The Leadership Circle Profile™

There is a growing concern that our leadership skills, in business, politics and the world are rapidly falling behind the complexity of challenges we face. There is a growing leadership crisis in the world because of the mass exodus of aging Boomers from the workforce and the leadership skills deficit recognized worldwide. We’re in over our heads and we’re falling behind in how to develop better leaders.

As before in history, every so often someone comes along to show us what great leadership looks like. The leadership that is required for the times. This time we can look to the lifetime dedication of Bob Anderson and Bill Adams and the development of the first Universal Model of Leadership™ and framework for leadership development.

“Only 6 percent of companies feel fully ready to address their leadership issues, only 10 percent feel comfortable with their succession program, and only 7 percent have strong programs to build Millennial leaders.” 

Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends Report

What Type of Leader are You?

Late in 2015 they released their first book, Mastering Leadership that describes an astounding integration of most of the leadership development research to date and the psychology behind our beliefs, motivations and behaviors. The model is also proven by scientific research and statistical validity that confirms what effective leadership comprises and how effective leadership generates better business results every time.

This elegant and profound Universal Model is the most important development in leadership since the early philosophers such as Plato first started asking questions such as, “What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?”

LeaderSharp coaches are certified in both The Leadership Circle™ and The Leadership System™ for individuals and teams.

THE LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT THAT ILLUMINATES LEADER EFFECTIVENESS

Connecting Patterns of Action with Habits of Thought

The Leadership Circle Profile™ (LCP) is a true breakthrough among 360 degree profiles.  It is the first to connect a well-researched battery of competencies with the underlying and motivating habits of thought.  It reveals the relationship between patterns of action and internal assumptions that drive behavior.  Ultimately, LCP goes to the source of behaviour to get greater leverage on change.  Furthermore, unlike most profiles that take hours to interpret, LCP integrates all this information in a way that brings the key issues to the surface instantly.

The data in the LCP reveals itself in seconds - putting leaders in touch with what is working, what is not, and why!  In most organizations, this treasure trove of information remains buried.  The LCP makes it easily accessible while it creates a foundation on which ground breaking change can occur at a higher level and sustainable pace.

The LCP is the only instrument that measures the two primary leadership domains - Creative Competencies and Reactive Tendencies - and integrates this information so that key opportunities for development immediately rise to the surface.

The LCP is unique in that it reveals a leader's Operating System: Internal assumptions (beliefs) that run behaviour in both domains.  This allows the manager to see how his/her inner world of thought translates into a productive or unproductive style of leadership.  Ultimately, the LCP increases the inner awareness that affects outward behaviour.

CREATIVE COMPETENCIES are well-researched competencies measuring how you achieve results, bring out the best in others, lead with vision, enhance your own development, act with integrity and courage, and improve organizational systems.

REACTIVE TENDENCIES are leadership styles emphasizing caution over creating results, self-protection over productive engagement, and aggression over building alignment.  These self-limiting styles over emphasize the focus on gaining the approval of others, protecting yourself, and getting results through high control tactics.

 THE CREATIVE  Leadership Competencies

The top half of the circle maps 18 creative competencies that contribute to a leader's effectiveness.  They measure key leadership behaviours and internal assumptions that lead to high fulfillment, high achievement leadership.  They are as follows:

RELATING summary dimension measures the leader's capability to relate to others in a way that brings out the best in people, groups and organizations.  It is composed of:

• Caring Connection measures the leader's interest in an ability to form warm, caring relationships.
• Fosters Team Play measures the leader's ability to foster high-performance teamwork among team members who report to him/her, across the organization, and within teams in which he/she participates.
• Collaborator measures the extent to which the leader engages others in a manner that allows the parties involved to discover common ground.
• Mentoring & Developing measures the leader's ability to develop others through mentoring and maintaining growth-enhancing relationships.
• Interpersonal Intelligence measures the interpersonal effectiveness with which the leader listens, engages in conflict and controversy, deals with the feelings of others, and manages his/her own feelings.

SELF-AWARENESS summary dimension measures the leader's orientation to ongoing professional and personal development, as well as the degree to which inner self-awareness is expressed through high integrity leadership. It is composed of:

• Selfless Leader measures the extent to which the leader pursues service over self-interest, where the need for credit and personal ambition is far less important than creating results that serve a common good.<
• Balance measures the leader's ability to keep a healthy balance between business and family, activity and reflection, work and leisure - the tendency to be self-renewing, and handle the stress of life without losing the self.
• Composure measures the leader's ability in the midst of conflict and high-tension situations, to remain composed and centered, and to maintain a calm, focused perspective.
• Personal Learner measures the degree to which the leader demonstrates a strong and active interest in learning and personal and professional growth.  It measures the extent to which he/she actively and reflectively pursues growing in self-awareness, wisdom, knowledge, and insight. 

