of the organization doesn't stand a chance.

Emily Field , McKinsey Partner and co-author of Power to the Middle

Mid-level managers are caught between strategy and execution, authority and accountability, company loyalty and team empathy.

While new leaders receive structured onboarding and senior leaders get executive coaching, mid-level managers are often left to figure it out alone. They carry the weight of both worlds without the support systems designed for either.

This is where burnout builds. This is where companies lose their best people. And this is where performance gains are most often left on the table.

This article explores the unique internal and systemic challenges that mid-level leaders face and how organisations can design better support for those stuck in the pressure zone.

What Makes Middle Management So Stressful?

Most mid-managers describe their role like this:

"I lead a team."
"I manage operations."
"I wear too many hats."

Recent 2025 data from Microsoft and Zoom indicates that middle managers spend an average of 35% of their work week (roughly 14 hours) in meetings . Even more concerning, 37% of leaders report that these meetings often have no clear outcome. This administrative and coordination load leaves them with less than one-third of their time to focus on actual talent development and people management.

Here's what that really means:

They are being squeezed from both sides.

From the top:

More targets
More change
Less clarity
Less time

From the bottom:

More emotions
More needs
More uncertainty
More resistance

And in the middle sits one person – expected to absorb it all.

It shows up as:

Constant tiredness, even after sleep
Resentment masked as over-functioning
Endless meetings with little movement
Delayed decisions due to risk overload
Sunday nights that feel like dread, not rest

And, no, this isn't a time management problem – it's a nervous system under sustained load.

The Physiology of the "Squeeze"

To describe the middle management "squeeze" as just being about workload would be reductive. This squeeze is a sustained threat environment that triggers automatic stress responses.

When mid-level leaders face high accountability with low authority, their nervous systems activate survival modes: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. These are biological responses to environments where control feels limited and stakes feel high.

Fight manifests as leaders becoming overly directive, defending decisions aggressively, or taking on excessive work to maintain control.

Flight appears as calendar overload to avoid difficult conversations, decision avoidance, or mental disengagement masked by operational busyness.

Freeze shows up as analysis paralysis, second-guessing, or emotional numbness when every option carries risk.

Fawn involves over-accommodating senior leaders, absorbing team frustration, and maintaining peace at personal cost.

Most leaders cycle through these responses depending on context and accumulated stress. The issue isn't the responses themselves but their persistence. Without recovery, authority, or psychological safety, the nervous system never resets. Cortisol stays elevated, strategic thinking narrows, and empathy becomes inaccessible.

Burnout at this level often looks like withdrawal, not collapse. Supporting mid-level leaders requires redesigning the role itself, not merely teaching better coping mechanisms for an inherently dysregulating environment.

According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology , employees in these "active-passive" conflict roles show significantly higher cortisol markers. They aren't simply tired; they are biologically "flooded," meaning their prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for the very empathy and strategic thinking they are hired for – effectively goes offline to prioritise survival

Why Middle Manager Burnout Goes Unnoticed

Too often, leadership development stops at front-line management training and reappears at the executive level. Mid-level is treated as a "figuring it out" zone.

This gap creates:

High turnover among high performers
Low engagement scores
Strategy that stalls in execution
Burnout and disengagement that spreads downward

Poor mid-level retention drives up hiring, training, and productivity costs across the board. Yet most organisations still don't see middle management as a strategic investment.

They see it as a transition phase.

This is the fundamental mistake.

69% of people say their manager has the same impact on their mental health as their spouse .

The 7 Internal Challenges Mid-Level Leaders Face

While business context matters, most strain is amplified by internal blockers and psychological tensions.

Here are seven that often go unnoticed:

1. Multiple, Conflicting Identities

Mid-level leaders must toggle between strategist, operator, people leader, and "good organisational citizen."

Each identity pulls in a different direction:

The strategist wants to pause and think
The operator needs to execute now
The people leader feels the team's exhaustion
The organisational citizen must project alignment

This creates constant internal negotiation and identity fatigue.

2. Boundary-Spanner Strain

They translate senior strategy into reality for teams while also advocating upward for their people.

The problem is that they often belong fully to neither tribe.

Senior leaders see them as implementers. Teams see them as management. This liminal position creates isolation and role ambiguity.

3. Authenticity vs Performance Pressure

They're expected to project alignment and confidence even when they privately disagree with strategy or decisions.

Over time, this creates emotional dissonance and inner erosion. The gap between what they think and what they say widens. Eventually, it becomes difficult to access their own judgment.

4. Loyalty Conflicts

Caught between loyalty to the company and empathy for the team, mid-level leaders feel trapped in a chronic tug-of-war.

They must:

Explain change they didn't create
Absorb reactions they can't fix
Maintain motivation while managing their own doubts

This tension is exhausting and rarely acknowledged.

A 2025 leadership study by High5 found that 71% of middle managers in the U.S. report being burned out , a higher rate than any other worker group, including the C-suite (at 14%). Furthermore, managers are 24% more likely to consider quitting in the next six months compared to their direct reports.

Middle management is the place where strategy goes to die, or where it is born into reality. We treat it like a waiting room, but it’s actually the engine room.

Brent Cassell, Vice President of Advisory in the Gartner HR practice.

5. High Accountability, Low Authority

Mid-level managers are held responsible for results – performance, cost, engagement – without equivalent influence over:

Strategy direction
Resource allocation
Organisational priorities
Cross-functional dependencies

This gap undercuts agency and leads to burning frustration and learned helplessness.

6. Cognitive Overload and Emotional Burnout

The combination of unclear strategy, conflicting demands, and limited power leads to:

Decision fatigue
Chronic stress
Emotional depletion
Guilt about not doing enough

To be clear, this isn't burnout from overwork. It's burnout from internal contradiction.

Middle managers have had so much piled onto them. Their development and well-being have often been an afterthought. Resiliency starts with having a strong middle management team that's able to drive strategy into reality.

Emily Field, McKinsey & Company

7. Navigating Organisational Politics

Mid-level leaders must influence without authority, work through informal power structures, and speak up carefully.

It's a constant dance between courage and career risk. One wrong move can sideline them. Too much silence makes them invisible.

This political navigation is rarely taught but constantly required.

How Is Mid-Level Leadership Different from New Manager and Senior Leader Challenges?

These challenges are not simply "more intense" versions of new manager struggles. They are qualitatively different.

Despite the complexity of the role, a Deloitte 2025 Human Capital Trends survey found that 36% of managers felt they were not sufficiently prepared for the people-management aspects of their job. Additionally, Gartner research reveals that 75% of HR leaders admit their managers are overwhelmed by increased responsibilities, yet 70% state their current leadership programmes are inefficient at equipping them for these challenges.

Mid-level leadership requires a distinct skillset: influence without authority, emotional regulation under sustained pressure, and the ability to hold multiple competing truths simultaneously.

We teach people how to delegate tasks, and then we teach them how to lead a vision. We rarely teach them how to handle the crushing weight of being the middleman for both.

Jennifer Jordan, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at IMD Business School

5 Strategies to Support Mid-Level Leaders

Support for mid-level leaders must match the complexity of their role. This includes:

1. Coaching for Internal Capacity, Not Just Skills

Give mid-level leaders space to process their own pressure, clarify identity, and restore emotional bandwidth. Help them develop their coaching skills.

This is less about “soft skills” and more about staying in the role without burning out. They need:

Psychological safety to name tensions
Tools for emotional regulation
Identity work around role ambiguity
Boundary-setting without guilt

2. Structured Peer Forums for Real Talk

They also need real talk, not another framework. Create trusted peer spaces to share how they're really doing and learn from others in the same seat.

Effective peer forums:

Meet regularly (monthly minimum)
Have psychological safety as a foundation
Focus on dilemmas, not solutions
Are facilitated by someone outside the hierarchy

3. Train for Influence, Not Just Execution

Help them build influence across functions, communicate up and out, and navigate politics with clarity and confidence.

Key development areas:

Stakeholder mapping and influence strategies
Managing up with impact
Cross-functional collaboration and conflict resolution
Political awareness without cynicism

4. Redesign Workflows to Reduce Systemic Friction

If 70% of their time is spent fixing broken systems, start there. Reduce friction, clarify priorities, and empower local decision-making.

Practical changes:

Audit meeting load and eliminate non-essential gatherings
Clarify decision rights at each level
Reduce approval layers for routine decisions
Create escalation clarity, not escalation bottlenecks

5. Recognise the Role as Strategic, Not Transitional

Middle managers are not just "in between." They are the link between intent and execution, strategy and reality.

Treat the role as leverage, not limbo:

Include them in strategy conversations, not just execution briefings
Invest in their development as heavily as senior leaders
Recognise their influence on culture, retention, and performance
Create career paths that don't require leaving the role to advance

What Causes Middle Manager Burnout?

Middle manager burnout is ultimately caused by the accumulation of internal contradictions:

Being held accountable without having authority
Projecting confidence while privately doubting
Absorbing emotions they cannot fix
Navigating competing loyalties with no clear resolution
Maintaining multiple identities that pull in opposite directions

These pressures create a state of chronic internal conflict. Over time, the nervous system cannot sustain it.

The result is not dramatic collapse. It's gradual withdrawal, disengagement, and eventual departure.

We have spent decades optimizing the 'process' of middle management while completely ignoring the 'person' in the middle. We are seeing the limits of human resilience when accountability is divorced from agency

Dr. Linda Hill, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author of Being the Boss

Final Thought: Middle Managers Are Not Failing, but They Are Being Flooded

They are expected to:

Coach people
Deliver outcomes
Absorb emotions
Translate strategy
Navigate politics
Maintain alignment

All at once. And often invisibly.

The elephant in the room? The cost.

The cost of manager turnover is staggering. Replacing a single mid-level manager typically costs between 50% and 200% of their annual salary when accounting for recruitment, onboarding, and the roughly 28 weeks it takes for a new hire to reach full productivity. Conversely, when managers receive effective coaching training , their own engagement rises by 22% , and their teams' engagement increases by 18% (Gallup).

The solution is not just to ask less of them. It’s to support them differently. To recognize that mid-level leadership is not a transition phase – it’s a distinct role that requires distinct support.

Bryan Robinson, Ph.D., Author and Psychotherapist specializing in workplace burnout

Support your mid-level leaders before they burn out.

Get in touch today .

Committed to Supporting Leaders in Your Organisation?

In today's volatile and unpredictable world, new leaders need trusted support. Purposefully Blended equips Learning and Development Partners and leaders across your organisation with the capabilities to implement effective blended learning solutions that create real-world, transformative impact.

Get in touch to explore how we can help your leaders thrive.

Awards & Recognition

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:46:56 GMT

At Purposefully Blended, awards are evidence that we live our values of Compassionate Leadership, Measurable Impact, Partnership, and Authenticity .

We design leadership and learning programmes – and we measure their impact.

Each recognition shows that we walk the walk when it comes to building leadership capacity, driving performance, and creating measurable, human change.

Winners, Communiqué Awards (2025)

Excellence in Global Education Meetings / Stand-Alone Events

Recognising impact, not just innovation , the Communiqué Awards celebrate measurable change in healthcare.

Purposefully Blended was recognised for our partnership with Tillotts Pharmaceuticals on LEAD in IBD – a leadership programme for IBD nurses across the NHS.

Many IBD nurses are promoted for clinical skill, not leadership readiness.
LEAD in IBD filled that gap through immersive learning and real-world coaching that delivered measurable results.

Outcome: Confidence in leadership readiness increased by 52% (from 5.8 to 8.8 out of 10, p < 0.001).
Judges called the entry “brave, insightful, and extraordinary – a programme that met an unmet need.”

The impact on the nurses was unignorable: One nurse told us she'd been 'leading by instinct' for years – LEAD in IBD gave her the language and confidence to lead with intention.

Best Female Leader (Best Business Women Awards, 2025)

Lucy’s recognition as Best Female Leader honours authentic, values-driven leadership.

Her entry shared her journey through grief in 2023 – leading with vulnerability, supported by her team, clients, and peers.

