1. SESSION 7
CONGRUENCE

2. RECAP
SESSIONS 1 TO 6
• Leadership
• Social Change
• Citizenship
• Collaboration
• Common Purpose
• Controversy with Civility
• Consciousness of Self

3. Kolb Model

4. The Model

5. Why do we need a
model?
• A guide
• A common understanding
• A yardstick

7. Leadership for social
change
• Leadership is a purposive process / an
activity / a behaviour that is inherently
value-based
• Leadership is not linked to titles and
hierarchy - e.g., LDP

8. • Leaders are those that practice
leadership… and its underlying
values…

9. Community Values
• Citizenship:
– Recognizing individuals and groups
have responsibility for the welfare of
others
– A concern for others
– Ubuntu

10. Group Values
• Collaboration:
– Working with others in a common effort,
sharing responsibility, authority, and
accountability
• Common Purpose:
– Having shared aims and values
• Controversy with Civility:
– differences must be aired openly but with
civility

11. Individual Values
• Consciousness of self:
– being self-aware of the beliefs, values,
attitudes and emotions that motivate us to take
action.
• Congruence:
– Acting in ways that are consistent our values
and beliefs.
• Commitment:
– Having significant investment in an idea or
person, both in terms of intensity and duration.

12. Consciousness of self
• Consciousness of Self refers to an
awareness of our own relatively stable
personality traits, values, and strengths
and being mindful of our actions, feelings,
and beliefs.
• It is not an end point that can be
reached… it is an inner journey.

14. ASK Unknown to self
Known to self
Known
to
others Open Area
TELL
Blind Area
Unknown Unknown
to others
Hidden Area
Area
JOHARI WINDOW

15. Benefits of
Consciousness of self
• It is important for leaders to understand their
own inner sense of identity.
• This understanding helps building self-
confidence while recognizing limitations.
– thus helps in selection of change initiatives
• We become aware of our motivation and
consider new ways to contribute to groups
and teams.

16. Aspects of Individual
Identity
1. our values and principles, culture, faith,
family, generational peers … our worldview
2. our personal style – timid aggressive,
organized, optimistic, patient, easy-going
3. our talents, skills and specialized knowledge
4. our aspirations and dreams – how do we
define success?
5. others’ perceptions of us.

17. GEERT HOFSTEDE

19. Becoming Conscious of
Self
• Developing consciousness of self requires
intentional actions.
• These include
1. a practice of reflection
2. openness to feedback
3. learning about the self through assessment

20. Mindfulness
• Mindfulness focuses on more than simply
understanding our personality.
• It is the ability to simultaneously act and
observe our actions in the present moment.
• Simultaneously performing on the dance floor
and watching oneself dance from the balcony
• Being mindful allows us to choose how to
respond in situations (Covey).

21. Metacognition
• Reflection on what and how we are learning
• Catching oneself in the act of learning – a
voice of a wise observer looking over one’s
shoulder and offering insight and raising
questions for reflection
• Am I attentive? What am I thinking? Do I
agree with what is being said? How does this
relate to my current situation? Where can I
apply this? What am I afraid of?

22. Food for thought
• To live is to choose. But to choose well,
you must know who you are and what
you stand for, where you want to go and
why you want to get there
Kofi Annan

23. Kotter’s 8-step model
1. Establishing a sense of urgency
2. Creating the leadership group
3. Developing a vision and strategy
4. Communicating the change vision
5. Empowering broad-based action or aligning the
organization
6. Generating short-term wins
7. Consolidating gains and producing more change
8. Institutionalizing new approaches in the culture

24. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Was Adolf Hitler a leader ?

25. SESSION 7
Congruence

26. OBJECTIVES OF SESSION 7
• By the end of this session, participants
will be able to:
– demonstrate a clearer understanding
meaning of ‘congruence’
– demonstrate a better congruence in their
behaviour
– appreciate the link between congruence and
leadership

27. WHAT IS CONGRUENCE?

28. What is Congruence?
• Acting in ways that are consistent with
one’s values and beliefs.
• Requires a person to have a deeply felt
consciousness of self.
• When values, beliefs, and convictions
are intact and are echoed in person’s
actions congruence will exist.

29. What is Congruence?
• Congruence is the harmonious union of a
person’s inner and outer worlds.
• Congruence means that a person’s
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are
guided by an unwavering honesty,
authenticity, and genuineness towards
others.

30. What is Congruence?
• Congruence is not something that only
leaders are expected to experience, but
it a necessity in everyone’s everyday life.
• Why ?
• What happens when congruence is
absent?

31. Discussion
• Congruence requires constant
adjustment and taking inventory of
one’s intentions, actions, and motives.
• How is this related to mindfulness?

32. Congruence in content
and process
• Content refers to a person’s goals or
purpose – what a person does
• Process is how a person accomplishes
his/her goals or purpose.

