By David Noble, Carol Kauffman
Framework for high-stakes leadership decisions
Subject
Themes
The MOVE framework provides a systematic approach for leaders facing high-stakes, high-risk challenges that must be navigated in real time. Developed by executive coaches David Noble and Carol Kauffman from tens of thousands of hours working with top leaders, it centres on Viktor Frankl's insight that between every stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space lies the freedom to choose.
The MOVE framework provides a systematic approach for leaders facing high-stakes, high-risk challenges that must be navigated in real time. Developed by executive coaches David Noble and Carol Kauffman from tens of thousands of hours working with top leaders, it centres on Viktor Frankl's insight…
Real-Time Leadership arrives at a moment when the executive coaching industry has matured from a niche practice into a multi-billion-dollar global enterprise. The framework draws on several decades of development in positive psychology, mindfulness research, and adaptive leadership theory,…
Viktor Frankl's insight that freedom lies in the space between stimulus and response forms the philosophical bedrock of real-time leadership. Every leader faces moments where instinct threatens to override judgement: a stock plummeting, a colleague's betrayal, a board's scepticism. The natural human…
Leadership involves three inseparable dimensions that must be managed simultaneously: external goals, internal development, and interpersonal connection. Most leaders focus overwhelmingly on the first dimension, treating business targets, strategic decisions, and operational challenges as the…
Willpower alone is insufficient for complex leadership challenges. Research by psychologists Rick Snyder and Shane Lopez demonstrates that success depends on combining willpower with "waypower," the capacity to conceive multiple viable pathways to a goal. In one study, female marathoners who scored…
Effecting change at scale requires leaders to send signals that are received as intended. The concept of Leader's Intent, adapted from military commander's intent taught by four-star general Chuck Jacoby, provides the framework for this. It specifies the destination (what and where), why it matters,…
The ultimate aspiration moves beyond competence, beyond results, beyond even good leadership. Extraordinary leaders do not simply create space between stimulus and response when crises arise; they live in that space permanently. They embody all Four Stances, practise the Five Cs as a way of being…
Matt, a top executive at a Fortune 50 company, arrives at a coaching session with David and Carol the day after bombing his interview with the board's nominating and governance committee. He had been the frontrunner for CEO but lost ground to an external candidate. The NomGov chair explains the…
Cheryl, CEO of a consumer packaged goods brand, had quadrupled revenues to $1 billion in four years at her previous company, earning recruitment to lead a brand ten times that size. Her mandate was simple: grow the business. Then, just months into the role, the Covid-19 pandemic struck. In a Zoom…
Max, the COO of a well-known media giant, storms into a coaching session with Carol. His former good friend Gemma has become CEO and their relationship has collapsed. "I schedule her at the end of the day so I can immediately get out of here. Jim has a vodka martini waiting for me at home and…
Gwen's 360-degree feedback is eviscerating. "Arrogant and contemptuous," it reads. She protests to Carol: she has sacrificed everything for the team and delivered a successful turnaround, meeting numbers for the first time in five quarters. Her biting remarks have become urban legend. When one…
Amanda, CEO of a Fortune 250 company, feels railroaded by her board to grow faster. She concludes the only way forward is a major acquisition that would extend geographic reach and add business platforms. When initial projections show the deal will not be accretive to earnings per share for years,…
General Chuck Jacoby, commanding Northern Command, had very few decisions reserved solely for him, including the authority to shoot down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles. When pressed on other decisions, he asked two questions: "Is this within my intent?" and "Is it legal, ethical, and…
Rick, a new insurtech CEO, arrives on day one in a Zegna blazer and gives an inspiring speech about scaling from 100,000 to one million customers. He ignores David's suggestion to meet skip-level team members, focusing entirely on sales and marketing. Two months later, he visits the call centre and…
Cheryl's team expands the Blue Sky offsite's branded media company idea through a mind-mapping exercise, exploring second-order consequences (company-branded characters) and third-order consequences (demand for toys and clothing based on those characters). The exercise generates many additional…
By David Noble, Carol Kauffman
Subject
Themes
The MOVE framework provides a systematic approach for leaders facing high-stakes, high-risk challenges that must be navigated in real time. Developed by executive coaches David Noble and Carol Kauffman from tens of thousands of hours working with top leaders, it centres on Viktor Frankl's insight that between every stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space lies the freedom to choose.