The impact on the nurses was unignorable: One nurse told us she'd been 'leading by instinct' for years – LEAD in IBD gave her the language and confidence to lead with intention.

Best Female Leader (Best Business Women Awards, 2025)

Lucy’s recognition as Best Female Leader honours authentic, values-driven leadership.

Her entry shared her journey through grief in 2023 – leading with vulnerability, supported by her team, clients, and peers.

It’s easy to lead on the good days. What matters most is how you lead when you’d rather hide away.

Lucy Philip, Purposefully Blended

Judges said:

Lucy has driven exceptional growth while consistently championing core values. She leads from the inside out – with humanity and courage.

Awards Judges

This award affirms our belief that vulnerability and leadership belong together.

In Safe Hands

Awards matter for what they signify:
that our approach works – and that we live what we teach.

If you're planning programmes that need to deliver both measurable results and genuine human transformation...

Let’s start the conversation.

To find out more about how Lucy and Purposefully Blended support and develop L&D professionals and their stakeholders get in touch today or check out our Purposeful Insights.

First-Time Manager Challenges: 7 Hidden Struggles Holding Performance Back

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 10:19:20 GMT

The Leadership Title Isn’t Enough.

New leader challenges are one of the biggest hidden risks inside growing organisations. Many first-time managers step into leadership roles without training, clarity, or support, and the result is predictable: burnout, disengaged teams, and missed performance targets.

In this article, you will learn the 7 most common challenges new leaders face and why they happen, so as an organisation you can put in place the right l eadership development support to prevent your new managers from failing in their first 18 months

The statistics underscore the scale of the problem. Recent studies show that 82% of leaders feel unprepared for their new responsibilities. The remaining 18% often assume the title itself somehow confers capability. But leadership is ultimately a skill set.

And it's a challenge new managers, unfortunately, are left to figure out alone.

This lack of preparation costs companies dearly. Employee turnover, missed goals, fractured team culture – all downstream effects of an under-supported leadership layer. And for the leaders themselves, the cost is internal: confusion, doubt, isolation.

What are new leader challenges?

Leader challenges are the emotional, psychological, and structural struggles first-time managers face when transitioning from individual contributor to people leader, including identity shifts, imposter syndrome, accountability anxiety, and responsibility without authority.

The 7 most common challenges new leaders face, in our experience are:

Identity shift from doer to leader
Approval anxiety and boundary confusion
Imposter syndrome
Micromanagement and overfunctioning
Accountability avoidance
Emotional labour overload
Responsibility without authority

1. Identity Shift in Leadership: From Doer to Leader

Moving from individual contributor to leader is a change in identity, not just a job change. It’s a "role exit" and "role entry" that requires a total psychological reset.

Think of it like switching from being a soloist to conducting an orchestra: what once brought praise (getting tasks done, being the expert, solving problems themselves) no longer defines success. Instead, their value lies in creating the conditions for others to thrive.

This shift is often destabilising, and many new leaders report feeling like they're wearing two coats at once, still doing the old job while trying to lead on top. They are busy, but not effective; respected, but not necessarily leading.

The shift from personal productivity to team productivity is one of the most jarring passages a leader faces, with research showing that 40% of new managers fail within their first 18 months because they never successfully make this psychological transition from "doer" to "leader." Experts concur that the technical prowess that got you promoted suddenly becomes a liability if you cannot "let go" of being the smartest person in the room.

When you are an individual contributor, you are responsible for the job. When you are a leader, you are no longer responsible for the job; you are responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. The best way to drive performance in an organization is to create an environment in which information can flow freely, mistakes can be highlighted, and help can be offered and received.

Simon Sinek, Author of 'The Infinite Game' and 'Leaders Eat Last'

2. New Manager Approval Anxiety and Boundary Setting

First-time leaders often find themselves stuck in an approval tug-of-war between two powerful drives: the desire to be liked and the need to lead.

They may have been promoted from within their team, turning peers into direct reports, and now face the challenge of setting standards, giving feedback, and saying "no" all while preserving relationships. It's like trying to steer a ship while keeping everyone on board comfortable, but leadership is less about comfort and more about clarity.

Avoiding discomfort leads to delayed feedback, blurred boundaries, and mounting anxiety. New leaders are often asked to speak with authority while still learning the ropes, creating fertile ground for "imposterism".

A study found that 70% of successful people encounter imposter feelings, and 84% of entrepreneurs report feeling like a fraud after a promotion. As noted in The Frontline Journal, "Leadership often requires exposure before mastery. You are asked to decide before you feel ready."

3. Imposter Syndrome in First-Time Leaders

Even the most competent new leaders I've worked with have described their own moments of deep self-doubt. Self-doubt can appear before hard conversations, after giving feedback, when performance dips.

John, a coach client of mine, described it this way: "The fear of screwing up is so real. I’ve gone from working in a research department to leadership and it feels like I'm fumbling in the dark."

Some view imposter syndrome as a sign of inadequacy, but it's not. It's a natural response to stretch, though without support, it can spiral, causing leaders to start overpreparing, micromanaging, or avoiding big decisions altogether.

Self-doubt is not a sign of inadequacy; it is often a correlate of high engagement. A survey of 1,200 managers found that 68% felt "unqualified" in their first year, and interestingly, those who experienced this "mild imposter syndrome" often ranked higher in team engagement five years later because they were more likely to use curiosity and preparation as coping mechanisms.

HBR defines imposter syndrome as "doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud," noting that it disproportionately affects high achievers. Without support, this spiral leads to perfectionism and indecisiveness, as leaders overprepare to avoid being "exposed."

Imposter syndrome is a paradox: others believe in you, you don't believe in yourself, yet you believe yourself instead of them. If you doubt yourself, shouldn't you also doubt your low opinion of yourself? I believe that imposter syndrome is a sign of hidden potential. It feels like other people are overestimating you, but it's more likely that you're underestimating yourself. They've recognized a capacity for growth that you can't see yet.

Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist and author of 'Hidden Potential'

4. Micromanagement and Overfunctioning in New Leaders

Many high performers ascend to leadership roles precisely because they were reliable problem-solvers, yet this same instinct often creates the "Martyr Mindset."

When a team struggles, these leaders instinctively jump in to fix issues themselves, mistakenly believing they are shielding their team through personal sacrifice. In reality, they unwittingly become the organisation's bottleneck.

While the leader sees their actions as helpful, the team often perceives a manager who refuses to let go and lacks the trust to allow others to grow. To break this cycle of "insecure overachieving", Harvard Business Review suggests that leaders should learn to "write the job before they do the job", establishing clear success metrics that focus on leadership outcomes rather than tactical execution. Without this shift, over-functioning inevitably masks a lack of trust, leading to micromanagement, which is one of the primary drivers of employee disengagement and burnout.

If your new managers are struggling with imposter syndrome or micromanagement, explore how our Leadership Operating System supports first-time managers with practical tools and leadership coaching.

5. Holding Team Accountability as a New Manager

Accountability takes on a daunting new dimension when a leader is no longer "one of the team", often becoming the most avoided tool in a new manager’s toolkit.

Many first-time leaders hesitate to challenge poor performance out of a deep-seated fear that conflict will damage personal relationships, leading to a cycle of soul-sapping exhaustion where they constantly correct a junior employee's work rather than confronting the root issue.

This avoidance is a systemic issue; research from the Centre for Creative Leadership identifies "Giving Effective Feedback" and "Dealing with Difficult Employees" as the primary challenges for frontline leaders, largely because 60% of them never received formal training on how to hold coaching conversations.

When accountability is avoided, it creates a vacuum of resentment and lowers overall team standards, yet when done poorly, it can feel like blame.

As experts note, the transition to managing others is a "polarising" task that requires a sophisticated balance of task-driven results and relationship-driven empathy to ensure that feedback is seen as a catalyst for growth rather than a personal attack.

6. Emotional Labour in Leadership Roles

Leadership is an emotional journey that carries a heavy, often invisible load. Sarah, a new manager, described this experience to me as putting on a "damp coat" left behind by someone else: uncomfortable, heavy, and not truly yours to begin with.

As first-time leaders absorb team tensions, unspoken frustrations, and shifting moods, they are increasingly expected to act as the primary "shock absorbers" for organisational change and employee well-being.

This expansion of the role into heavy emotional labour is backed by Gartner, which reports that 75% of managers feel overwhelmed by the need to manage both their own emotions and those of their team simultaneously.

The psychological toll is significant: a 2024 Deloitte study found that 53% of managers are already burned out, with nearly half of Millennial and Gen Z leaders reporting constant stress. While leaders are traditionally taught to remain composed, maintaining that composure without a proper outlet creates an internal pressure that eventually explodes.

This is compounded by the fact that 73% of managers feel they lack the specific tools required to navigate complex digital transformations, like AI, while trying to sustain team morale in an increasingly demanding environment.

7. Responsibility Without Authority in Frontline Leadership

Frontline managers frequently find themselves "sandwiched" between senior leadership’s ambitious goals and the practical realities of their teams, leading to a profound mismatch between their responsibility and their actual power.

They are often held accountable for outcomes they do not fully control: inheriting underperforming teams, being overruled on key decisions, or being denied essential resources. Yet they are still expected to deliver amazing results.

This structural conflict breeds "productivity paranoia" and a deep sense of powerlessness; indeed, data shows an "authority gap" where less than half of leaders believe their creativity and ingenuity are actually leveraged for transformation efforts.

When a manager's judgment is consistently undermined by senior leaders only for them to be blamed when things go wrong, the resulting stress isn't just about performance but also about the helplessness that serves as a fast track to disengagement.

To bridge this gap, organisations must move away from rigid, top-down approaches and embrace cross-functional decision-making, providing managers with the genuine autonomy and influence they need to lead effectively rather than leaving them to feel like "powerless executors" of someone else’s plan.

If New Leaders Struggle, It’s Not Just Them

When a new leader fails to meet expectations, the corporate reflex is to label it a capability issue, a personal deficit in skill or talent. However, 2025 research suggests we are actually facing a global capacity crisis.

Leadership capability is the "what" – the skills and competencies needed to perform.

Capacity is the "how" – the psychological and structural bandwidth to access those skills under pressure. Today, the gap between the two is widening at an unsustainable rate.

The Capacity Gap: According to Gartner , 75% of managers are now overwhelmed by the sheer expansion of their responsibilities, yet only 44% have received any formal training to handle this new load. When we ask leaders to navigate hybrid team dynamics, AI integration, and a mental health crisis without a roadmap, we aren't testing their potential; we’re testing their breaking point.
The Hidden Economic Cost: This isn't just a "soft" cultural problem; it is a measurable financial drain. Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report found that manager disengagement, often a direct result of being under-supported, costs the global economy $438 billion annually in lost productivity. Because managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement , a single unsupported leader creates a "disengagement domino effect" across their entire department.
The Risk of Silence: Perhaps the most dangerous cost of "promoting without preparing" is the culture of silence it fosters. Deloitte’s 2025 Human Capital Trends survey reveals that while 66% of executives believe their recent hires are unprepared, managers often feel they must "figure it out in silence" to maintain the appearance of authority. This isolation is a fast track to burnout – a state currently reported by 53% of all managers .

New leader challenges are not a personal failure. They are a predictable outcome of promoting without preparing.

With the right leadership development framework, first-time managers can move from inner struggle to measurable strength.

Book a 20-minute clarity call to explore how the Leadership Operating System supports new leaders and reduces frontline management failure.

Sources

Harvard Business Review: “The Trap of the Individual Contributor,” 2024
Gallup: “State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report.”
Gartner: “The Evolution of the Manager Role,” 2024.
Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL): “The Frontline Leader Challenge.”
Deloitte: “Global Human Capital Trends 2025.”

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Get in touch to explore how we can help your leaders thrive.

Why Leaders Must Strengthen Their Mental Fitness - Before It’s Too Late

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 05:34:11 GMT

When teams underperform, the root cause often lies in how leaders respond under pressure. Even experienced leaders can fall into reactive behaviours that undermine trust and stifle productivity.

