The 15 Principles describe how leadership works. These frameworks are the practical tools for applying them — a way of naming a pattern the moment you're in it, rather than working it out from scratch every time. Each framework below is tagged as either a Diagnostic (reveals what's really happening), a Decision Framework (guides what to do next), or a Perspective Shift (changes how you see the situation).
Frameworks
The C.S.B.I.A. Framework
Chapter 6
Decision Framework
Ask: "What's actually happening, from their side, before I say a word of my own?"
Clarify. Situation. Behaviour. Impact. Agree. A five-step structure for handling difficult accountability conversations with clarity, curiosity, and consistency.
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The Effort Match Test
Chapter 10
Diagnostic
Ask: "Are they matching my effort?"
Are they matching my effort? If you're working harder on somebody's success than they are, you've moved from coaching into carrying.
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The Potential Test
Chapter 11
Decision Framework
Ask: "Can they learn? Will they listen? Do they care?"
Can they learn? Will they listen? Do they care? Can they make you feel like the only person in the room? Four questions for identifying future high performers.
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Catch the Rain
Chapter 12
Decision Framework
Ask: "Am I passing this frustration downhill, or catching it?"
Great leaders absorb frustration instead of passing it downhill. Your team don't need you to be their chief complainer. They need you to be their guide.
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The Step Back Test
Chapter 13
Diagnostic
Ask: "What happens when I'm not involved?"
What happens when I'm not involved? If performance disappears without your involvement, it never truly belonged to the team.
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The Empty Room Test
Chapter 14
Diagnostic
Ask: "What does my team do when nobody's watching?"
What does my team do when nobody is watching, and nobody is checking? Culture isn't what you say in a briefing. It's what survives when there's no audience for it.
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When The Rulebook Runs Out
Chapter 15
Decision Framework
Ask: "Can I defend this decision tomorrow, if I have to explain it?"
Some situations have a process. Some don't. When you reach that moment, there's no script — just you, and three questions worth asking before you decide.
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Foundational Ideas
The Promotion Reality Check
Chapter 1
Diagnostic
Ask: "Am I still leading like an individual contributor?"
A way to assess whether you've truly made the shift from top performer to leader. The biggest challenge for most new leaders isn't capability. It's identity.
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The Scoreboard Shift
Chapter 2
Diagnostic
Ask: "Whose success am I measuring today?"
Whose success am I measuring today? Leadership begins the moment your attention moves from your own results to your team's — and it doesn't move back on its own.
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The Signal Test
Chapter 4
Diagnostic
Ask: "If my team repeated these words back tomorrow, would I be happy?"
If my team repeated these words back tomorrow, would I be happy? Leaders don't just share opinions anymore. They send signals — whether they mean to or not.
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Behaviour vs. Intentions
Chapter 5
Perspective Shift
Ask: "What did they actually experience — not what did I mean?"
Your team doesn't experience your intentions. They experience your behaviour. What you do always outweighs what you meant.
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Intelligent Ignorance
Chapter 7
Perspective Shift
Ask: "Am I willing to look uninformed now, to become informed later?"
The willingness to look temporarily uninformed in order to gain permanent understanding. The goal isn't to look knowledgeable. It's to become knowledgeable.
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The Cloning Trap
Chapter 8
Perspective Shift
Ask: "Am I building a copy of myself, or the best version of them?"
The mistake of assuming the behaviours that made you successful are the only behaviours that create success. Help people become better versions of themselves, not smaller versions of you.
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