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The Standard

In many organizations, leadership development is treated like a program. OWN + MODEL + DRIVE® turns it into a system for how the business performs.

OWN  the leadership agenda and your growth—make leadership a core business discipline.

MODEL the standard—your behavior sets the tone for culture and performance.

DRIVE development into the business—embed it in strategy, systems, and execution to deliver results.

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What is OWN + MODEL + DRIVE®?

OWN + MODEL + DRIVE is AO People Partners’ framework for treating leadership development as a business performance system rather than a program.
It names the three things a senior leader has to do for development to change how an organization actually performs: own their own growth, model it visibly for the people around them, and drive it into the systems and rhythms the business runs on.
OWN
OWN means the leader takes personal responsibility for their own growth and for the leadership agenda of the business. Leadership becomes a daily discipline rather than a periodic initiative. This comes first because an organization rarely develops past the level its most senior leaders have reached.
MODEL

MODEL means leaders demonstrate the behaviors they expect from everyone else. When a leadership team is visibly learning, giving and receiving candid feedback, and developing the people around them, the organization learns what growth looks like by watching rather than by being told. This is where individual development starts to scale.

DRIVE

DRIVE means development is built into strategy, systems, and operating rhythms rather than living inside individual coaching relationships. When leaders drive development across the business, it stops depending on any one person’s commitment and becomes part of how the organization runs.

Most leadership frameworks describe what good leaders look like. This one describes what senior leaders must do — and in what order — for development to hold. Each layer depends on the one before it: leaders who have not owned their own growth cannot credibly model it, and behavior that is not modeled at the top will not survive being built into systems.

How we activate OWN + MODEL + DRIVE

AO partners with executive teams to activate OWN + MODEL + DRIVE® across the organization. This aligns leadership development directly to business priorities and measurable results.
OWN
Leadership Excellence

We work with senior leaders to strengthen awareness, decision-making, and leadership effectiveness so leaders take OWNership of their development and the leadership agenda of the business.  Learn more

MODEL-1
Team Performance

AO works with executive teams to strengthen alignment, trust, and accountability so leaders MODEL the behaviors expected across the organization.  Learn more

DRIVE
Growth Culture

We help organizations integrate leadership development into strategy, operating rhythms, and talent systems to DRIVE leadership capability across the business.  Learn more

How AO Turns Leadership Into a Business Advantage