Positive Intelligence (mental fitness) offers a practical framework for identifying and transforming these ingrained responses. Your PQ is your Positive Intelligence score, expressed as a percentage, ranging from 0 to 100. In effect, your PQ is the percentage of time your mind is acting as your friend rather than as your enemy.

Unlike traditional leadership models, Positive Intelligence zeroes in on the mental patterns that shape decision-making and interpersonal dynamics. This article looks briefly at the science of Positive Intelligence, explores its organisational impact and equips leaders with actionable steps to foster stronger, more adaptable teams.

Leaders Under Pressure

In today’s high-pressure and unpredictable workplace, leaders often find themselves reacting instinctively to challenges. Unfortunately, these reactions can inadvertently harm team dynamics and performance. When leaders break down, so can their teams, resulting in hindered performance, lower morale, missed deadlines, increased mistakes and even the loss of customers — the exact opposite of what organisations need during times of crisis.

Research shows that it’s common for leaders to react poorly in high-stress situations. Specifically, 53 percent of leaders become more closed-minded and controlling, focusing narrowly on short-term outcomes instead of staying open and curious. A further 43 percent become more angry and heated, amplifying team stress rather than alleviating it. Over time, this reactive behaviour creates a toxic feedback loop that erodes trust and stifles productivity.

One driver of this dynamic is bottom-line mentality (BLM) — a hyper-focus on financial outcomes at the expense of employee well-being and ethical considerations. Leaders with a strong BLM often amplify performance pressure, inadvertently fostering environments where anxiety, disengagement and even unethical behaviours, such as workplace cheating, take hold. This narrow focus not only compromises team morale but can also damage the long-term success of the organisation.

To navigate these challenges effectively, leaders at all levels — from those leading without authority to senior executives — must develop the ability to stay calm, empathetic and solution-focused under pressure. This is where Positive Intelligence becomes a game-changer.

Positive Intelligence provides a concrete framework for recognising and transforming ingrained reactive responses. Unlike conventional leadership approaches, Positive Intelligence zeroes in on the mental patterns that drive decision-making, helping leaders balance immediate demands with long-term vision. By mastering Positive Intelligence techniques aimed at strengthening mental fitness, leaders can create environments where they and their teams thrive, even in times of crisis.

The Lighthouse Analogy

A leader with high levels of Positive Intelligence , Emotional Intelligence and intrinsic motivation is like a lighthouse — steady in storms (adapting to changing times) , guiding with warmth (coaching approach) and driven by an unwavering inner light (fire and purpose) . When these three elements are strong, a leader provides clarity, resilience and direction, inspiring their teams to navigate inevitable uncertainty with confidence.

How the Elements Work Together

Impactful Leadership = (EQ + PQ) × PMA

Explanation:

EQ (a measure of emotional intelligence) : “Depth of Heart.” Represents the ability to understand, manage and leverage emotions effectively for personal and interpersonal success.
PQ (a measure of positive intelligence) : “Strength of Mind.” Refers to the capacity to respond to challenges with a positive mindset, as emphasised in Positive Intelligence frameworks.
PMA (Personal Motivation Audit: a measure of intrinsic motivation) : “Fire and Purpose.” Acts as the multiplier, emphasising that self-driven purpose and passion amplify the impact of both EQ and PQ. Without intrinsic motivation, even high EQ and PQ might lack the drive to translate into meaningful success.

In this article, we focus on one of the three elements of Impactful Leadership: Positive Intelligence (mental fitness).

Key Concepts

PQ is a measure of the percentage of time your mind serves you (Sage) versus sabotages you (Saboteurs). It focuses on enhancing mental fitness, empowering individuals to respond to challenges with a positive mindset rather than a reactive, negative one.

Saboteurs : Negative thought patterns or internal critics that trigger stress and counterproductive behaviours. Examples include the Judge, Controller, and Pleaser.
Sage : The positive, empathetic and creative mindset that drives effective problem-solving and interpersonal relationships.

The Saboteurs push you into action and success

through anger, regret, fear, guilt, anxiety, shame, obligation, etc. But the Sage pulls you into action through compassion, curiosity, creativity, the joy of self-expression, a desire to contribute and create meaning, and the excitement of action. Would you rather be pushed or pulled? Only the Sage lets you achieve success without sacrificing happiness and peace of mind.

Shirzad Chamine

Positive Intelligence Brain Muscles:

Self-Command Muscle : Enables individuals to pause and choose their response rather than reacting impulsively.
Sage Perspective Muscle : Encourages viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.
Saboteur Interceptor Muscle : Helps recognise and diminish the influence of negative thought patterns.

Mental Fitness Practices: Simple, daily exercises that cultivate resilience and calmness.

Scientific Validation:

Based on neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and performance science.
Studies show that increasing Positive Intelligence enhances overall well-being, performance and relationships, creating a more engaged and resilient workforce.

The Saboteurs push you into action and success

Jessica Herrin CEO, Stella & Dot

How Positive Intelligence Differs from Traditional Leadership Approaches

Only 23% of global organisations say their leaders have the capabilities to navigate a disrupted world.

Deloitte

While traditional leadership approaches often focus on external behaviours and skill development, Positive Intelligence goes deeper by addressing the mental patterns and emotional resilience that drive those behaviours.

Focus on Mental Fitness: Positive Intelligence emphasises developing mental and emotional resilience, whereas traditional approaches often target external behaviours and skills without addressing underlying mental patterns.
Self-Awareness and Saboteur Management: Unlike conventional models, Positive Intelligence helps leaders identify and manage internal “Saboteurs,” reducing negative self-talk and stress reactions.
Enhanced Emotional Intelligence: A facet often underemphasised in traditional leadership frameworks is that Positive Intelligence places significant importance on Emotional Intelligence, with 98% of participants experiencing growth in Emotional Intelligence.
Holistic Well-Being: Positive Intelligence integrates overall mental health and work-life balance into leadership, contrasting with traditional methods that focus mainly on organisational goals and productivity.
Adaptability and Growth Mindset : Traditional approaches can be more rigid and less responsive to change. Positive Intelligence encourages flexibility and a growth mindset, essential in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape.
Team-Oriented Development : Positive Intelligence promotes fostering mental fitness within teams, creating supportive, psychologically safe environments. Traditional methods often maintain hierarchical structures that limit such support.
Calm, Centered Decision-Making : Leaders trained in Positive Intelligence make decisions from a place of calmness and clarity, avoiding reactive choices driven by fear or stress—a focus often missing in standard leadership training.
Continuous Improvement : Positive Intelligence advocates for ongoing mental fitness training, unlike traditional leadership development that may emphasise one-time skill acquisition.
Direct Bottom-Line Impact : Positive Intelligence demonstrates a clear link between mental fitness, organisational success and employee engagement, whereas traditional methods may not connect these elements as explicitly.

Based on survey results from a cohort of >2000 Positive Intelligence Programme participants experienced the following after 7 weeks of mental fitness training:

84% : better at conflict management
92% : better at teamwork and collaboration
98% : experience EQ growth
90% : use mental and emotional energy more effectively
91% : manage stress better

Source: Positive Intelligence

The Cost of Low PQ: A Case Study

Mental fitness is fundamentally about ‘putting on your own oxygen mask first’—as the following case study illustrates.

Meet Stuart, a mid-level manager at a fast-growing tech company. Known for his expertise and results-driven approach, Stuart had always delivered on his targets. But when the company entered a period of rapid change — new leadership, tighter deadlines and an unexpected market downturn — his once-effective style began to crack under the pressure. What followed was a lesson in how low Positive Intelligence can negatively impact a team.

A Stressed Manager in Crisis

Faced with mounting expectations, Stuart’s default response was to ‘take control of his team’. His inner Controller Saboteur—the mental habit of believing he had to do it all himself—kicked into overdrive. He started micromanaging his team, re-checking every deliverable and insisting on frequent progress updates. At the same time, his Hyper-Achiever Saboteur pushed him to set higher and higher goals, both for himself and his team, without considering the human cost.

On the surface, Stuart appeared to be a committed and hard-working leader, but he felt he had aged 30 years and was close to burning out. He was unable to lead himself, let alone his team. Over the next three months, cracks began to show.

The Consequences

Missed Deadlines : Stuart’s micromanagement slowed progress. Team members spent more time explaining their work than doing it, causing delays on critical projects.
Increased Mistakes : The team operated in a constant state of stress. Rushing to meet Stuart’s high demands, they started making avoidable errors, leading to rework and frustration.
Eroded Trust and Engagement : Stuart’s team no longer felt empowered to make decisions or share their ideas. His controlling behaviour stifled creativity and created a culture of fear—team members began working to avoid blame rather than to achieve excellence.
Attrition and Morale Issues : Two of his top performers handed in their resignations, citing burnout and lack of autonomy. Those who remained were disengaged, showing up to meetings with little enthusiasm and no contributions.

The Turning Point

Realising that his team’s performance was declining and morale was at an all-time low, Stuart sought feedback from his peers. One colleague pointed out a pattern: Stuart’s behaviour under pressure was reactive and controlling, not empowering or collaborative. On a recommendation from another colleague he trusted, Stuart enrolled in a leadership training programme focused on Positive Intelligence.

Through the programme, Stuart learned to:

Identify Saboteurs : He recognised that his Controller and Hyper-Achiever Saboteurs were driving his behaviour, keeping his locked in stress mode.
Strengthen His Sage : Stuart practised shifting his perspective from blame and control to curiosity and collaboration.
Build Resilience : By incorporating daily PQ exercises—such as mindfulness practices and reframing negative thoughts—Stuart improved his ability to stay calm and composed under pressure.

The Results

Within months, Stuart’s approach to leadership changed dramatically:

He delegated responsibilities and trusted his team to make decisions, leading to faster project completion and higher-quality work.
By drawing on strategies for staying calm and curious during challenges, Stuart inspired his team to solve problems collaboratively, unlocking new ideas and solutions.
Employee morale rebounded. Team members felt supported and empowered, which brought energy and engagement back to their work.

Most importantly, Stuart’s team hit their next quarterly targets, and turnover stabilised. He realised that his growth as a leader wasn’t about pushing harder but about thinking differently about the meaning of leadership.

Motivation has an undeniable impact at every level of an organisation:

Individual performance: Motivated employees are 87% less likely to leave their jobs. They are invested in their work and their company, and they are more likely to stay with the company for the long term.

Team dynamics: Motivated teams experience less conflict, higher collaboration and greater innovation.

Company-wide: Companies with motivated employees are 21% more profitable.

Today, Stuart is a different person

He’s stepping onto the leadership stage with clarity and confidence. He’s no longer trying to fit into a mould — he’s bringing his authentic leadership qualities forward in a resourceful way. His team trusts his more , his decisions are stronger , and he’s seen as a valued voice at the table .

On average, teams see significant improvements in core emotional intelligence competencies in just seven weeks.

87% Relationship management

87% Self awareness

87% Self management

85% Social awareness

Positive Intelligence

Why Positive Intelligence Works

A Microsoft survey found that 53% of leaders reported experiencing burnout at work, and a Boston Consulting Group study mirrored this finding, with 48% of leaders grappling with burnout. These statistics highlight the significant mental health challenges faced by leaders in today’s workplace.

Positive Intelligence works because it targets the root cause of many leadership challenges: how we think under pressure. By addressing the mental patterns that drive our behaviours, Positive Intelligence empowers leaders to respond to challenges with clarity, empathy and creativity rather than stress, fear or control.

Why it’s so effective:

Neuroscience Backed: Positive Intelligence rewires the brain to shift activity from the survival-driven limbic system (Saboteurs) to the higher-order prefrontal cortex (Sage), enabling calm, rational and innovative decision-making.
Strengthens Emotional Intelligence: Leaders develop greater self-awareness, empathy and emotional regulation, building trust and stronger relationships with their teams.
Practical and Actionable: Positive Intelligence offers simple daily exercises that fit into a leader’s routine, making mental fitness a habit without requiring significant time investment.
Neuroscience Backed : Positive Intelligence rewires the brain to shift activity from the survival-driven limbic system (Saboteurs) to the higher-order prefrontal cortex (Sage), enabling calm, rational and innovative decision-making.
Strengthens Emotional Intelligence : Leaders develop greater self-awareness, empathy and emotional regulation, building trust and stronger relationships with their teams.
Practical and Actionable : Positive Intelligence offers simple daily exercises that fit into a leader’s routine, making mental fitness a habit without requiring significant time investment.
Promotes Resilience : By intercepting negative thought patterns, Positive Intelligence helps leaders bounce back quickly from setbacks and maintain focus on solutions rather than problems.
Drives Measurable Impact : Research shows that high-PQ leaders not only improve team engagement and morale but also deliver better results, linking mental fitness directly to organisational success.

