Leadership Effectiveness Deep Dive
Context
A senior vice president invited me to design and facilitate a one-day, in-person leadership experience for her organization. The group included 24 leaders spanning three levels of leadership, navigating growth, complexity, and increasing cross-functional demands.
The intention was not alignment for alignment’s sake — but to create space for honest reflection on leadership effectiveness and what gets in the way.
Focus of the work
The day centered on helping leaders:
examine the internal patterns that shape how they lead under pressure
build compassion for protective behaviors without excusing their impact
strengthen their ability to balance relationships and results
take responsibility for the emotional and relational environment they create
Rather than “fixing” behaviors, the work invited leaders to see what protects them — and how those protections can become obstacles over time.
Shape of the engagement
One-day, in-person experience
24 leaders across three levels
Designed as a contained leadership journey, not a workshop
Blended individual reflection, pair work, small-group dialogue, and whole-group integration
The experience moved intentionally from inner awareness to collective responsibility.
Core focus
The organization already shared a common Enneagram language. This experience focused on deepening its practical use—helping leaders move from understanding their type to recognizing how their patterns show up under pressure, impact others, and shape real leadership choices.
The work emphasized compassion for protective patterns alongside responsibility for their consequences, translating insight into concrete experiments leaders could apply immediately with each other and their teams.
What shifted
Leaders left with:
greater clarity about their leadership patterns and their impact
shared language to name what was previously unspoken
practical experiments for leading more intentionally in real situations
a stronger sense of collective leadership responsibility
The day established a foundation for continued development — not by prescribing solutions, but by strengthening leaders’ capacity to see, choose, and act differently together.