Certification Level Diagnostic

Domain 1 of 5

Direction & Purpose

Establishing, sustaining, and communicating meaningful direction for collective effort.

I set direction for my own team, within boundaries and parameters my organisation has already defined. I set direction reliably across a few different team contexts, keeping people aligned even as things shift. I set direction that crosses team or functional boundaries, tackling problems with no predetermined solution. I interpret a strategic framework set by senior leaders and translate it into operational direction for a significant part of the organisation. I set the strategic framework itself — organisational purpose and direction — for the whole organisation or a major institutional unit. I shape direction at a sector or systemic level, setting the context within which other organisations and leaders operate.

Domain 2 of 5

People & Development

Building individual and collective capability, and taking sustained responsibility for others' growth.

I develop the people directly on my team. I build a developmental culture within my function, influencing people beyond those who report to me. I build capability and teams across boundaries — cross-functional or cross-organisational. I develop capability and plan succession across a cross-functional or departmental operational unit. I shape leadership culture and capability development across the whole organisation. I develop leaders who develop other leaders, at scale, across a sector or system.

Domain 3 of 5

Change & Adaptation

Navigating and leading change, and adapting leadership approach when circumstances require it.

I adapt myself and lead my team through operational changes. I actively develop my adaptive practice, leading through challenges that combine operational and adaptive elements. I lead adaptive change that crosses team or functional boundaries. I lead operational change and transformation within a unit or programme, in response to strategic direction set above me. I lead organisation-wide change and build the organisation's strategic transformation capacity. I create the conditions for continuous system-level change and adaptation, beyond any one organisation.

Domain 4 of 5

Accountability & Stewardship

Being answerable, with integrity and proportionality, for the resources, relationships, and outcomes led.

I'm accountable for my team's outputs and the resources within my direct scope. I'm accountable for the quality of my own leadership practice, not just my team's outputs. I carry accountability that crosses boundaries, including ethical complexity beyond my direct authority. I'm accountable for resources, risk, and delivery at the scale of a significant operational unit, within a framework set by others. I'm accountable for the organisation's long-term direction, governance architecture, and stewardship. I carry accountability that outlasts my own tenure — for leadership systems at a sector or generational scale.

Domain 5 of 5

Context & Stakeholders

Reading the wider environment and building productive relationships with those it affects.

I engage with the immediate stakeholders directly relevant to my team. My stakeholder awareness is expanding beyond my immediate team into the wider function. I engage a diverse range of stakeholders across boundaries I don't directly control. I engage stakeholders across a significant delivery area, including the senior leaders who set my strategic framework. I influence stakeholders at the organisational and strategic level, shaping the wider environment the organisation operates in. I shape the broader sector or system environment in which other organisations and leaders operate.

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