Your brain’s neural pathways strengthen with repetition, making habits automatic. Positive Intelligence uses the 10-second PQ Rep technique to intercept Saboteur responses and build Sage “mental muscles.” This rewiring ensures sustained change, not just temporary insights.

Positive intelligence

How Leaders Can Build Positive Intelligence

Building Positive Intelligence doesn’t require a complete overhaul—it’s about integrating simple, consistent

practices into your daily routine. To get started:

Identify Your Saboteurs : Take a PQ assessment to uncover the negative thought patterns undermining your leadership.
Strengthen Your Sage : Practise reframing challenges as opportunities and adopt a calm, solution-focused perspective during stressful situations.
Incorporate Positive Intelligence Practices Daily : Use micro-exercises, like focused breathing or mindfulness, to build mental fitness and intercept reactive behaviours.
Support Your Team’s Positive Intelligence : Encourage team members to develop their own mental fitness, fostering a culture of trust, collaboration and resilience.

Final Thoughts: Building a Legacy of Impact-Making Leadership

When leaders invest in their mental fitness, Emotional Intelligence and intrinsic motivation, they don’t just

transform their own leadership—they create teams that are more resilient, adaptable and high-performing.

Impactful Leadership = (EQ + PQ) × PMA

Emotional Intelligence strengthens relationships
Positive Intelligence builds mental fitness
Intrinsic Motivation fuels growth

Purposefully Blended can help you as a leader to cultivate the mental fitness required to lead with confidence and clarity. If you’d like to explore this, please book a call .

Additional sources:

Enhancing Leadership Through Positive Intelligence

Positive Intelligence: How To Overcome Your Self-Sabotaging

Spark Transformation & Cultivate Excellence

https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Partners with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Leaders with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Beyond Carrots and Sticks at Work - Decoding Your Team’s Motivational Blueprint

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 10:56:29 GMT

When employees underperform or disengage, the root cause often lies in mismatched motivators. Leaders who fail to understand what drives their teams risk creating environments of low morale, missed opportunities and high turnover.

Motivational Maps provide a science-backed framework that helps individuals understand themselves better and enables leaders to align individual drivers with organisational goals. These insights support both individual transformation and team effectiveness by fostering meaningful conversations, improving engagement and driving sustainable performance.

In this article, we explore the science behind Motivational Maps , showcase a compelling case study and present actionable strategies for leaders to leverage motivation-driven leadership and impactful coaching.

The Engagement Crisis: Why Motivation Matters

Today’s workplace faces a critical engagement challenge . Employees who feel disconnected from their work are more likely to underperform, disengage or leave . The consequences of low motivation include:

Lost productivity and innovation
High turnover and recruitment expenses
Declining customer satisfaction
Reduced employee well-being

The root of the problem

Traditional leadership approaches often miss the mark by focusing on external incentives while ignoring intrinsic motivation . This leads to dangerous misalignment:

Employees feeling misunderstood and frustrated
Decreased collaboration and creativity
Rising turnover rates

The solution lies in understanding individual motivators. Leaders need tools that provide clear insights into what drives their team members — moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to unlock genuine engagement and sustainable performance.

The Performance Triangle Model

To be clear, motivation does not operate in isolation—it is one of the three pillars of high performance , alongside Engagement and Workplace Hygiene . But without sufficient motivation, even the most skilled employees with well-defined goals will struggle to perform at their best.

A Framework for Motivation-Driven Leadership

Motivational Maps provide a powerful framework for deepening self-awareness, helping individuals recognise their intrinsic drivers and understand what truly energises them at work: their ‘fire and purpose’. This heightened awareness is the foundation for both personal growth and team effectiveness.

Leaders can leverage Motivational Maps to decode motivation at both individual and team level, tailor their coaching approach and inspire high performance — translating abstract human energy into actionable strategies that drive engagement and results.

People can only meet you as deeply as they’ve met themselves.

Matt Kahn

Think of Motivational Maps as a ‘fuel gauge’ for your team.

It not only shows how motivated your employees are, but also reveals what specific motivators drive their performance.
Without this insight, leaders risk fueling their people with the wrong motivators (imagine putting the wrong fuel into your car), leading to disengagement and stagnation.
Motivation is the fuel of performance , and when leaders understand what energises their teams, they can create high-performing, engaged workplaces .

At its core, motivation is dynamic and deeply personal, shaped by an individual’s values, experiences and evolving needs. Motivational Maps capture these nuances by identifying three primary clusters of motivators: Relationship, Achievement and Growth . Within these clusters lie the nine motivators that guide human behaviour:

1. Defender (security and predictability)

2. Friend (belonging and connection)

3. Star (recognition and esteem)

4. Builder (financial rewards and success)

5. Expert (mastery and learning)

6. Director (power and control)

7. Creator (innovation and originality)

8. Spirit (autonomy and freedom)

9. Searcher (purpose and significance)

Each individual’s Motivational Map is unique, shaped by their top motivators and how satisfied they are with them. This personal ‘treasure map’ gives leaders the insights needed to create environments where employees thrive.

Ref: Motivational Maps Ltd

How Motivational Maps work

Using a simple yet robust diagnostic tool, Motivational Maps assess:

Each team member’s fire and purpose (their intrinsic motivators)
Current motivation levels , identifying areas of alignment and disconnection
Shifts in motivation , as drivers evolve over time

The results are visualised in an easy-to-read map that provides leaders with actionable insights. By tailoring rewards, communication and development opportunities to align with individual motivators, leaders can unlock higher engagement and productivity.

When you align your actions with your values, motivation stops being an effort and becomes a habit.

Anon

The Role of Motivational Maps in Impactful Coaching

Motivational Maps are not just diagnostic tools — they act as conversation enablers, helping leaders understand how to connect each team member with their fire and purpose . They seamlessly integrate with coaching models like GROW, particularly in clarifying the Goal and WHY for an individual.

Goal (GROW Model) – What does success look like for you?
WHY (Motivation) – What fuels your drive to achieve that goal?

When leaders use Motivational Maps in coaching, they create transformational, not transactional conversations — ensuring that employees feel seen, heard and understood .

Motivation has an undeniable impact at every level of an organisation:

Team dynamics: Motivated teams experience less conflict, higher collaboration and greater innovation.

Company-wide: Companies with motivated employees are 21% more profitable.

Leaders who overlook motivation as a key driver of performance are essentially operating without a ‘fuel gauge’, risking misaligned goals, disengaged teams and diminished success.

Transforming Sales Team Engagement: A Case Study

A pharmaceutical company’s sales division faced declining engagement and rising turnover despite competitive compensation. Traditional solutions — increased incentives, team building and stricter performance management — failed to improve motivation or performance.

The division head, Martin, introduced Motivational Maps for leaders to use during their 1:1s to understand individual team members’ intrinsic drivers. For one struggling team, the assessment revealed three distinct motivational profiles:

Stars: Driven by recognition and visibility
Spirits: Craving autonomy and independence
Searchers: Motivated by purpose and impact

The manager tailored her leadership approach to each profile:

Created visibility opportunities for Stars through recognition programmes
Granted Spirits more autonomy in achieving targets
Connected Searchers’ work to the company’s mission and patient impact

Results

Within six months, the team saw:

40% increase in engagement scores
25% reduction in turnover
Enhanced collaboration and innovation
Improved team morale and satisfaction

This case study shows that success came from understanding and aligning with individual motivators rather than applying one-size-fits-all solutions. The manager’s targeted approach transformed a struggling team into a high-performing, engaged workforce without requiring significant financial investment.

People are born with intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, dignity, curiosity to learn, joy in learning

W. Edwards Deming

Leveraging Motivational Maps for Leadership Success

Motivational Maps are powerful for:

The ROI of Adopting a Coaching Approach

Gallup Data ( Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report .)

Only 33% of employees are engaged in the US: Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report reveals that only 33% of U.S. employees are engaged at work. This means that two-thirds of the American workforce is either not engaged or actively disengaged.

85% of employees worldwide are not engaged: Globally, the situation is even more concerning. A staggering 85% of employees worldwide are either not engaged or actively disengaged, highlighting a significant global challenge in employee motivation and well-being.

Engaged teams show 21% greater profitability: Gallup’s research demonstrates that engaged teams outperform their disengaged counterparts in various key metrics. Notably, engaged teams exhibit 21% greater profitability, underscoring the strong link between employee engagement and organisational success.

Engaged employees have 41% lower absenteeism: Engaged employees are more likely to be present and productive. Gallup’s data shows that engaged employees have 41% lower absenteeism rates compared to their disengaged colleagues, leading to increased efficiency and reduced operational costs.

70% of team engagement can be attributed to the manager: Gallup’s research emphasises the critical role of managers in driving employee engagement. The data reveals that 70% of the variance in team engagement can be attributed to the manager, highlighting the importance of effective leadership and management practices in fostering a positive and engaging work environment.

Personalised strategy development

Leaders can replace guesswork with data-driven insights to create tailored engagement strategies .
Helps leaders identify misalignments and coach team members towards roles that energise them.

Enhancing team effectiveness

Team-level mapping reveals collective motivators, improving collaboration.
Helps leaders understand why some teams thrive while others struggle to align.

Strategic talent management

Maps guide hiring, promotions and team composition , ensuring the right people are in the right roles .
Provides insight into motivational fit for specific roles.

Sustainable results

Engagement and productivity improve when employees feel their motivators are valued.
Turnover decreases as individuals find roles that align with their intrinsic drivers.

Practical Steps to Get Started With Motivational Maps

Motivational Maps offer a straightforward yet transformative approach to uncovering and leveraging the intrinsic drivers of your team. To maximise their impact, follow these five practical steps:

1. Assess motivation levels

Begin by mapping individual and team motivators to understand what drives each employee. The process is simple:

Have each team member complete a Motivational Map questionnaire, which takes only 15-20 minutes.
Review the results, which identify their top motivators, areas of dissatisfaction, and overall motivation level.

For example, you may discover that one team member values autonomy (Spirit), while another thrives on recognition (Star). This clarity eliminates guesswork and creates a foundation for tailored engagement strategies.

2. Analyse and align motivators

Once motivators are identified, compare them to employees’ current roles and responsibilities:

Are their motivators being met?
Are there areas where alignment is lacking?

For instance:

A Builder motivated by financial rewards may thrive in a sales role with clear targets and bonuses.
A Searcher motivated by purpose might feel disconnected if their role lacks a clear link to the organisation’s mission.

Using this analysis, you can adjust tasks, rewards or communication strategies to ensure alignment.

3. Personalise communication and engagement

Adapt your communication style and engagement methods to resonate with individual motivators:

Stars: Highlight opportunities for visibility and recognition in meetings or presentations.
Defenders: Provide clear expectations and consistent feedback to create a sense of security.
Creators: Encourage brainstorming sessions and innovation-focused projects to fuel their drive for originality.

By aligning communication with motivators, you will create a sense of trust and understanding that deepens engagement.

4. Create tailored action plans

Motivational Maps enable leaders to co-create actionable solutions. Use the insights from the maps to:

Develop individualised performance plans , addressing specific motivators.
Design team strategies , such as grouping complementary motivators for collaboration.
Incorporate motivators into development plans , ensuring alignment with career growth opportunities

For example, an employee motivated by Expertise (Expert) might benefit from mentorship opportunities or training programmes, while a Friend may excel in collaborative, team-based initiatives.

