The Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) is a 360-degree leadership assessment tool that evaluates both the creative strengths and reactive tendencies of a leader. Unlike traditional leadership assessments that focus only on behaviours or traits, the LCP connects inner mindset (how a leader thinks) with outer behaviour (how they act), offering a holistic view of leadership effectiveness. It’s widely used in executive coaching, leadership development programs, and team transformation efforts.
How Does The Leadership Circle Profile LCP Work?
The Leadership Circle Profile operates through three key stages that assess, interpret, and develop a leader’s effectiveness.
- Creative competencies: These include attributes like authenticity, systems thinking, collaboration, self-awareness, and purpose. They reflect effective leadership that inspires performance and long-term results.
- Reactive tendencies: These show up when leaders act from fear, control, or the need to please, often under stress. They include perfectionism, arrogance, passivity, or overdrive. While common, these behaviours limit leadership potential if left unexamined.
- Leadership effectiveness Score: The LCP combines feedback into a visual profile that clearly shows where a leader stands, what’s working well and what’s holding them back.
Why Do Leaders Use The LCP?
Leaders rely on the LCP for five main reasons that enhance self-awareness, performance, and organisational impact.
- Connects behaviour to mindset: Helps leaders go deeper than surface-level feedback to understand the beliefs driving their actions.
- Highlights blind spots: Shows leaders how their unconscious habits (like control or distancing) may affect trust, innovation, or collaboration.
- Accelerates coaching: Coaches use the profile to target developmental conversations and shift reactive patterns into more constructive ones.
- Inspires ownership: Because the feedback is clear and visual, leaders feel more equipped and motivated to change.
- Supports team alignment: When used with leadership teams, the LCP uncovers group dynamics and supports cultural shifts.
What Are The Common Misconceptions About LCP?
Several misconceptions surround the LCP, often overlooking four core truths about its purpose and practical value.
- Mistaking it for a form: The LCP is not just another feedback survey; it’s a framework for deep self-awareness and personal transformation. When leaders treat it like a checklist, they miss its potential to spark meaningful inner shifts and long-term development. This limits their growth to surface-level changes, with little lasting impact on mindset or behaviour.
- Focusing only on gaps: Many leaders get stuck on their reactive scores, viewing them as problems to fix. In doing so, they overlook the creative strengths already present, the very qualities they can leverage to lead more effectively and authentically. This can drain confidence and create a deficit mindset, reducing motivation and engagement.
- Taking feedback personally: Without proper coaching or context, LCP results can feel like judgment. Leaders may become defensive or discouraged, rather than viewing the feedback as an opportunity for growth, self-reflection, and expanding their impact. This emotional response can block learning and prevent leaders from acting on valuable insights.
- Skipping post-assessment work: The real value of the LCP is in what happens next. Growth comes from structured reflection, open dialogue, and intentional action. Without that, the insights often fade, and behaviour change slows down. This leads to wasted potential, where meaningful change never takes root or shows up in results.
How Can You Put The Leadership Circle Profile To Work?
Applying the LCP effectively involves four actionable steps that translate insights into measurable leadership growth.
- Reflect with support: Schedule time with a certified LCP coach or facilitator. Use the session to explore what each part of your profile means, ask clarifying questions, and explore real examples from your leadership. Don’t try to process it alone; expert guidance helps reveal deeper patterns.
- Focus your effort: Choose one behaviour or mindset from your reactive side that’s currently limiting you (e.g., control, perfectionism, or approval-seeking). Set a clear intention: how you want to show up differently. Practice small shifts in meetings, conversations, or decision-making, and track what changes.
- Use as a compass: Print your profile summary or save it to your desktop/mobile. Highlight the top 2-3 strengths and development areas. Set a reminder to revisit it monthly, journaling what’s shifted and where you’re still stuck. This helps keep it top-of-mind, not forgotten in a folder.
- Close the feedback loop: Reach out to a few colleagues who participated in your 360-degree feedback. Thank them, share what you learned, and let them know what you’re working on. Ask them to observe and share what they notice going forward. This creates accountability and trust.
Suggested Readings
“Mastering Leadership” by Robert Anderson and William Adams: Co-authored by the creators of the LCP, this book explains the theory behind the profile and how it leads to deep, sustainable leadership development.
“An Everyone Culture” by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey: Explores what happens when companies commit to deliberately developing people. A strong complement to LCP’s developmental focus.
“Leadership and Self-Deception” by The Arbinger Institute: A practical, story-based book that challenges leaders to examine how they see and relate to others, very aligned with LCP’s internal shifts.
