The Integral Theory AQAL model, representing All Quadrants All Levels, depicts the four quadrants of human endeavour for Individuals and Groups. By distinguishing the Interior of our lives where our thoughts, view of the world, beliefs, values, norms, rituals and psychology lie, the invisible, from the Exterior, the structures and behaviours we can observe, a new approach to transformation becomes evident.

By uplifting Group Structures (lower right quadrant) and our Individual Psychology (upper left) through strategic and holistic leadership development respectively, we are able to rapidly transform ourselves and the world around us.

The post-conventional operating Structure is set up by the Executive Strategic Operating System distilled through the course of my Doctoral Research Study. It is the context within which we operate, the “Outside-In”. It is like the house we live in. We move from a small city apartment where our span of action is limited to an open country home with much greater freedom to move. When we expand the scope of our thinking and how we feel, both our minds and our hearts can expand to embrace wisdom and compassion.

Further, to make the most of the new freedoms offered by our more liberating environment, we must also develop from the “Inside-Out”, the upper left Quadrant of Intention. This is where we develop personal self-awareness. We learn how to change limiting beliefs and patterns of personal sabotage to rise to a new level of self-efficacy and authentic, purposeful leadership.

It is the combination of the two approaches, Strategic and Holistic Leadership, that generates the power of Transformation. A pure leadership development program that focuses only on the individual is inadequate to overcome the conventional inhibiting structures and constraining cultures in most organisations. However by building the strategic scaffolding and creating the expansive space for growth, leadership development becomes extraordinarily powerful!