5. Embed Motivational Maps into leadership practices

Here’s how:

Use Motivational Maps during recruitment to assess candidate alignment with the role and team dynamics.
Include motivators in regular performance reviews and appraisals to track changes and progress.
Reassess motivators annually or during key transitions, such as promotions or organisational changes.

By embedding Motivational Maps into your leadership toolkit, you create a culture of continuous alignment and growth, ensuring your team remains motivated and high-performing over time.

Bonus: Leverage for team wide insights

Mapping motivators at the team level allows leaders to uncover collective strengths and areas for improvement:

Identify motivator gaps that might hinder collaboration or innovation.
Balance team dynamics by ensuring a mix of motivators across Relationship, Achievement, and Growth clusters.
Build trust and understanding by sharing team motivator profiles and encouraging open discussions.

Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.

Daniel H. Pink

Impact Leadership is Motivation-Driven

Understanding what drives people is no longer optional — it’s essential.

Leaders who integrate Motivational Maps into coaching and leadership create teams that are motivated, aligned and high-performing.

Your leadership legacy isn’t built on one-size-fits-all strategies. It’s built on knowing what fuels your people — their fire and purpose — and coaching them towards fulfilment.

To find out how Motivational Maps can transform your leadership and team performance, please contact us .

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Lucy Philip, Winner of Live Facilitator of the Year Award!

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:51:47 GMT

We are delighted to announce that our CEO and Founder, Lucy Philip, has won 'Live Facilitator of the Year' at The National Facilitator Awards!

The National Facilitator Awards are the UK’s only awards dedicated to celebrating facilitators who deliver exceptional training. They recognise facilitators who are making a real impact on the industry and the lives of those they work with.

Training is often undervalued and seen as a tick box exercise, but the NFA’s know that the right facilitator can deliver training that can be transformational to teams, organisations, even lives! It is their aim, therefore, to raise the profile of exceptional facilitators and give them the national recognition that they deserve!

The Live Facilitator Award - Winner!

For the Live Facilitator Award Lucy facilitated an incredible bitesize session to other Learning Professionals as part of the CPD day ahead of the Awards Ceremony. Delegates were asked to vote for their favourite session of the day and Lucy received the most votes - leading her to be crowned Live Facilitator of the Year at the awards evening!

It’s not often that facilitators get the opportunity to see their peers in action and it was a great opportunity for Lucy to step outside of her comfort zone and model the very skills she teaches as part of the support Purposefully Blended offers in-house Training Managers.

To find out more about how Lucy and Purposefully Blended support and develop L&D professionals and their stakeholders get in touch today or check out our Purposeful Insights.

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Lucy Philip’s article published in renowned L&D publication Chief Learning Officer (CLO)

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:28:34 GMT

Did you know that our Founder & CEO, Lucy Philip, was recently asked to write an article for the renowned online publication Chief Learning Officer (CLO)? CLO focuses on the importance, benefits and advancements of a properly trained workforce and brings together a community of visionary C-suite and senior-level practitioners, executives, scholars, consultants and solutions providers in corporate learning and talent management.

Lucy’s must-read article, ‘ Measuring the impact of learning – the elephant in the room ’, discusses why putting measurement front and center has the potential to transform learning. Lucy explores why it is so often an afterthought and why it is often shoehorned into the final moments of a training session that has already overrun, how we identify what to measure and how we can transform the relationship with our stakeholders to one of partnership. Take a look here for practical application and easy questions to get you started - to see how we can identify what to measure, to learn more about what gets in the way and how we can overcome it.

Measurement is a core component of our signature IMPACT™️ framework, the way we support Training Managers to excel at what they do. It’s key to showing the effectiveness of Learning and Coaching interventions and ultimately it’s the way we demonstrate our expertise to our internal stakeholders,

A highly experienced leader, ICF-certified coach and mentor to Global Training Managers, Lucy has witnessed first-hand the unique challenges and pressures faced by those in Learning and Development (L&D) and First-Line Manager roles. These challenges drive Lucy to support and equip L&D professionals and their stakeholders with the capabilities they need to identify, build and implement effective learning solutions consistently and at scale.

First-Line Managers are essential to embedding new behaviours. The most effective way for them to embed new behaviours is through powerful coaching, but coaching is often deprioritised due to time constraints and low confidence in coaching ability. Purposefully Blended’s signature IMPACT™ framework has been proven to target capability development for these uniquely paced roles to serve the organisation more effectively.

The signature IMPACT™ framework, which comprises six core dimensions of leadership, has been proven to target capability development for these uniquely placed roles and develop them to serve the organisation more effectively.

To find out more about how Lucy and Purposefully Blended support and develop L&D professionals and their stakeholders get in touch today or check out our Purposeful Insights.

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Lucy Philip, Awarded LinkedIn Top Training and Development (HR) Voice

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 12:07:03 GMT

We are excited to announce that our CEO & Founder of Purposefully Blended, Lucy Philip, has been awarded the LinkedIn status of ‘Top Training and Development (HR) Voice.’

LinkedIn Top Voices is an invitation-only program that selects a group of experts using the platform, who share valuable insights and knowledge about their industry or expertise. Voices who qualify are awarded a badge on their profile to highlight their professional skills, expertise and noteworthy contributions.

A highly experienced leader, ICF-certified coach and mentor to Global Training Managers, Lucy has witnessed firsthand the unique challenges and pressures faced by those in Learning and Development (L&D) and First-Line Manager roles. These challenges drive Lucy to support and equip L&D professionals and their stakeholders with the capabilities they need to identify, build and implement effective learning solutions consistently and at scale.

To find out more about how Lucy and Purposefully Blended support and develop L&D professionals and their stakeholders get in touch today or check out our Purposeful Insights.

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Transforming Learning Through Metrics

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:38:21 GMT

Measuring the impact of learning interventions is crucial for organizations to ensure effectiveness, drive performance outcomes, and make data-driven decisions to improve their learning programmes . Unfortunately, many training programmes suffer from a lack of clear outcomes from the start, leading to suboptimal return on investment (ROI). To address this, Learning and Development professionals must adopt a mindset for measurement, focusing on quantified business goals and meaningful partnerships with cross-functional stakeholders. By contextualizing the learning experience and managing expectations, organizations can transform their learning initiatives, maximizing ROI and achieving desired outcomes.

The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.

Dale Carnegie

The Current State of Measurement in Learning

Understanding the present landscape of learning measurement is a crucial step to instigate a transformation.

For far too many organizations, the measurement of learning interventions often turns out to be an afterthought rather than an integrated part of the learning process.

ATD surveyed 779 talent development professionals . Half were managers, directors, or executives. 46% were from mid-sized organizations (500-9,999 employees), 31% from large organizations (10,000+ employees), and the remaining 23% from smaller organizations (<500 employees).

The survey used the Kirkpatrick and Phillips model to categorize learning evaluation levels.

Levels 1 and 2 were the most widely used. Level 1 measures learners' reactions (e.g., smile sheets), and Level 2 measures skills and knowledge acquisition through quizzes. Approximately 80% of organizations used these levels.

Level 3 , which focuses on the application of new skills on the job, was measured by 54% of organizations through surveys or observation.

Levels 4 and 5 were less commonly used. Only 38% used Level 4, which measures business or mission effects, and just 16% used Level 5, which measures financial results.

According to the survey report, just 40% said their learning evaluation efforts helped them meet their organization’s business goals. The main barriers reported were:

Difficulty isolating a learning programme's impact (41%).
Lack of access to necessary data for higher-level evaluations (39%).
High cost of conducting higher-level evaluations (33%).

Feedback collected at the end of trainings is notoriously superficial, focusing more on the immediate experience rather than the effectiveness and application of the learning. This superficial feedback gives a skewed perception of success, thereby misleading organisations and learners about the actual impact of the learning intervention and doing nothing to elevate the position of the learning expert as a valued cross-functional partner.

Case Study: Jonathan Sharpe, L&D, MedEquip Inc.

John Sharpe, a committed Learning and Development professional at MedEquip Inc., a high-tech medical equipment company, is entrusted with developing and implementing a sales training programme. His primary stakeholder, Robert, a determined first-line sales manager, needs an immediate boost in his sales team's languishing performance.

Under the time-sensitive mandate given, John puts together a sales training programme. On its completion, there’s a clear sense of accomplishment. The sales team is full of enthusiasm, demonstrating an improved understanding of the products during a standard post-training quiz.

Months later, Robert notices a frustrating lack of improvement in the team's actual sales performance. The quiz results were positive, but there’s no significant upswing in the numbers that truly matter - the sales.

As John gears up for a round two of the training a few months later, he finds himself retracing familiar steps, a feeling of déjà vu pervading his preparations. The issue is not the content, but the lack of depth in the evaluation. The quiz he uses measures surface knowledge, but no strategies are put in place to track the long-term application of the training or its direct impact on sales.

John’s training intervention is a bit like filling a bucket with a large hole at the bottom. The immediate results look promising, but with no thorough measurements or reinforcement strategies, the newly acquired skills leak out, leaving little to no impact on the sales performance.

Overcoming the Elephant in the Room

Confronting the Fear of Poor Results

The spectre of poor results can be an intimidating obstacle to implementing effective measurement practices. For many, it's easier to bask in the immediate positivity that comes after a learning intervention, like glowing feedback on a post-training survey, than to delve into the gritty details of how that training truly impacts performance over time.

However, avoiding the reality of poor results is not just an exercise in ignorance, but it can also lead to a cyclical pattern of ineffective training. When the fear of confronting weak outcomes prevents thorough evaluation, learning professionals and managers may find themselves trapped in a loop of recurring issues.

The key to breaking free from this cycle lies in embracing the possibility of unfavourable results. This is not about seeking failure, but about making failure a stepping stone to success. In fact, poor results can provide the most useful insights, revealing the gaps in training that need to be addressed, and paving the way for truly impactful learning interventions.

Barriers to Measurement

Despite the undeniable importance of measurement, several barriers often hinder its effective implementation. These include the following, along with potential solutions: .

1. Lack of time

Prioritize measurement from the beginning: Incorporate measurement planning into the initial stages of learning and development initiatives. By including it as an integral part of the project timeline, sufficient time can be allocated for data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
Automate data collection: Leverage technology to streamline the process of data collection, reducing the time and effort required. Use learning analytics platforms or learning management systems that can automatically capture and aggregate data, providing real-time insights without extensive manual effort.

2. Lack of clarity

Provide training and resources: Offer learning and development professionals and stakeholders training on measurement models and methods. Provide resources such as guides, templates, and examples to enhance their understanding of effective measurement practices.
Seek external expertise: Collaborate with external consultants or experts in learning measurement to gain insights and guidance. They can help clarify concepts, provide best practices, and offer support in implementing measurement strategies.

3. Resource allocation issues

Communicate the value of measurement: Clearly articulate the benefits and return on investment (ROI) of measurement to decision-makers and stakeholders. Emphasize how measurement can drive improvements, demonstrate the effectiveness of learning interventions, and contribute to organizational success.
Allocate dedicated resources: Advocate for the allocation of dedicated personnel and budget for measurement activities. Make a case for the long-term benefits and potential cost savings that can be achieved through effective measurement, highlighting the impact on learning outcomes and performance improvement.

Overcoming these barriers requires a commitment to creating a culture where measurement is seen as an essential part of learning and development — not an afterthought, but a core component of strategy and execution.

I believe learning fulfills its highest purpose with performance activiation. For me, L&D detective work is measuring fulfillment of purpose.

Kevin M Yates, 'Learning Detective'

Start with Measurement Criteria

Having clear measurement criteria from the outset is pivotal for effectively evaluating the success of learning interventions. Think of it like setting out on a journey – having a defined destination enables you to plan the most efficient route and measure your progress along the way.

If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.

Yogi Berra

In his L&D Detective Kit for Solving Impact Mysteries , Kevin M Yates makes a compelling case for the adoption of ‘Impact Standards’. Not all learning programmes are created equal, so it is important to first identify the training programmes that “require the time, resources and effort to measure impact.”

Yates’ Impact Standards require the following questions be asked from the outset during what he calls “Impact Opportunity Interviews” to enable “proactive impact planning prior to the design and deployment of your learning solution”.