AUTHENTICITY summary dimension measures the leader's capability to relate ot others in an authentic, courageous and high-integrity manner.  It is composed of:

• Integrity measures how well the leader adheres to the set of values and principles that he/she espouses; that is how well he/she can be trusted to "walk the talk."
• Courageous Authenticity measures the leader's willingness to take touch stands, bring up the "undiscussables" (risky issues the groups avoid discussing), and openly deal with difficult relationship problems.

SYSTEMS AWARENESS summary dimension measures the degree to which the leader's awareness is focused on whole system improvement, productivity, and community welfare.  It is composed of:

• Community Concern measures the service orientation from which the leader leads.  It measures the extent to which he/she links his/her legacy to service of community and global welfare.
• Sustainable Productivity measures the leader's ability to achieve results in a way that maintains or enhances the overall long-term effectiveness of the organization.  It measures how well he/she balances human/technical resources to sustain long-term high performance.
• Systems Thinker measures the degree to which the leader thinks and acts from a whole system perspective as well as the extent to which he/she makes decisions in light of the long term health of the whole system.

ACHIEVING summary dimension measures the extent to which the leader offers visionary, authentic, and high achievement leadership.  It is composed of:

• Strategic Focus measures the extent to which the leader thinks and plans rigorously and strategically to ensure that the organization will thrive in the near and long-term.
• Purposeful & Visionary measures the extent to which the leader is goal directed and has a track record of goal achievement and high performance.
• Achieves Results measures the degree to which the leader is goal directed and has a track record of goal achievement and high performance.
• Decisiveness measures the leader's ability to make decisions on time, and the extent to which he/she is comfortable moving forward in uncertainty.

THE REACTIVE  Leadership Tendencies

 The lower half of the circle maps self-limiting Reactive Tendencies and leadership behaviors.  The Reactive dimensions reflect inner beliefs and assumptions that limit effectiveness, authentic expression, and empowering leadership.  They are as follows:

COMPLYING summary dimension measures the extent to which a leader gets a sense of self-worth and security by complying with the expectations of others rather than acting on what he/she intends and wants.  It is composed of:

• Conservative measures the extent to which the leader thinks and acts conservatively, follows procedure, and lives within the prescribed rules of the organization with which he/she is associated.
• Pleasing measures the leader's need to conform, follow the rules, and meet the expectations of those in authority.  It measures the extent to which he/she goes along to get along, thereby compressing the full extent of his/her creative power into culturally acceptable boxes.
• Belonging measures the leader’s need to conform, follow the rules, and meet the expectations of those in authority. It measures the extent to which he/she goes along to get along, thereby compressing the full extent of his/her creative power into culturally acceptable boxes.
• Passive measures the degree to which the leader gives away his/her power to others and to circumstances outside his/her control. It is a measure of the extent to which he/she believes that he/she is not the creator of his/her life experience, that his/her efforts do not make much difference, and that he/she lacks the power to create the future he/she wants.

PROTECTING summary dimension measures the belief that the leader can protect himself/herself and establish a sense of worth through withdrawal, remaining distant, hidden, aloof, cynical, superior, and/or rational. It is composed of:

• Arrogance measures the leader’s tendency to project a large ego — behavior that is experienced as superior, egotistical, and self-centered.
• Critical is a measure of the leader’s tendency to take a critical, questioning, and somewhat cynical attitude.
• Distance is a measure of the leader’s tendency to establish a sense of personal worth and security through withdrawal, being superior and remaining aloof, emotionally distant, and above it all.

CONTROLLING summary dimension measures the extent to which the leader establishes a sense of personal worth through task accomplishment and personal achievement. It is composed of:

• Perfect is a measure of the leader’s need to attain flawless results and perform to extremely high standards in order to feel secure and worthwhile as a person. Worth and security is equated with being perfect, performing constantly at heroic levels, and succeeding beyond all expectations.
• Driven is a measure of the extent to which the leader is in overdrive. It is a measure of his/her belief that worth and security are tied to accomplishing a great deal through hard work. It measures his/her need to perform at a very high level in order to feel worthwhile as a person. A good work ethic is a strength of this style, provided that the leader keeps things in balance and is able to balance helping others achieve with his/her own achievement.
• Ambition measures the extent to which the leader needs to get ahead, move up in the organization, and be better than others. Ambition is a powerful motivator. This scale assesses if that motivation is positive, furthering progress — or negative, overly self-centered and competitive.
• Autocratic measures the leader’s tendency to be forceful, aggressive, and controlling. It measures the extent to which he/she equates self-worth and security to being powerful, in control, strong, dominant, invulnerable, or on top. Worth is measured through comparison, that is, having more income, achieving a higher position, being seen as a most/more valuable contributor, gaining credit, or being promoted.