33. Congruence in content
and process
• Leaders should not only be concerned
with congruent goals and purpose, but
also congruence in process.
• The choice of end and of means must be
equally ethical and value-driven.

34. Courage to Act
Congruently
• It takes courage to be congruent, in a
world that is so diverse and ever
evolving.
• Includes standing up against peer
pressure, forfeiting popularity, or risking
looking foolish.

35. Courage to Act
Congruently
• Doing what feels right and is congruent
sometimes is not synonymous with
social norms and may not be in line with
the status quo
• It takes courage to be the only one
standing in congruence
• Mahatma Gandhi … Nelson Mandela

36. Courage to Realize
One’s Potential
• When being congruent leads to
standing alone, one must find comfort in
knowing that one is capable and full of
overwhelming potential.
• It takes courage to deny the internal
antagonists known as insecurity and
inadequacy that try to impede us from
realizing our true potential.

37. Congruence & Authentic
Leadership
• Authentic leadership occurs when we
accurately represent ourselves in the
world in a manner that is ‘in tune’ with
our nature.
• Authentic leaders nurture relationships
driven by a transparency of values and
intentions.
• Congruence is the foundation of trust
and credibility

38. Congruence & Character
• Leading with authenticity is synonymous
with having character
• Character is closely tied with congruence.
• Character encompasses our uniqueness
and our realization that we are purposeful
only in relation to others.

39. Being Congruent in
Groups
• Is it easier or harder?

40. Being Congruent in
Groups
• It is easy to be congruent in a room by
oneself.
• Congruence is harder to achieve when
one exists in a group, and even harder
when one is a leader.
• We often encounter situations where
our values are in conflict with the values
of members in a group.

41. Being Congruent in
Groups
• Being a leader requires the realization that not
all the members of our group will share our
values, but we are still required to lead them
• Leading them effectively and congruently
requires that a leaders validate their followers’
truths and learn to see from their point of view
– leading with inclusivity towards people’s
values and perspectives, even when they are
not identical

42. Adaptive Leadership
• People in the group should be able to
identify when the group is being
incongruent.
• Adaptive leaders can identify the values
that are conflicting and make the
necessary changes to ensure an
adjustment that mitigates the level of
discrepancy between the group’s values
and the reality of the group’s situation.

43. Adaptive Leadership
Ronald Heifetz
• The group must face incongruence head
on and the leadership is seen as central to
fulfilling the role of identifying and
remedying the incongruence.
• The gap between what is, and what should
be, is an opportunity for leadership
– An opportunity for change
• This kind of change requires “work”

44. Conclusion
• Congruence means not being afraid to
stand alone for what one believes in
and knows is right
• It requires being in tune with our spirit
and constantly taking stock to ensure
that our actions reflect our values and
beliefs
• Congruence is required both in private
and public spheres

45. LINKS WITH THE 7 C’S

46. Congruence & 7 Cs
• Congruence is difficult to achieve without
consciousness of self
• Congruence and the resulting credibility and
trust leads to more effective collaboration,
impacts the selection of a common purpose
( and vision)
• Congruence contributes effectively to our
ability to handle controversy with civility
• Congruence encourages us to express our
citizenship in social change initiatives

47. Congruence and
Leadership
• True leadership happens whenever an
individual makes the decision to act
congruently with the intention of making
positive change
• What is needed is not popularity or
charm, but a sense of core purpose and
values and the courage to take action
that is consistent with those.

48. The Model

49. Questions

50. BREAK

51. INTERACTIVE SESSION

52. Individual Values
• Consciousness of self:
– being self-aware of the beliefs, values, attitudes and
emotions that motivate us to take action.
• Congruence:
– Acting in ways that are consistent our values and
beliefs.
• Commitment:
– Having significant investment in an idea or person,
both in terms of intensity and duration.

53. Consciousness of Self
• Personality Profiles
• The JOHARI window
• The Rokeach Values survey

54. CONGRUENCE
• Understanding our Values and Beliefs
• It takes Courage to be Congruent
• Transparency of Values and Intentions
• Realisation that we are only purposeful
because we exist in relation to others.

55. CONGRUENCE
• Being Congruent in Groups
– Leading with inclusivity towards people’s
values and perspectives, even when they
are not identical
– Adapt - identify when the group is being
incongruent
– leadership is seen as central to fulfilling
the role of identifying and remedying the
incongruence

56. CONGRUENCE
• How do we know where the point of
accepting others’ approaches becomes
being incongruent with our own values?
• Congruent Content and Processes

57. INTERACTIVE SESSION

58. CONGRUENCE
To Be or Not to Be

59. CONGRUENCE
Always, Sometimes, Never

60. The Model

61. Q&A
FEEDBACK