The Learning Detective's 6 Impact Standards

Payoff: Are the significant investments for time, money or both?
Power: Does it have support for activating performance?
Pinpoints: Does it have measures or key performance indicators?
Priority: Does it have leadership attention, visibility or sponsorship?
Position: Is there alignment with a business goal or strategy?
Purpose: Are there specific targets for performance outcomes?

Impact standards indicate how well a learning solution is designed to impact performance and business goals. The more standards met, the greater the potential for impact. Yates also notes that without these Impact Standards learning solutions are hard to measure. The standards are essential to establish the “purpose and intention for impact” first.

Examples of KPIs - via the Learning Detective

3 Useful Models for Measuring Learning Impact

a) Applying the Kirkpatrick Model for ROI Measurement

The Kirkpatrick Model , developed by Donald Kirkpatrick in the 1950s, has stood the test of time as a valuable tool for evaluating the effectiveness of training programmes. This model comprises four levels, explained very simply here:

1. Reaction : Did they enjoy the training?

2. Learning : Did they pass the assessment?

3. Behaviour : Do they work better?

4. Results : Did business metrics improve?

The Kirkpatrick Model offers a structured way to assess the impact of training, allowing stakeholders to gauge the return on their investment and identify areas for improvement.

Using the Kirkpatrick Model, Indiana University Health increased on-the-job compliance scores by over 20% and decreased medication errors with a severity level E or higher by 67% over a three-year period. Emirates Airline increased customer satisfaction ratings in four key areas and created a double-digit decrease in customer complaints.

However, the Kirkpatrick Model is not without its limitations. One important criticism is that the model doesn’t tell us much about the ongoing measurement of the four levels over time. While the learning intervention may have an initial impact, that impact may fade over time. Evaluations should be ongoing and measure lasting impact .

b) Anderson's Value of Learning Model

Anderson’s Value of Learning Model was developed by Valerie Anderson and published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The model is a three-stage cycle intended to be applied at organization level vs. for specific learning interventions:

Stage 1: Determine current alignment against strategic priorities, e.g. driving sales, reaching a new market, leadership development. A learning programme that significantly improves the technical skills of the target audience may seem successful. However, if the organization's primary need is to enhance leadership and communication abilities, then the programme is poorly aligned with the organization's development priorities.

Stage 2: Use a range of methods to assess and evaluate the contribution of learning. Four areas of evaluation are recommended:

Learning function measures to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the learning function;
‘Return on expectation’ measures, for example if the goal is to shorten a process by a number of days or hours, this measure would be used;
Return on investment measures;
Benchmark and capacity measures, whereby learning process and performance is compared with internal or external standards.

Stage 3: Establish the most relevant approach for your organization – this will depend on the stakeholders’ objectives and values. As such, the model suggests four categories should be considered:

Emphasis on the short-term benefits
Emphasis on long-term benefits
Senior management trust in learning contribution
The organization requires learning value metrics

The Anderson model has three notable advantages:

It recognises that organizations are different and, as such, require different approaches
It prioritises alignment of learning with strategy
It addresses evaluation and learning value challenges

Criticisms of the Anderson model are that it does not offer in-depth analysis of individual training programmes; neither does it offer direction on how to evaluate individual learning and development initiatives. However, the Anderson model recommends combining multiple evaluation approaches with the Anderson model to establish whether strategic priorities are being met.

c) The Performance Consulting Model and its Role in Learning Measurement

The Performance Consulting model is a sound framework for measuring learning impact. Rooted in the concept of partnership, this 7-step model can be summarised as follows:

The contract: the presenting problem; time available, expectations
Who is involved?
What are they doing now (actual)?
What do we want them to do (desired)?
What is the cost of the gap?
From causes to solutions (knowledge, skills, motivation, environment)
Action plan: who, what, when

In common with other models, the Performance Consulting model will require the investment of time and resources to derive its benefits.

Measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not so.

Galileo

Enhancing Measurement Practices: Practical Tips for Organizations

Learning Detective Kevin Yates emphasises the importance of focusing on performance outcomes vs. learning objectives for the purpose of measurement of learning impact. This perspective results in a shift in the framing of the learning. So, “You will know how to handle conflict” becomes “Manage and resolve conflict by interpreting behaviour instead of responding emotionally.” As such, outcomes are action-based and describe the skill or capability.

Incorporating diverse evaluation methods at different stages of the learning process can provide a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness. For example, using pre- and post-training assessments, job simulations, and on-the-job observations can assess knowledge acquisition, application, and behaviour change. .

Leveraging technology-enabled learning analytics platforms can facilitate data collection and analysis, allowing for real-time tracking of learning outcomes and performance improvements. Regularly reviewing and analyzing the collected data, along with involving stakeholders in the evaluation process, can provide valuable insights for continuous improvement.

Organizations must foster a culture of shared accountability and prioritize measurement in learning and development strategies. The stakeholders initiating the learning request should take responsibility for defining desired outcomes and collaborating with their learning partners on evaluation methods to assess their achievement.

The Heart of Measurement: Questioning, Evaluating, Re-visiting the Outcomes

Measurement, in its essence, is not just about collecting data or ticking boxes. It's an exercise that demands we dive deep into the heart of our efforts and initiatives, asking the tough questions that some might shy away from. This translates to questioning the efficacy of our strategies, the relevance of our content, and the resonance of our delivery methods.

A few useful questions include the following:

Do we know what we are trying to achieve and how it links to performance?
Are our efforts resulting in the desired learning outcomes?
How will we know if the skills being taught are being effectively implemented on the job?

These are some examples of questions that a committed learning and development professional or sales manager needs to ask.

Make an IMPACT

The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight.

Carly Fiorini

Measurement is key to Purposefully Blended’s signature IMPACT approach to learning and development. We are trusted by global clients to measure learning impact and maximise the ROI of their learning and development initiatives. For information on how we can support your organization, get in touch today.

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Coaching Is Key to Unlocking Performance - So Why Do Some Managers Hold Back?

Mon, 08 May 2023 18:40:56 GMT

As businesses continue to evolve, it’s becoming increasingly clear that successful leadership goes well beyond traditional management approaches . In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing corporate landscape, coaching has emerged as a critical tool for engaging and motivating employees, promoting growth, and achieving organisational goals. Yet, despite the evidence pointing to the effectiveness of coaching, many managers remain reluctant to embrace it. So, what’s holding them back? In this article, I’d like to explore some of the reasons behind this reluctance and the impact it can have on their teams, and offer insights on how managers can overcome these barriers to become more effective leaders.

The Allure of Transactional Relationships

Transactional relationships are characterised by an emphasis on task completion, with little focus on building relationships or developing team members’ potential. These relationships are often characterised by a “telling” rather than a questioning approach, where managers dictate

what needs to be done rather than allowing team members to think for themselves.

Yet transactional relationships can be appealing to managers for several reasons. They are often simpler and more straightforward than coaching

relationships, which do require a significant investment of time and energy. In addition, transactional relationships can provide a sense of control and security (aka comfort) for managers who may feel that coaching

relationships are too risky or unpredictable.

What’s the Root of the Issue?

How are managers recruited? People are often recruited on the basis of their expertise and/or track record in doing the job. Therefore, in the absence of leadership development they fall back on what they know: “delivering” the job.

Many organisations still do not have a leadership development programme. According to a CMI report , only 23% of organisations rank as good or very good in terms of whether staff is trained in management and leadership before, or within three months of taking on a management role. The use of mentoring and coaching also appears very limited despite persuasive testimony about its effectiveness in helping managers improve their practical skills and make an impact at work. There were key links between the people scores and organisational growth. For example, a whopping 60% of organisations in decline do not train their staff or do so poorly, compared with around a quarter of growing organisations. Equally, a mere one manager in 10 in declining organisations say training of staff immediately after a promotion is either good or very good, vs. around 30% in growing organisations.

The business cost of bad management is abundantly clear... Yet, too many employers simply do not take this seriously and harm their collective performance and employee wellbeing as a result.

Anthony Painter, policy director at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), via People Management

Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Our own experience working with first-line sales managers over many years has been revealing. Reasons cited for a resistance to coaching include the absence of leaders role modelling a coaching approach, a lack of experience in using coaching consistently, no time for coaching, insecurity around coaching skills and lack of buy-in to the value of coaching. There are also misconceptions about what coaching entails. Some managers, as evidenced by their behaviour, believe that coaching involves “fixing” problems rather than facilitating growth. Other managers take coaching to mean leaving their team members completely alone! However, the managerial archetype that empowers people to make performance-related decisions provides guardrails and ensures accountability while stepping back to enable the decision making and growth.

Globally, employee engagement and wellbeing remain very low, and it’s holding back enormous growth potential.

According to the Gallup State of the Global Workplace report 2022, Europe has the lowest regional percentage of engaged employees (14%). Globally, 21% are “engaged”.

Removing the Blindfold: The Hidden Costs of Transactional Management

Let’s consider the case of Nigel, a first-line sales manager in a medical equipment company. Nigel is in charge of a large sales team – a team of sub-par performers . The low morale and low energy in his team is palpable. Despite this, he continues to use a transactional approach with his representatives. They respond by giving him the very least of what they are capable.

Nigel makes little to no effort to invest in developing his team members’ potential, but as the archetypical

“always-on” manager, he won’t hesitate to douse them in generous doses of “hard truths” feedback when

required. In fact, the worse his team does, the more inclined he is to double down on his command-and-control approach.

Nigel’s team members not only feel undervalued but are demotivated, disengaged, disillusioned – leading to high turnover rates and missed sales targets. Nigel is put on short-term objectives and is under considerable pressure from his manager to turn things around.

Yet Nigel is a manager with immense potential who was fast tracked into his management role. He had been presented with multiple opportunities to enhance his coaching skills but regrettably declined each one. Had Nigel seized these opportunities and fully embraced coaching as a leadership tool, he would have unlocked a powerful ability to empower his team members and facilitate their success. His decision to forego coaching not only limits his own leadership potential but also negatively impacts his team’s ability to perform to their full potential.

By embracing coaching, Nigel could elevate his leadership skills to new heights, transforming his team’s

performance and achieving better results across the board.

Our research shows that employees who report to managers who coach effectively are 40% more engaged, exhibit 38% more discretionary effort and are 20% more likely to stay at their organisations than those who report to ineffective coaches.

Jaime Roca, Senior Vice President, Research & Advisory, Gartner HR Practice

The Transactional Approach Often Falls Short

The transactional approach can be costly for businesses in the long run, amounting to “leaving money on the table”.

Per a Bersin & Associate study, managers equipped with coaching skills can boost business performance by a staggering 130%.

The Association for Talent Development’s findings reveal that employees operating in a coaching culture are significantly more productive, report higher performance levels, and experience improved communication and overall well-being.

Google has a well-established coaching program that has helped the company to create a more engaged and productive workforce. Its People Innovation Lab identified coaching as #1 on its list of ten habits of highly effective managers.

A report by the Human Capital Institute found that more than half of companies with a strong coaching culture report higher revenue than their industry peer group.

According to the Institute of Coaching , more than 70% of individuals who received coaching experienced benefits such as improved work performance, relationships, and communication skills.

The ROI of Adopting a Coaching Approach

What about the return on investment for coaching? Impressive results abound, and here are just a few:

A study by the International Coach Federation found that 86% of companies that invested in coaching for their employees saw a return on investment, and nearly 96% of them would repeat the process again.
Manchester, Inc. conducted a survey of 100 executives, the majority of whom were from Fortune 1000 companies. The results were eye-opening, showing that the ROI of a company’s investment in coaching was nearly six times the cost of the coaching. ( Maximizing the Impact of Executive Coaching , The Manchester Review, 2001, Volume 6, Number 1, Joy McGovern, et.al.)
A Fortune 500 company aimed to determine the ROI of Executive Coaching. The results were very impressive, with 77% of respondents reporting significant impact on at least one of nine business measures. The most positively impacted areas were found to be productivity and employee satisfaction, which had ripple effects on customer satisfaction, employee engagement, quality, and annualized financial results. The study concluded that Executive Coaching delivered an exceptional ROI of 788%. Even when excluding the benefits from employee retention, the ROI was still an impressive 529%. This underscores the importance and value of investing in Executive Coaching for any forward-thinking organization seeking to boost its bottom line. ( Executive Briefing: Case Study on the ROI of Executive Coaching , Merrill C. Anderson, Ph.D., MetrixGlobal, LLC).
Companies that offer training alone experience 22.4% increase in productivity, but when combined with coaching that figure rises to 88%. ( Gerald Olivero, Denise Bane & Richard Kopelman, Public Personnel Management .)

