Based on science
100+ years of research in psychology and in management have identified two key aspects of leadership: the interpersonal how, and the organizational what. Typically, models developed by psychologists focus on the how; those developed by management thinkers emphasize the what.
The LVI embraces both: Forceful and Enabling behaviors address how a leader interacts with and influences others; Strategic and Operational behaviors address what a leader focuses the organization on.
Why this model?
These are the things leaders do that researchers have identified over and over. They also tend to define them in pairwise fashion – task-oriented vs relationship-oriented, innovation vs efficiency, transformational vs transactional.
Further, executives routinely use these behaviors to describe each other’s performance. And we present them in the words and plain language that they use.
Most importantly, these behaviors fire the engines of organizational performance: Forceful behaviors create a sense of urgency, Enabling behaviors engage employees, Strategic behaviors define the future, and Operational behaviors execute the plan.
Behaviors or competencies?
This is a behavior model – it defines specific behaviors that can be observed and, most importantly, that can be learned and adjusted. The LVI is intended for development.
But these behaviors can be found in most competency models used to manage performance. They are complementary tools: LVI feedback develops behaviors and as those improve, leaders get more effective – which shows up in a stronger competency profile.