Foundations
Conceptual foundations of the CPR Leadership Alignment Model
The CPR Leadership Alignment Model is a founder-developed working framework shaped through more than 25 years of experience across business, leadership, coaching, non-profit and faith-informed environments.
The model emerged through leadership practice, coaching conversations, organisational work and ongoing reflection on Character, Purpose and Responsibility.
The concepts explored within CPR also intersect with established areas of thinking in leadership, ethics, values, reflective practice and adult development. These areas provide useful conceptual context for the model, while CPR itself is a distinct integrative framework developed by Lubos Lendvay.
This page describes areas of established thinking that are relevant to the model. It should not be read as claiming that CPR was derived from any single academic theory or body of research.
Relevant areas of thinking
Character and virtue traditions
Ideas within virtue ethics and contemporary work on character emphasise that leadership concerns not only what a person does, but also who they are and how qualities of character develop through choices, habits and practice. This provides useful conceptual context for the Character dimension of the CPR Model, which examines values, integrity, self-awareness and the way character is expressed through behaviour, particularly under pressure.
Ethical leadership
Work on ethical leadership places attention on integrity, accountability, the exercise of influence and the impact of leadership decisions on others. These themes are relevant to the Responsibility dimension of the CPR Model, particularly its emphasis on stewardship, accountability and the ethical exercise of influence.
Values-based leadership
Values-based approaches to leadership emphasise the role of values in shaping choices, priorities and behaviour. This is relevant to CPR's exploration of the relationship between Character and Purpose, including the questions of what a leader values, why their leadership matters and how those commitments influence decisions.
Reflective practice
Reflective practice emphasises the importance of examining one's own thinking, assumptions, experiences and behaviour as part of learning and development. This is closely aligned with the reflective structure of the CPR Model, including the questions: Where am I aligned? Where is there tension? What would alignment require?
Coaching psychology
Coaching and coaching psychology provide relevant context for the CPR Model's emphasis on inquiry, awareness, agency and reflective development. CPR is not presented as a coaching methodology. Rather, these perspectives are relevant to the way the framework can be used in reflective conversations and developmental settings.
Adult development
Adult development perspectives explore how people develop their capacity for meaning-making, self-awareness and responding to increasing complexity. These ideas provide relevant context for the CPR Model's view of alignment as an ongoing process rather than a fixed state, with reflection and experience contributing to continuing development.
Leadership identity development
Leadership identity development explores how people understand themselves as leaders and how that identity develops through experience, relationships and changing contexts. This resonates with the Character dimension of CPR, particularly the question: Who am I becoming? The CPR Model uses this question as part of a broader examination that also includes purpose and responsibility.
Selected references
The references below are provided to indicate established bodies of thinking that are relevant to concepts explored within CPR. They should not be interpreted as a claim that the CPR Leadership Alignment Model was derived from any one of these sources.
Character and virtue traditions
- Crossan, M., Seijts, G. and Gandz, J. (2016), Developing Leadership Character, Routledge.
- Newstead, T., Dawkins, S., Macklin, R. and Martin, A. (2021), 'We don't need more leaders - We need more good leaders. Advancing a virtues-based approach to leader(ship) development', The Leadership Quarterly, 32(5).
Ethical leadership
- Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K. and Harrison, D. A. (2005), 'Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing', Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117-134.
Values-based leadership
- O'Toole, J. (2008), 'Notes Toward a Definition of Values-Based Leadership', The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 1(1).
Reflective practice
- Schön, D. A. (1983), The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books.
Coaching psychology
- Grant, A. M. (2006), 'A personal perspective on professional coaching and the development of coaching psychology', International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1), 12-22.
Adult development
- Day, D. V., Harrison, M. M. and Halpin, S. M. (2009), An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise, Routledge.
- Kegan, R. (1994), In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life, Harvard University Press.
Leadership identity development
- Day, D. V. and Harrison, M. M. (2007), 'A multilevel, identity-based approach to leadership development', Human Resource Management Review, 17(4), 360-373.
How the concepts come together
An integrative framework shaped through practice
The CPR Leadership Alignment Model brings together three dimensions of leadership: Character, Purpose and Responsibility.
Each dimension connects with established areas of thinking relevant to leadership, ethics, values, reflection and development, but CPR is not intended to reproduce any one of those traditions.
Instead, the model offers a practical way of bringing these questions into conversation:
- Character — Who am I becoming?
- Purpose — Why am I leading?
- Responsibility — How should I exercise influence and stewardship?
CPR is therefore presented as a founder-developed integrative framework, rather than as an academic theory or a validated diagnostic model. It continues to evolve through application, reflection and feedback.