These findings are hard to ignore and demonstrate the significant value that coaching can bring to both individual leaders and organisations as a whole.

Why Is Coaching So Successful?

Coaching is distinguished by its pragmatism and its focus on opportunities, personal accountability and goal achievement. In addition:

Coaching encourages a growth mindset , which helps team members develop their skills and abilities over time. This leads to higher levels of employee engagement, which in turn translates into increased productivity and job satisfaction.
Coaching provides a platform for ongoing feedback and communication , which helps team members stay on track and aligned with the organization’s goals. This, in turn, leads to a more effective use of resources and a better allocation of time and effort.
Coaching helps to build trust and relationships between managers and their team members. This, in turn, leads to better collaboration, higher levels of accountability, and improved decision-making.

Overall, the combination of a growth mindset, ongoing feedback, and strong relationships helps to create a culture of continuous improvement and high performance, which ultimately leads to superior business results.

By contrast, as we have found, the transactional approach leads to a lack of investment in team members’ growth and development, resulting in low engagement, demotivation, and high turnover rates

What Is a Coaching Approach to Leadership?

A coaching approach to leadership involves adopting a mindset that prioritises the growth and development of your team members. Instead of simply telling your team members what to do, a coaching approach involves actively engaging with them to help them identify their strengths, areas for improvement, and goals.

Effective coaching involves active listening, asking the right, open-ended questions and providing feedback in a way that is constructive and supportive. It also involves empowering team members to take ownership of their own development, while providing the resources and support they need to succeed.

A coaching approach to leadership is not about relentlessly micromanaging or hovering over your team members. Instead, it involves creating a safe and supportive environment where your team members feel comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from them.

Ultimately, a coaching approach to leadership helps to create a culture of continuous improvement and learning, where team members are engaged, motivated, and empowered to reach their full potential.

A coaching culture is the practice that’s most highly correlated with business performance, employee engagement, and overall retention. When new managers are promoted to supervisory positions, they often think their job is to direct or evaluate people. While directed management is important, it plays a smaller role than one might think. It is the coaching and development role of management that is the most valuable.

Deloitte

Laying the Foundations for Coaching

In our experience, there are three foundational actions that are necessary to empower employees and improve delegated decision-making:

1. Clarify the organisation’s strategy and the key role team members play in delivering it . Coaching is effective when the strategic intent of the organization is crystal clear and everyone is on board with it. A well-articulated endpoint with milestones along the way provides the necessary guardrails for employee empowerment. Measurement is vital, and, as such, is a key element of our IMPACT ^TM system that transforms managers into effective coaches..

2. Define roles and responsibilities clearly. When roles and responsibilities are opaque, decisions end

up being delayed or back on the manager’s desk – then confusion ensues .

3. Invest in capability building and coaching upfront. Managers should allocate significant time to coach and enhance the skills of their employees while offering them opportunities to grow. Organisations must invest in building the leadership and coaching abilities of their managers.

Final Thoughts

Only about two in 10 managers instinctively know how to coach. But the others can learn.

Gallup

Ultimately, high-quality coaching requires managers to be fully committed to not only the success of their organisations but also to the success of their individual team members. To be very effective in their

coaching role, managers will need to continuously refine their coaching skills.

From our own work, it’s as clear as day that organisations that invest in coaching are those with empowered employees – employees who are demonstrably more engaged, work harder, and are more loyal to their company, delivering faster, better, and more efficient outcomes.

If you are a manager yet to embrace coaching, we invite you to experience our powerful, one-to-one coaching for yourself to appreciate the difference it can make as a leadership tool. Alternatively, you can jump in here to sample our manager coaching tool .

We’re here to support you. Our outstanding ICF-certified mindset coaches use a combination of our

IMPACT™ system and a number of scientifically validated diagnostic tools to support leaders across the globe. With their expert guidance, you will discover and understand what is holding you and your teams back so that you can be more effective in your role as a leader and as a coach.

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Influence, Not Authority, Lies at the Heart of True Leadership

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 19:03:09 GMT

To achieve desired outcomes in today's VUCA , matrixed world, formal authority is no longer enough. Even those with formal authority may struggle to drive the required performance through their teams. This is where the skill of influencing without authority comes in. It's a skill that lies at the heart of true leadership –and it can be learnt. Learning and Development professionals, in particular, often lack formal authority and find it hard to communicate their value to their organizations, leading to transactional relationships with stakeholders and learners and to, often, ineffective training programmes. But those with formal authority, such as sales managers, may find that their authority doesn't readily translate into influence. Rather than settling for delivering poor outcomes, both learning and development professionals and first-line sales managers can learn how to use influence to generate the right outcomes for their organization – regardless of any formal authority.

We define influence as the capacity to have an effect on the development or behaviour of the individual; but it is also about maximising the effect of stakeholders towards the achievement of the greater good.

Its usefulness is inarguable, and everyday situations such as the following illustrate this:

You need the support of a manager in ensuring that the training you have conducted for his sales team is embedded and translated into behaviour change.

You know that the outcomes that a stakeholder is looking for will take more than half a day’s training but they say there isn’t the time or budget.

You know that taking on a global project role will take time away from you in field coaching but you are expected to deliver on both objectives.

Without strong influencing skills, there is limited ability to have an impact on outcomes.

Meet Anna, an Experienced Learning and Development Professional Working in a Global Pharmaceutical Company.

Anna was recently approached by Sally, the first-line manager of the company’s dermatology sales team, with an unexpected request for a Presentation Skills training programme for her representatives.

Despite Sally providing very little context or giving Anna the time to probe more deeply to understand the training need, Anna delivered the training as requested. But she delivered the training confident that Sally would request a “refresher course” for the same disengaged cohort of representatives in the future, and believing that she would be powerless to influence Sally's decision-making. For her part, Sally has been feeling very overwhelmed with administrative tasks and a myriad of deadlines, and she has also been preoccupied with trying to stem the flow of talented representatives leaving the company to join other organizations.

Unfortunately, Anna's experience is not unique in the learning and development “world” where, not having any formal authority, professionals often struggle to influence stakeholders. Her transactional response is typical, and it highlights her perceived inability to influence Sally. Sally's predicament is a common one, too, and it is a reminder that authority does not always equate to influence. It’s also clear that the relationship between Anna and Sally is a perfunctory one.

A study showed that when people feel sidelined at work, they tend to act in one of three ways to cope: pro-socially (finding ways to be more helpful), anti-socially (seeking ways to retaliate or ostracize others) or retreating. Belonging is a core human need, yet we can respond in ways that hold us back from being visible as leaders.

Research has shown that when learning and development professionals do not have an influence in the decision-making process, training programmes are less effective and have a lower impact on the organization. For instance, a study by Arthur et al. (2003) found that when there was a lack of partnership and collaboration between learning and development professionals and line managers, the training programmes were less relevant, less effective, and less likely to have a positive impact on the organization's performance.

There’s even more compelling research, though . A meta-analysis conducted by Sitzmann et al. (2010) found that involving learning and development professionals in the design and implementation of training programmes led to higher levels of learning transfer and improved job performance. The study also found that training programmes that were designed and implemented in collaboration with stakeholders across the organization, i.e. with learning and development as true partners, were more likely to be aligned with the organization's strategic goals and objectives, resulting in a higher return on investment for the organization.

Accountability for training impact cannot be delegated to a training department.

Professor Robert Brinkerhoff

By contrast, research by Professor Robert Brinkerhoff ( What if Training Had to Work ) exploring some of the reasons for non-application of training points to the following consistent findings:

Trainees being sent to training without adequate preparation.

Trainees not having a clear line of sight as to why the training was important, exactly what they most needed to learn, and how they could use it to drive their (and their business unit’s) performance .

Trainees being trained at the wrong time, when they were not positioned to make the most of it in their work

Managers not supporting or reinforcing or holding employees accountable for new learning and performance.

A Model of Influence

Educate senior leaders and managers about their role in making training work. Show them what’s at stake when it works, and what’s at risk when it doesn’t.

Professor Robert Brinkerhoff

Influencing is a learnable skill , and it’s a skill that does not require formal authority. However, it does require trust and good relationships.

Our approach to equipping clients with the ability to influence, with or without formal authority, necessarily starts with mindset. It starts with seeing yourself as a highly valuable asset to your organization, but not merely because of your job or department. Technical competency is just the price of admission in any influencing situation – the ultimate goal of influencing must be for the good of the organization.

Influencing tactics and strategies abound, and one tactic that is widely shared is from the American writer and global leader Dale Carnegie. In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Carnegie reflects the idea of putting the needs and desires of others first. He uses an example from fishing to illustrate this, telling us that while he could bait the fish with his favourite treat of strawberries and cream, he uses what the fish actually prefer: worms or grasshoppers. This concept is a familiar one: by putting the needs of your clients and prospects first in all interactions, you can build strong relationships and increase the likelihood of success in any influencing situation.

A useful model is the Cohen-Bradford Model, from Influence Without Authority (2005)

Image via Pinterest

Three key takeaways from the Cohen-Bradford model are as follows:

1) The Cohen-Bradford model is based on exchange and reciprocity (which can be negative or positive), using various currencies to trade for what each person desires. There are several currencies that can be exchanged in any influencing situation:

Inspirational (e.g. invoking a vision, excellence, moral/ethical considerations)
Task related (e.g. assistance, organizational support, knowledge/information, challenge/stretch or new resources)
Position related (e.g. advancement, ‘insider’ information, recognition, visibility, networks)
Personal (e.g. gratitude, involvement, comfort level)
Relationship related (e.g. acceptance/inclusion, understanding, personal support)

The authors also highlight the use of “negative currencies”– those things that people do not value and wish to avoid. Examples of negative currencies include “withholding payments” (e.g. not giving support) and “directly undesirable” behaviours such as escalating an issue upwards to a common boss, not cooperating when asked, and going public with an issue – thereby making lack of cooperation visible.

2) To effectively use the Cohen-Bradford model, it is crucial to gain clarity on your objectives and prioritize your goals accordingly. Here, it is important to separate personal desires from the goals that will benefit your organization. What personal factors get in the way? Thinking strategically about your goals is important: what are the primary and secondary objectives? What are the short-term or long-term objectives? What are the critical needs as against your preferences? Pragmatism is a good thing when influencing: you will invariably need to be flexible about how you achieve your goals, and you will at times need to adjust your expectation of your role and your expectation of your ally’s role.

3) Choosing potential allies to exchange with is a vital aspect of the Cohen-Bradford model, and the book provides helpful insights on how to directly exchange with a potential ally. The following points also have to be borne in mind:

The importance of the potential ally's centrality: How much power does the person hold, including their control over necessary resources, and your level of dependence on them for success? Their power extends beyond their hierarchical position.
The amount of effort or credits required to engage with the potential ally: Do you already have a relationship with them, or will you be starting from scratch? Are they likely to demand currencies that you cannot access or control? Will they be satisfied with maintaining communication without direct requests?
The availability of alternatives: Do you know anyone who could influence the potential ally if you are unable to? Can you neutralize the potential ally if you cannot influence them in the right direction? Can you adjust your project to address their concerns or work around them?

The fundamentals around where you show up and how you show up, or the mindset you adopt to drive work forward, have changed. In a world where leaders exist at all levels, you must become an orchestrator. This entails cocreating value with your workers and teams, rallying people around an idea, and building influence. Those who are successful will do this to the benefit of the organization, the workforce, and society at large.

Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2023

According to the 2023 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends survey (DGHCT) which polled 10,000 business and HR leaders across every industry, leadership in a boundaryless world is more important than ever. Leadership is no longer contingent on position or number of reports. The survey points out that although organizations recognise the vital importance of leadership without formal authority, only 23% of respondents believe that their organization’s leaders currently have the “capabilities to manage in a disrupted, boundaryless world.” The report posits that the lack of readiness may be due to a “misunderstanding of the implications of and opportunities within the new world we’re entering.”

In the current workforce ecosystem, where employees have more control over their work, collaborative problem-solving is crucial for generating the best solutions. However, despite this, only 34% of the DGHCT survey participants believe that their company's leaders are prepared to lead in a context where solutions are cocreated.

Developing new leaders is the No. 1 talent challenge facing organizations worldwide. According to one US (Gallup) State of the American Workplace report, on average $86 billion is lost annually due to disengaged leadership .

How Influential Are You in Your Role?

We’ve all experienced it: a deep sense of frustration when you feel accountable for delivering value without having any authority over the people that are critical to delivering that value.

And that’s why influence is a core pillar of Purposefully Blended’s signature IMPACT ^TM model. From our extensive behavioural science toolkit, we create learning solutions that equip clients with the skills needed to build credibility and effectively influence stakeholders, even if they lack the formal authority to make demands on resources.

We work with clients all over the world to help them understand the attitudes and behaviours of leaders who know how to get work done through influence, whether managing up, down, across or diagonally within their organizations.

Our solutions are tailored to fit the modern learner and include immersive learning experiences and both informal and formal learning interventions. We subscribe to the 70-20-10 model for Learning and Development that describes the optimal sources of learning by managers who have a track record of success in driving performance. Per the model, individuals acquire 70% of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20% from interactions with others, and 10% from formal educational events.

If you would like to improve your own influencing without formal authority skills, do get in touch for an initial, informal chat. Or, you could start by taking our free Harness Your Impact quiz and receive customised results instantly.

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?

Full Disclosure: Why I Pivoted From 'Perfectly Blended' to 'Purposefully Blended'

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 09:32:32 GMT

Personally speaking, had I listened to my overly critical self-evaluations or to all of the voices telling me that I had to be a perfect partner, mother, business owner, friend and the list goes on, I wouldn’t have the level of success I enjoy today. Professionally, Perfectly Blended was never about perfection, but about driving performance and outcomes through bespoke, blended learning solutions that facilitate people growth. In whichever domain – be it the workplace, intimate relationships, and friendships – perfection entails striving for unrealistic or unattainable goals, often followed by deep disappointment when we don’t achieve them. It’s an illusory, often counterproductive target with an ever-expanding finish line that has ‘not good enough’ written on it . But growth is its own reward where the start and finish line hold less importance. Although our approach to learning and development remains the same, our new name, Purposefully Blended, better reflects who we are.

'We've Been on a Journey'

‘I’ve been on a journey’ has to be one of the most well-worn phrases of the twenty-first century. It trips off the tongues of would-become prime ministers, celebrities – and learning and development specialists! Yet our lessons don't come from the destination we arrive at, but from the twists and turns we make along the way.

Our journey from Perfectly Blended to becoming Purposefully Blended has been illuminating. We’ve seen that perfection was never the point. We inspire growth; growth assumes a purpose. With growth, the goal is flexible and inspiring, not punishing and relentless.

It doesn’t depend on being flawless, which is the big flaw in the pursuit of perfection. We aren’t perfect! Study after study has shown that those who succumb to the illusion of perfection are more likely to succumb to maladaptive behaviours and less likely to embrace the opportunities that lead to real growth and drive performance.

Perfectionism Is Prevalent

The BBC article Toxic Perfectionism On The Rise concludes that perfectionist tendencies start in youth and are becoming more prevalent in society. In a fascinating meta-analysis of perfectionism rates , which I’ve read so that you don’t have to, researchers found significant rates of perfectionism in the United States, Canada and the UK – countries that emphasise competitive individualism, where the drive to perform is very high. Interestingly, researcher Andrew Hill notes that ‘the belief that other people expect you to be perfect has increased the most’.

The Cost of Perfection

Perfectionists feel every bump in the road. They’re quite stress-sensitive.

Andrew Hill

Socially prescribed perfectionism describes the demand for excellence often placed on people in jobs that require a high degree of precision – surgeons, for example. Individuals in these professions experience a greater sense of hopelessness and are at a greater risk of self-harm due to the extreme pressures of their work . It also applies to those held to high cultural or societal standards and who strive to meet unrealistic goals. Teenagers or adults who feel under societal pressure to acquire the perfect body or who groan under the weight of parental expectation are an obvious example. (Who can relate?)

Feeling defensive about feedback; fixating on mistakes rather than finding better ways to drive performance; feeling pushed towards goals by a fear of missing them rather than being pulled towards the prospect of reaching them; wanting to control situations to avoid negative judgment – these are all colours of perfectionism.

The frog in the well knows nothing of the mighty ocean.

Japanese proverb

Meet Richard

Perfectionist organisation cultures are rife. So let me tell you about Richard.

Richard frequently feels exhausted and demotivated. An ambitious global Learning and Development Manager of a biotech company, Richard has spent the past year delivering training programmes to support hundreds of globally distributed employees. Whilst he excels at this, he’s aware that the organisation’s perfectionist culture impedes performance, having learnt well from his previous organisations what drives performance.

Much of the training his team is asked to deliver is ineffective: in purpose, timing and content. Richard and his L&D colleagues are considered little more than experts in training delivery – despite their potential to contribute valuable strategic insights that drive performance. Relationships between them and their operational stakeholders are reactive and transactional. Twice last year, Richard expressed his concerns to his department lead, which drew little more than empathetic nods and redirection to focus on 'the day job'. With no support elsewhere in his organisation, Richard has retreated. He lacks the motivation to take up the issue again. The L&D team continues to signal their worth by meeting KPIs that neither drive performance nor focus on the business or cultural impact.

Richard is a composite, drawn from the experience of learning and development professionals around the world.

His experiences are common in organisations with a perfectionist culture where there is a laser focus on doing the same things perfectly, even if they don’t drive performance. Yet a vast meta-analysis of 30 years of studies into perfectionist organisations, conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology, found no evidence of perfection driving performance.

To me, the most important takeaway of this research is the null relationship between perfectionism and performance.

Dana Harari

Perfection is the default setting in many organisations, but the cost is high. A perfectionist culture is less likely to gather and leverage the best ideas in the organisation. A perfectionist culture is more likely to find it hard to adapt and change in VUCA world . A perfectionist culture does not encourage the broadening and deepening of knowledge to respond effectively to the world as it inevitably changes.

The Perfectionism Spiral

Reproduced with permission - a perfectionist mindset can lead to a spiral of inaction

I n perfectionist organisation cultures, it isn’t OK to say you don’t know something. So you’ll operate from what you think you know, which makes it more likely that you will make errors – ironically, what you’re trying to eliminate. This way of being tends to get more pronounced the higher up people get in their organisations because the criteria for success are stringent and the margins for error are small.

An adjacent issue is that those below you in the hierarchy want to please you, and can’t be relied on to provide you with an accurate picture of what is happening in the organisation. In a perfectionist culture, any error is a deal-breaker (because errors kill perfection), so seeking frank feedback will be difficult to get. This state of affairs doesn’t drive performance, it stunts it.

Always Human, Never Perfect

The smartest of us makes mistakes.

We have cognitive biases . Our cognitive biases are great at explaining how our evolutionary programming causes us to make poor decisions, but knowledge of these biases doesn’t stop us from going astray. Everyday situations like exhaustion, being overly focused on a task, being distracted, and peer pressure negatively affect our performance.

We’re increasingly distracted . Our attention is more divided than ever. Attention residue is the idea that there is a cognitive cost to shifting your attention from one task to another. When our attention is shifted, there is a ‘residue’ that remains in the brain and reduces our cognitive performance on the new task.

We have the wrong inputs . When we make decisions based on faulty assumptions, we’ll struggle to achieve our desired outcomes. Similarly, we can use incorrect mental models (our worldview or explanation of how things work) to make our decisions; for example, we can use models that are false, incomplete or irrelevant. The chance of using the wrong models increases as the pace of environmental change increases.

We fail to learn . It’s easy to tell people that we have 10 years of experience, but is that the first year repeated 9 times? If we don’t understand how we learn, we’ll make the same mistakes repeatedly.

We put a premium on looking good . Our evolutionary programming is set to ‘easy’ versus ‘doing the right thing’. That’s why it’s easy to virtue signal rather than be virtuous. As a result, we make choices based on how we’ll look and feel. We don’t want criticism; we want validation of our peers and superiors first and driving performance second.

Not 'Perfect' but Purposefully Blended

At Purposefully Blended, we use our extensive behavioural science toolkit to create blended learning solutions for our clients that drive performance and desired outcomes.

We’re realists: we believe in taking advantage of how the world works. For example, it doesn’t matter how brilliant you are if you’re unable to identify where things have an additive effect and where they have a multiplicative effect . The multiplicative effect illustrates this self-evident truth: anything multiplied by zero will be zero, no matter how extensive the string of zeros preceding the number. It means all your brilliance may still be worth nothing if there is a weak link in the chain. The additive effect is more generous: systems add to one another to create a result.

Our signature IMPACT ^TM leadership model was specifically designed to help organisations achieve sustainable, transformative change by addressing the interrelationships between the six core dimensions of leadership. You cannot, for example, transform an organisational culture if you have no way of measuring the impact of your interventions. In my fictitious case study above, Richard was unable to influence outcomes in meaningful way due to his lack of skill in influencing stakeholders. As a result, he feels demotivated and frustrated in his apparent inability to effect the changes that will drive performance.

We’re enablers: drivers of individual, team and organisational performance. Our work entails supporting our clients to align the cultural and strategic realities of work to respond to the needs of an ever-evolving business environment. Broadly, this entails the following:

Developing mindsets for leadership . Whilst there is much-warranted support for a growth mindset, the complexity of what leaders need to drive performance can't be understood by a singular mindset. Growth leaders share a common series of mindsets and behaviours, and those that display just three out of the key growth mindsets are 2.4 times more likely to profitably outgrow their peers .

Blended learning solutions . Our high-impact solutions incorporate both formal and informal learning opportunities for growth and drive performance.

Coaching . To drive performance, we believe coaching is the most powerful leadership capability. It’s worth adding that ‘ an effective manager-as-coach asks questions instead of providing answers, supports employees instead of judging them, and facilitates their development instead of dictating...’

Creating the right learner pathways. We subscribe to the 70-20-10 model for Learning and Development that describes the optimal sources of learning by managers who have a track record of success in driving performance. Per the model, individuals acquire 70% of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20% from interactions with others, and 10% from formal educational events.

Our signature IMPACT ^TM system . Our signature model is the secret sauce behind our transformations. Designed for leaders, it comprises 6 core dimensions of leadership and equips leaders with the capabilities they need to drive exceptional performance, whether that is through learning partnership or ‘on the job’ coaching.

Driving Performance Through Growth

In Choosing to Grow: The Leader’s Blueprint , which draws on extensive research from McKinsey, we see that growth-oriented leaders react decisively to short-term disruptions and 'build organisational resilience and agility to respond to change and leverage disruption'.

In addition we see that, ‘leaders who choose growth and outperform their peers not only think, act, and speak differently; they align around a shared mindset, strategy, and capabilities. In turn, they actively track leading and lagging growth indicators to tie their aspirations to clear and measurable key performance indicators (KPIs).’

How's Your Organisation Faring?

Performing in a volatile, unstable, complex and ambiguous world warrants support from a trusted partner. Purposefully Blended continues to support global Learning and Development Managers with the capabilities or additional expert resource they need to identify, build and implement effective blended learning solutions consistently and at scale. We continue to equip First-Line Managers with coaching capabilities that embed, apply and sustain the learning. When these two roles work in harmony, they have a dramatic, transformative impact on outcomes.

Interested in getting our help to drive performance in your organisation?