Exploring Leadership Drivers and Blockers

In this chapter, we introduce the idea of exploring driversandblockers—both conscious and unconscious—in leadership development as a prerequisite and contribution to enhanced and profound self-awareness. This chapter provides an overview of the chapters to come, as well the interconnections between these. In the process, it discusses potential reservoirs or sources of drivers and blockers in people, including the conscious and the unconscious, emotions, personality and values. We also introduce the “Drivers and Blockers Exploration Tool” which is an effective intervention contribution for leaders to incorporate within an integrated leadership development process to assist with achieving their desired change objectives. This chapter concludes by briefly discussing the contributions and implications for leadership development research and practice of our work on drivers and blockers, as well as providing an example from our field work to bring the drivers and blockers concept into focus at the outset.

In this chapter, we discuss the centrality of self-awareness to leadership development. Self-awareness involves an in-depth awareness of one’s “strengths, weaknesses, drivers and blockers” as well as the interrelationships between these factors. We argue that understanding these elements and becoming comfortable at including them as part of one’s self will help individuals to get to an in-depth understanding of their true nature, in addition to providing them with greater freedom to select their actions and commitments to change consciously. This builds on a systems psychodynamic perspective, process of personalization, Intentional Change Theory (ICT) and positive psychology. We especially draw upon Robert Kegan’s adult mind development theory. A foundation for our work on drivers and blockers is Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey’s immunity to change process, which built on their work on adult mind development. Extending on these areas, we argue that exploring both drivers and blockers can play a vital role in helping leaders advance to higher order levels of self-authoring and self-transforming minds, thereby mitigating the gap between their own mental complexity and the complexity of the world.

In this chapter, we present the opening stage of our literature review and the research on the reservoirs of drivers and blockers, which informs the “Drivers and Blockers Exploration Tool”. We discuss how the unconscious and innate “forces” contribute to the ways in which individuals interact with reality, altering their needs as well as roles into actions. We also review the concept of “mini-selves” to illustrate the tension between different conscious and unconscious influences when change is attempted. We further examine possible selves that serve as a link between self-knowledge and motivation. Acting as screens, possible selves influence an individual’s understanding and reactions to emerging opportunities and constraints. We argue that understanding the influence that the conscious and unconscious has on people is important for individuals to perceive themselves, the world around them as well as their actions.

In this chapter, we review the role of worldviews and emotions in influencing people’s responses to change and acting as drivers as well as blockers. Worldviews impact how an individual perceives and analyzes events, and the way he or she comprehends and engages with reality. They define the space in which people function, shaping their reactions as per their “beliefs and assumptions”. Emotions, on the other hand, play a critical role in the working of the mind and brain in dealing with issues, especially when one is faced with the uncertainties of circumstances.

This chapter reviews literature and research on the Big Five personality traits, namely agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness, and their role as drivers and blockers in an individual’s change efforts. Personality traits constitute an important component of self-awareness. Understanding and identifying differences in personality can play a critical role in self-awareness and leadership development, helping people identify and solve their weaknesses, implement solutions and handle difficult situations. We argue that the five personality traits can influence people’s motivation and behaviors, encouraging them to direct, accept and oppose change. These directly relate to potential drivers and blockers—and in our field research we have seen these factors operate as extremely powerful drivers and blockers. In this chapter, we explain and explore each trait in turn, along with the hypothesized associations between these and a person’s change efforts. As an important contribution to the literature in the field, this chapter includes detailed examples of drivers and blockers for each of the Big Five traits.

In this chapter, we delve into further aspects of the conscious and unconscious related to personality traits. This is because beyond the “Big Five”, there are a number of other personality traits, dispositional variables and characteristics such as self-esteem, locus of control, self-efficacy, positive and negative affectivity, risk aversion and tolerance for ambiguity that are associated with change and can act as drivers and blockers. We review literature on self-esteem to illustrate how it can act as a motivational force shaping an individual’s behavior as well as make individuals see change as a threat, evoking resistance behaviors. We discuss how locus of control influences people’s psychological response to change with more internal locus of control enabling people to better manage change. We look at the role of self-efficacy as well as positive and negative affectivity and argue that different levels of these can make people optimistic or pessimistic about their commitment to change. This is followed by a discussion on risk-aversion and tolerance for ambiguity which influence how people handle challenging, ambiguous or dynamic situations. We highlight some other areas such as behavioral patterns and life experiences where future research about drivers and blockers appears important.

In this chapter, we review and discuss personal values and motivators (both extrinsic and intrinsic) which constitute other important psychological characteristics that can serve as drivers or blockers in an individual’s change efforts. Values exist in one’s conscious and unconscious and can create both desires and fears. They are regarded as a motivational influence that can promote or impede an individual’s efforts in accomplishing a task, therefore acting as drivers as well as blockers. We further discuss a range of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators that can cajole or force people into achieving their change objectives or engage in resistance. These include extrinsic-positive, intrinsic-positive, extrinsic-negative and intrinsic-negative which can act as drivers as well as blockers in people’s commitments and action to change.

Previous chapters covered our literature review (including relevant examples from our own research work). In this chapter, we relate drivers and blockers in an integrative manner to leadership development practice. We present the “Drivers and Blockers Exploration Tool”, with detailed examples from our field research, to uncover an individual’s drivers and blockers—connected to a defined leadership aspiration, specific development objective(s) and context. Our research suggests that forming a picture of one’s drivers and blockers should enhance self-awareness in leaders, increasing the possibility of their accepting and internalizing both the positive and negative forces involved with personal change. This is based on our review of the literature and our experience of designing and delivering leadership development programs for senior executives around the world.

By focusing on the exploration of drivers and blockers related to leadership development, our book adds to a growing body of literature that brings the intrapersonal domain to the center stage in developing leaders, grounded on self-awareness. It encapsulates and synthesizes the relevant academic literature; exposes our research in the arena including field research examples and provides leadership development scholars and practitioners with concrete approaches and a tool to actualize the exploration of drivers and blockers. This chapter offers a brief summary of the main contributions to knowledge and discusses the implications for future research and limitations. It also includes an afterword reflection through poetry on drivers and blockers.

This chapter contains nine appendices to augment or extend relevant information and concepts covered across the book. These include information on our research in exploring drivers and blockers with leaders in the field—through coaching and development programs; a copy of the “Drivers and Blockers Exploration Tool” for use; as well as detailed mini-case examples of leaders using the tool as part of their leadership development work. The appendices also include a summary of the reservoirs or sources of drivers and blockers. Other material relates to the work of both Kegan and Lahey on adult mind development and “immunity to change”. There is also further material related to some concepts addressed in main chapters, relating to personality, thinking and leadership development.