What is the Fit to Lead Framework?
Why This Matters
Leadership isn’t just about titles—it’s about impact. To be an effective leader - Fit to Lead - you need more than just skills; you need a holistic approach that keeps you adaptable, trusted, and capable of making the right decisions. That’s why I developed the Fit to Lead framework.
It’s built on three essential elements that every leader must cultivate:
Well-Being – Because you can’t lead effectively if you’re running on empty.
Building Trust – The foundation of influence, engagement, and strong teams.
The CAPDA Skills – Five critical skills that elevate your leadership.
When leaders strengthen these areas, they don’t just improve performance—they create lasting impact.
Common Challenges
There are plenty, let’s focus on the most prevalent ones:
Many leaders focus only on technical expertise and decision-making, neglecting their own well-being and how they show up for their teams.
Some assume trust comes with the role, rather than something they need to actively build through intention, integrity, competence, and results.
Leadership skills like communication, adaptability, and decisiveness are often developed through experience, but without a structured approach, growth is slow and reactive instead of intentional.
Try This Instead
To become a Fit to Lead leader, you need to intentionally develop these three elements. Here’s how you can start:
Adopt a holistic approach. Leadership isn’t just about one skill—it’s about balancing personal well-being, trust-building, and key competencies.
Recognize that trust is your leadership currency. People don’t follow positions; they follow leaders they trust.
Strengthen your CAPDA skills. The five CAPDA skills—Communication, Authenticity, Project Management, Decisiveness, and Adaptive Intelligence—help leaders navigate complexity with confidence.
Prioritize self-care and resilience. Your energy, mindset, and ability to recharge directly impact your leadership effectiveness.
Create a leadership development habit. Learning should be ongoing—whether it’s through coaching, feedback, or self-reflection.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking down each component of the Fit to Lead framework to help you apply it in your leadership journey. Stay tuned!
What part of leadership do you find the most challenging? Hit reply and let me know—I might feature it in an upcoming newsletter!