The Inner Development Goals - The Leadership Model for the Future

06/23/22 • 30 min

There are already hundreds of leadership models. And most companies have well-established competency frameworks for leadership. So why should we care about another model?

In this episode, we explore The Inner Development Goals (IDG) model and why we think IDG is a powerful tool for leadership development and organisational transformation.

WHAT'S IDG?

IDG was created in 2021 by three Swedish organisations: Ekskäret Foundation, The New Division, and the 29K Foundation. The purpose is to draw attention to the development of inner abilities and skills needed for people and organisations to contribute to a more sustainable global society.

"There is a vision of what needs to happen, but progress along this vision has so far been disappointing. We lack the inner capacity to deal with our increasingly complex environment and challenges. Fortunately, modern research shows that the inner abilities we now all need can be developed. This was the starting point for the 'Inner Development Goals' initiative.”

Quote from www.innerdevelopmentgoals.org

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IDG

We were immediately drawn to the clear structure: change starts from within, then addressing how we need to develop our thinking, connect and relate to others, collaborate and finally act.

This, in its parts, is nothing new. What is different and powerful is how the parts are put together in an easy-to-understand and easy-to-use framework.

We also like that IDG is co-created by over 1,000 thought leaders, consultants and professionals, combining the best global thinking on leadership. The broad base of support behind IDG makes it generally applicable for all leaders to use.

THE 5 CATEGORIES

IDG is structured along 5 categories, with 23 skills. In this episode, we give a quick introduction to how they are relevant.

Being — Relationship to Self

Thinking — Cognitive Skills

Relating — Caring for Others and the World

Collaborating — Social Skills

Acting — Driving Change

We will cover each category in more detail in separate episodes.

HOW CAN LEADERS BENEFIT FROM IDG?

We have already found immediate use of IDG in our own work as coaches and consultants, applying it with senior leadership teams and in leadership development.

IDG is also an effective tool to help increase momentum and scale in corporate transformation, not only directly related to sustainability. It helps create shared mental models and language for leaders to identify and develop the necessary skills across the organisation.

A third use is in supporting suppliers and other external partners in their development.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Looking at the most complex challenges (e.g. sustainability) your organisation is facing:
- where might a different approach be needed to create more momentum?
- might there be too much focus on the 'technical' aspects and too little on the 'inner development' that enables change?
- where do I/we need to work on my/our' inner development'?
Looking at the current leadership model in your organisation:
- how effective is it in identifying and developing the critical inner skills and qualities that matter most for your transformation and change?
- what inspiration might you draw from the IDG model?

REFERENCES

Find more information related to IDG at innerdevelopmentgoals.org

And more info about us and our work at secondcrackleadership.com

There are already hundreds of leadership models. And most companies have well-established competency frameworks for leadership. So why should we care about another model?

In this episode, we explore The Inner Development Goals (IDG) model and why we think IDG is a powerful tool for leadership development and organisational transformation.

WHAT'S IDG?

Quote from www.innerdevelopmentgoals.org

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IDG

We were immediately drawn to the clear structure: change starts from within, then addressing how we need to develop our thinking, connect and relate to others, collaborate and finally act.

This, in its parts, is nothing new. What is different and powerful is how the parts are put together in an easy-to-understand and easy-to-use framework.

THE 5 CATEGORIES

IDG is structured along 5 categories, with 23 skills. In this episode, we give a quick introduction to how they are relevant.

Being — Relationship to Self

Thinking — Cognitive Skills

Relating — Caring for Others and the World

Collaborating — Social Skills

Acting — Driving Change

We will cover each category in more detail in separate episodes.

HOW CAN LEADERS BENEFIT FROM IDG?

We have already found immediate use of IDG in our own work as coaches and consultants, applying it with senior leadership teams and in leadership development.

A third use is in supporting suppliers and other external partners in their development.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Looking at the most complex challenges (e.g. sustainability) your organisation is facing:
- where might a different approach be needed to create more momentum?
- might there be too much focus on the 'technical' aspects and too little on the 'inner development' that enables change?
- where do I/we need to work on my/our' inner development'?
Looking at the current leadership model in your organisation:
- how effective is it in identifying and developing the critical inner skills and qualities that matter most for your transformation and change?
- what inspiration might you draw from the IDG model?

REFERENCES

Find more information related to IDG at innerdevelopmentgoals.org

And more info about us and our work at secondcrackleadership.com

Previous Episode

Leading in a Complex World Utilising the Collective Intelligence of the People

Today, leadership takes place in a challenging context, e.g.,

increasing complexity
increasing speed of change
information overload

Thus, decision-making processes become more difficult. Leaders are at risk of either delaying decisions (gathering more information) or over-simplifying and rushing to decisions.

In an increasingly complex world, single leaders or small groups of leaders can’t have all the answers. Instead, they need to involve the whole team in sense-making and decision-making processes.

Involving more people may seem counterintuitive, as if it delayed decisions further. However, utilising the collective intelligence of the people leads to better decisions and gets buy-in from the start. (See also “How to Speed-Up Corporate Transformation”)

The need to be competent may also keep leaders from involving more people. They associate competence with having all the answers and giving people clear directions and instructions.

