Conditions for Congruence

Last month I started launching the details of my leadership development model of "Cultivating a Leader's Heart"™, specifically the aspect of developing your Leader Core™. I've spent decades observing, studying, practicing, and researching leadership and came up with the need for leaders to actively

(1) Identify and (2) Develop two key aspects of their leader core: character and core values. However, a key missing piece for me was the context aspect that can lead to a degradation of character and/or a misalignment of values.

Originally, I had in my mind "conditions for success," but the truth is that many of the defining leadership moments are less about success and more about knowing yourself well enough as a human and as a leader to identify when you are within your boundaries to stay aligned to who you are and who you are aspiring to be (character) and also staying aligned with what you believe in (core values).

The more I reflected - it was the conditions for congruence that mattered more. The self-awareness to know what you need physically (sleep, quiet time, food, exercise, etc.), mentally (quiet time, reflection, challenge, etc.), and in your context (trusted colleagues, relationship with manager/boss, etc.) that can help you to stay congruent.

Anyone can demonstrate character and core values in ideal conditions; it is developing a strong enough core to know your conditions for congruence that will make you stand out among leaders.

I'm looking forward to sharing more, as I work on a book to help guide leaders of all levels through their journey towards developing, cultivating, and maintaining a leader's core - at any stage of their leadership journey.

Lead well! The world needs more leaders who lead with character and core values - and stay congruent when it gets hard.