The Four Quadrants of Leadership

Leadership requires balancing four dimensions:

• I (Me…Individual Interior): Your mindset, understanding, focus, and emotional awareness.
• We (Us… Collective Interior): Team trust, communication, and culture.
• It (Things…Individual Exterior): Your actions, results, decisions, and accountability.
• Its (Systems… Collective Exterior): Systems, processes, and tools that drive operational success.

1. Control the Controllables

Key Principle:

Focus your energy on what you can influence directly. The first point of control is attention.

• Are you present with your team?
• Do you manage your focus deliberately?
• Is the quality of your communication high?

Reflective Question: How does my current focus align with Chevron’s priorities, and what distractions can I eliminate?

2. Strategic Objectives & the Gap

Leadership is about closing the gap between your team’s current state (now) and strategic objectives (e.g., lower safety incidents, operational efficiency). Identify the difference between where you are and where you want to be. This is the gap—and it is the opportunity.

Steps to Work the Gap:

• Know your current state (the blue dot).
• Define the specific desired future state (“What does good look like?”).
• Quantify the gap clearly (e.g., 7 yards now → 10 yards target → Gap = 3).

Reflective Question: What specific gap can I address in my team’s performance this quarter?

3. Rules of the Game

Just like sport, work has defined rules—job descriptions, employment law, and expectations. The business and operational field has clear boundaries—job roles, safety protocols, and performance standards. Understanding these rules ensures accountability.

Know the Field:

• What are your accountabilities?
• Where are the lines (performance standards)?
• What are the penalties for being out of bounds? What do you do when the lines are crossed?

Reflective Question: Are my team’s understanding and management of the boundaries clear, and how can I reinforce them?

4. The Power of Your Word

Trust, a cornerstone of culture, is built through clear, reliable agreements. Your word as a leader shapes team cohesion.

Leadership is built on trust.

• Be specific in your agreements: Who is doing what, for whom, by when?
• Follow up before deadlines, not after failure.
• Distinguish between clean and dirty acceptances—ensure true understanding.

Reflective Question: How can I strengthen trust by improving the clarity of my agreements?

5. Reactions as Signals

Emotions are signals that guide individual and team performance, reflecting commitment to a supportive culture. Understand emotions for self-awareness and team trust. Use emotions as feedback. Reactions are not emotions.

• Mad: A boundary (e.g., accountanbility, safety protocol) has been crossed—address it directly, calmly and clearly.
• Sad: A loss (e.g., missed target) has occurred—identify what’s missing.
• Glad: Success is happening—reinforce what’s working.
• Scared: Uncertainty or risk exists—clarify, train or prepare contingencies.

Reflective Question: How can I use my emotional signals to upgrade from reaction to action and improve my leadership and team dynamics?

6. Tools & Technology

Effective tools streamline complex operations, enhancing feedback loops and team performance. Use the best tools available—not just what you’re used to.

Examples:

• Use Asana for project tracking and delegating tasks.
• Leverage chat or calls for real-time collaboration.
• Capture ideas and information with voice-to-text apps.
• Document what matters—create artefacts, don’t store everything in your head.
• Refine your processes to save time across the team, not just for yourself.

Reflective Question: Which tools can I learn and use better to save my team time and improve results?

7. Daily Practice

Like athletes, leaders build capability through consistent practice. Build skills and focus on intentional growth. Be better than last year.

Check in daily:

• Check in daily: Where are we now? Where are we going? What’s the next step?
• Track progress: Use metrics to monitor team performance.
• Adjust as needed: Adapt based on real-time feedback.

Reflective Question: What daily practice can I commit to for my own and my team’s growth?

This is the foundation of building capability, just like daily training drills in sport.

8. Lead with Responsibility

Gaps are inevitable in a dynamic environment. Leadership is about who you choose to be—taking responsibility and modelling integrity, inspired by existential and ontological principles.

Steps:

• Own the gap: Take responsibility for outcomes, not blame.
• Lead by example: Demonstrate Chevron’s values through actions.
• Build trust: Honor commitments and manage performance through clear agreements.

Reflective Question: Who am I being in relation to my team’s challenges, and how can I embody Chevron’s values?

Closing Action Plan

Create a personal leadership plan to integrate these principles:

1. Focus Area: Choose one quadrant (I, We, It, Its) to prioritize.
2. Specific Goal: Define a measurable outcome (e.g., reduce project delays by 5%).
3. Action Steps: List 2–3 actions from the workshop to achieve this goal.
4. Timeline: Set a deadline and check-in points.
5. Reflection: Schedule a weekly reflection to assess progress.

Example:

• Focus Area: Trust
• Goal: Improve team trust by clarifying agreements.
• Actions: (1) Hold weekly check-ins to confirm task clarity. (2) Use Asana to document agreements. (3) Facilitate one team discussion on emotional feedback.
• Timeline: Start next week, review in 30 days. (Specific DATE TIME)
• Reflection: every Friday at 9 AM for 4 weeks