Of course, leaders need to have professional knowledge and business acumen. But they do not have to be the smartest person in the room. Today, the leader's role is less of an expert. Instead, leaders must surround themselves with the best talent, align them around a common goal, and create the conditions under which they can be their best.

Ron Heifetz says that leaders must distinguish technical problems from adaptive challenges. For technical problems solutions exist already. A leader or an expert has the answer and can tell people what to do. In contrast, an adaptive challenge is totally new. No experts have the answer yet.

“The leader's job is not to provide the answer, but instead to frame the right questions for which answers are developed and discovered by the collective intelligence of the people.”

Being competent in today’s context is less about knowledge but instead about qualities we have covered in previous episodes such as being humble, understanding that human beings are driven by emotions , and that trust-based relationships are the foundation for performance.

According to Daniel H. Pink, leaders need to turn from bosses who tell others what to do into autonomy supporters. This can be done using coaching skills, including listening and asking powerful questions.

What might keep leaders from utilising the collective intelligence of the people:

The perceived need to express competence by having all the answers and tell others what to do; the fear that asking questions equals looking incompetent.
Past successes, such as frequent promotions, may make leaders think they do know better, they are smarter than others.
They don’t belief in their teams and struggle with letting go of control, or removing themselves from the centre of decision-making.

Reflection Questions for Leaders

How comfortable am I not knowing?
Do I feel I need to have all the answers? Or do I still appear competent when I ask questions and say, “I don't know”?
Do I feel a need to demonstrate I am the smartest person in the room?
If yes: why? How can I let go of this?
How open am I to ways of working that are different from mine?
Do I believe in the potential of the people I'm working with?
What role do I want to take in this process as a leader? Am I going to be the expert, or am I going to be more like a coach, a facilitator, an enabler, or might I be an observer?

More info about us and our work is on our website https://secondcrackleadership.com.

Next Episode

Why Successful Leaders Focus on "Being" before "Doing" － Inner Development Goals Part 2

Last time, we explored The Inner Development Goals — THE Leadership Model for the Future. Now, we take a deeper dive into the first category of this Framework: "Being — Relationship to Self"
Traditional leadership models tend to focus a on the actions ("doing") a leader has to take to be successful. However, the underlying "being" sets the stage for what actions we take and how we take them.
The IDG highlights five specific qualities and skills for leaders:
1) INNER COMPASS
Your inner compass gives you a sense of direction. It's about your core values and beliefs.
Challenge: We are so busy "doing", we rarely take time to stop and pause, and to reflect on the real priorities in our lives.
Reflection Questions:

What are your core values in life that make you judge things as right or wrong?
What really matters in your life? What gives you a sense of meaning and purpose?

2) INTEGRITY AND AUTHENTICITY
A strong inner compass enables us to act with integrity and authenticity. It is related to trust and honesty, a top characteristic of admired leaders.
Challenges: If we are not clear about where our inner compass is pointing , we may act inconsistently. We might worry if we can show up as our true selves at work.

Reflection Questions:

Are you practicing what you preach? Are you walking your own talk?
Do you trust you can be "your self " at work?

3) SELF-AWARENESS
Every change process starts with (self-)awareness. Beyond the obvious (e.g., strengths and weaknesses), outstanding leaders are also aware of their emotions and bodily sensations. They are aware of how these impact them and their interactions with others.
Challenges: As with the inner compass, building awareness may not be seen as a priority. When people do not know about the underlying biology, emotions and bodily sensations may be ridiculed as esoteric nonsense . Some may be afraid of what they might find when they start some self-exploration.
Reflection Questions:

How aware am I of my self?
How aware am I of my emotions ?
How do these emotions impact me and how can I regulate them productively?
How aware am of my body's signals (interoception) and can I interpret these signals in a useful way?
How do other people perceive me?

4) PRESENCE
The ability to be in the here and now and in a sate of open-ended presence. The quality of our presence is of critical importance particularly in our interactions with others.
Challenge: We have too many things on our minds. We may think that multi-tasking is more efficient than staying focused on just one task.
Reflection Questions:

How able am I to be in the here and now without thinking what's next?
How able am I to make a connection with another person ?
How present can I stay with a task or a person beyond just a few seconds?

5) OPENNESS and LEARNING MINDSET
Having a basic mindset of curiosity and a willingness to be vulnerable and embrace change and grow.

Challenge: Past successes seem to confirm that our way is the right way. It can be challenging to question our own values and beliefs
Reflection Questions:

How open am I to ways of working (simple) or world views (huge!) that are different from mine?
Am I willing to challenge my values and guiding principles that I have lived by for decades?
Finally: In my current role, can I be my best self and how does being my best self look like?

More info: secondcrackleadership.com

Second Crack — The Leadership Podcast - The Inner Development Goals - The Leadership Model for the Future

Transcript

Gerrit00:00:03.200

A warm welcome to Second Crack - The leadership podcast. This is where we explore everyday leadership dilemmas and paradoxes, and where we invite you as our listener to self-reflect. I'm Gerrit Pelzer and I'm joined as usual by my friend and business partner Martin Aldergard. So, Hi Martin. How are you?

Martin00:00:29.460

Hi, Gerrit. I'm good today. And looking forward to this conversation.

Gerrit