The 3x3 Leadership Audit Framework - Self-Assessment for Leadership Growth

Explore a comprehensive leadership framework through a solo podcast episode where Learnit CEO Damon Lembi conducts a personal leadership audit using his "3x3" methodology. Discover how to honestly assess your leadership growth by examining three areas of improvement, three areas of consistency, and three areas still needing development. Learn practical strategies for effective delegation using the Freedom Compass tool, understand how to build a personal brand with humility while maintaining a public-facing leadership presence, and master better decision-making techniques including the "Purposeful Awfulizing" strategy to avoid sunk cost traps. Examine the five core traits of a "Learn-It-All Leader" including humility, integrity, courage, accountability, and curiosity, while understanding why modeling behavior proves more powerful than simply preaching it. Address common leadership challenges such as clarifying shared organizational purpose, navigating change in the AI era, and building formal advisory boards for outside perspectives. Gain insights from 30 years of leadership experience on creating psychological safety, maintaining people-first leadership principles, and leading through change before complacency sets in. Apply the complete 3x3 framework to conduct your own leadership audit and develop actionable improvement strategies for both new managers and seasoned executives.

Syllabus

00:00 – Why June 2025 marks a meaningful moment in Damon’s leadership journey
01:00 – The “3x3”: A framework for reflecting on leadership growth
01:45 – 1st area of growth: Delegation and getting out of the weeds
03:00 – How COVID accelerated trust and team ownership
03:30 – The Freedom Compass: What Damon let go of—and what happened next
04:50 – 2nd area of growth: Building a personal brand without ego
05:45 – Why every leader needs to be public-facing
06:30 – 3rd area of growth: Better decision making and avoiding sunk cost traps
07:10 – Controlling emotion, expanding options, and “Purposeful Awfulizing”
08:30 – Why even failed decisions are valuable if you learn
09:00 – 1st consistency: Being a people-first leader with psychological safety
10:30 – 2nd consistency: Living the traits of a Learn-It-All Leader
11:15 – Humility, Integrity, Courage, Accountability, Curiosity
12:15 – 3rd consistency: Modeling the behavior you want from your team
13:00 – What Damon still needs to improve part 1: Clarifying shared purpose
14:00 – The North Star problem and Keith Ferrazzi’s diagnostic
15:00 – What remote work and silos have made harder—but not impossible
15:30 – What Damon still needs to improve part 2: Navigating change in the age of AI
16:30 – Why urgency beats complacency—even when things are going “fine”
17:00 – What Damon still needs to improve part 3: Building a formal advisory board
17:45 – Why outside perspectives are key to staying sharp and forward-thinking
18:30 – The 3x3 recap and challenge: Build your own audit