Are you growing from the inside out or the outside in?

This is a great question for leaders.

When I started coaching many years ago, I was focused on building a solid toolkit, collecting models, exploring frameworks, earning qualifications and badges. I wanted to feel competent and credible. And I wanted to be ready for whatever leadership might throw at the clients I worked with.

I’ve always cared about turning theory into practice, helping leaders take real steps forward. And over time, I’ve seen those approaches make a real difference. I still value them.

BUT I’ve come to see their limits. Many of them focus on an outside in approach to how leaders grow. And if we only focus on this all the podcasts, training programmes and books in the world will have limited impact on how you lead.

❓How much of it really lands with you?

So much of executive development starts from the outside in:

✔ What’s the strategy?
✔ What does the organisation expect?
✔ How are you tracking success?
✔ What are your goals?

All valid and have their place, but they are not often the catalyst for the deeper, more impactful and sustained shifts that can happen when we start with the inside out.

This isn’t just about self-awareness. It’s about:

✨ Putting YOU front and centre
✨ Engaging with your thinking, body, emotions, intuition
✨ Getting really curious about what you find
✨ Exploring your anchors, needs and wants

So that you can move forward with clarity and intention.

Outside-in strategies can be complimentary. BUT in my opinion it's the inside out work that determines whether any form of development will transform a leader’s life and work.

Lately, I’m seeing more and more leaders craving this approach.

They don’t want more information. They want more integration.

To lead in a way that’s adaptable, human, and impactful.

More alignment. More ease.

Because when you grow from the inside out, you stop chasing external answers. You start leading from a place that’s real, grounded, and lasting.

I'm curious to ask:

❓How do you approach your own development as a leader?
❓What has had the most impact on the leader you are today?

I’d love to hear what’s resonating or what’s shifting as you read this.

Categories: : Leadership, LeadershipGrowth, LeadFromWisdom, WiseLeadership