Debriefing high Reactive

One of the most frequent questions I get from coaches is how to navigate a debrief when the leader's scores are highly Reactive.

When I started using the LCP, I recall being anxious about these conversations. Now, after more than 1,000 debriefs, I’ve come to see Reactive profiles as a unique opportunity for a transformative conversation.

That said, a few frames can help leaders see the opportunity in their results (however Reactive or Creative they might be).

1️⃣ Your Profile results are NOT YOU. This is not an MRI of your soul. It is a snapshot from a moment in time, in a specific role, within a particular context, at a certain place on your journey.

I've seen 90th-percentile Creative leaders drop by 50% or more just by taking on a new role within the same organization. Don't conflate how you are showing up in this moment with who you are as a person.


2️⃣ The LCP is not about "good or bad" leadership. The LCP is about how efficient your leadership is and, as a result, how much leverage and effectiveness you get from the effort you put in.

With a Reactive profile, I'll often use the metaphor of a Porsche (or your vehicle of choice) traveling down the German Autobahn at 200kph in second gear. Reactive strategies are similar to low gears. Often effective at getting our career started but highly inefficient at speed and scale.

The opportunity for reactive leaders is to increase their leadership impact at LESS energetic cost to themselves and their team. Get them out of the good/bad distinction. It’s understandable but very unhelpful.


3️⃣ When leaders receive a Reactive profile, they always over-index to the critical comments in their written feedback. They entirely skip the first section of comments describing their strengths.

Read the positive comments with them during the debrief. What strengths do they recognize? What new or emerging gifts are others beginning to see? The trouble with Reactive tendencies is that they cancel out the best of what others experience from you (especially true for emerging strengths). Imagine deploying your full spectrum of talents without the self-created headwind of Reactive patterns?


4️⃣ Context matters. What's happening in the business and broader environment will impact how people experience your leadership.

Evaluators view your leadership through their own reactive patterns and the organizational environment. Explore what's happening in the broader system that could affect the perception of your leadership. No leader operates in a vacuum.


5️⃣ Receiving feedback is sometimes hard - and it can be life-changing if taken with some perspective. Your LCP is not you, and it can still be deeply disappointing. Give space for the frustration, blame, and even anger that can arise for a leader during a debrief. A great LCP debrief is always a human-centered conversation - never a tool-focused evaluation.