Leadership
Proven leadership frameworks, CEO principles, coaching models, and team management tools. All with free downloadable templates to help you lead with impact.
Leadership Frameworks & Guides
Leadership Models & Philosophies
Core leadership theories and guiding frameworks
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What is Servant Leadership: Framework, 10 Principles (Plus FREE Template)
StrategyPunk
Description: A complete guide to servant leadership — the philosophy that puts serving your team before exercising authority. Covers the 10 core principles with real-world applications.
Use this when you want to shift your leadership style from a top-down, authoritative approach to one that empowers and develops your people. Great for team leads transitioning into senior roles.
The Power of Putting Others First: Real-Life Servant Leadership Examples
StrategyPunk
Description: Case studies of servant leadership in action — from Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines to Howard Schultz at Starbucks and Nelson Mandela in politics.
Use this when: You need real-world proof that servant leadership works, or want inspiration from leaders who built cultures of trust across different industries.
Lead with Trust: 5 Actions That Inspire, Not Control (Free PDF Guide)
StrategyPunk
Description: A practical, action-oriented guide with five specific behaviors that help leaders build trust and create teams that solve problems independently.
Use this when: Your team feels micromanaged, disengaged, or overly dependent on you for decisions. A quick-win resource for improving team autonomy.
The 3 Essential Levers for Effective Leadership and Achieving Results
StrategyPunk
Description: A framework that breaks effective leadership down into three key levers — giving leaders a simple mental model for driving team performance and business outcomes.
Use this when: You're looking for a clear, actionable structure to diagnose what's holding your team back and where to focus your leadership energy.
CEO Profiles & Leadership Principles
Leadership lessons from real-world executives
CEO Confidence - #1 Reason Why Founders Fail
StrategyPunk
Description: Based on Ben Horowitz's insights, this piece explores why even brilliant founders fail as CEOs, and why hesitation and lack of confidence create organizational dysfunction.
Use this when: You're a founder stepping into a CEO role, or coaching someone who is. Essential reading for understanding how self-doubt cascades through an organization.
Bob Iger's 10 Key Leadership Principles for Disney's Success
StrategyPunk
Description: A breakdown of the ten leadership principles Bob Iger used during his transformative tenure at Disney, with a free PDF guidebook for download.
Use this when you want to study how a seasoned CEO balances creativity, acquisitions, and culture, or when you need a leadership principles template for your organization.
5 C's of Leadership by Indra Nooyi
StrategyPunk
Description: Indra Nooyi's personal leadership framework is distilled into five pillars: Competency, Courage & Confidence, Communication, Consistency, and Compass.
Use this when: You're building your own leadership philosophy and want a battle-tested framework from one of the most respected CEOs in modern business.
Indra Nooyi's Leadership Style: Key Insights and Impact
StrategyPunk
Description: A deep dive into Nooyi's leadership approach at PepsiCo — her vision-driven, empathetic, and democratic style that reshaped the company's direction.
Use this when: You want to understand how empathy and long-term strategic thinking can coexist in a Fortune 500 CEO role. Pairs well with the 5 C's framework above.
Team Management & Performance
Tools for building, evaluating, and improving teams
Leadership - 5 Dysfunctions of a Team: PowerPoint Template
StrategyPunk
Description: A ready-to-use workshop template based on Patrick Lencioni's "5 Dysfunctions of a Team", covering absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.
Use this when: You're running a team offsite, a leadership workshop, or diagnosing why your team isn't performing. Download and customize for your next session.
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Practical Guide for Leaders (Free Template)
StrategyPunk
Description: A hands-on companion to Lencioni's model — this guide goes beyond the theory with practical tools like team assessments, personal history exercises, conflict resolution techniques, and team charters. Includes a free PDF template.
Use this when: You've identified dysfunctions on your team using the pyramid model above and now need concrete exercises and action plans to fix them. Ideal for leaders running team-building sessions or off-sites.
Executive Leadership Team Performance Review: Evaluation Tool
StrategyPunk
Description: A structured evaluation tool in PowerPoint and Google Slides to assess your executive leadership team's effectiveness across key performance dimensions.
Use this when: It's time for quarterly or annual leadership reviews, or when a board or CEO needs a systematic way to evaluate the senior team.
Netflix 4A Feedback Framework: Building High-Performance Culture
StrategyPunk
Description: A guide to Netflix's famous feedback model — Aim to Assist, Actionable, Appreciate, Accept or Discard — with a free PowerPoint template for team adoption.
Use this when: Your team avoids giving honest feedback, or you want to install a structured, psychologically safe feedback culture. Great for HR and people managers.
Coaching & Personal Development
Frameworks for coaching individuals and self-improvement
The GROW Coaching Model: What It Is and How To Use It (Plus FREE PPT)
StrategyPunk
Description: A complete walkthrough of the GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) — one of the most widely used coaching frameworks in business. Includes a free PowerPoint template.
Use this when: You're coaching a direct report through a career challenge, performance issue, or development goal. Also useful for formal coaching programs.
STAR Method: The Ultimate Technique to Ace Your Interviews
StrategyPunk
Description: A step-by-step guide to the STAR interview method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) — the go-to technique for structuring behavioral interview answers.
Use this when: You're preparing for a job interview, coaching someone through interview prep, or designing behavioral interview questions for your hiring process.
ABCs of Leading Innovation (Harvard Business Review Framework)
StrategyPunk
Description: Based on HBR research, this framework identifies three roles great innovation leaders play: Architect, Bridger, and Catalyst. Includes a free PDF download.
Use this when: You're tasked with driving innovation in your organization and need a framework to understand which leadership behaviors unlock creative output from teams.
Productivity & Decision-Making
Personal effectiveness and task management tools
Organize Your Tasks with the Eisenhower Matrix: Guide and FREE Template
StrategyPunk
Description: A practical guide to the Eisenhower Matrix, the classic 2×2 framework for prioritizing tasks by urgency and importance. Comes with a free downloadable template.
Use this when: You're overwhelmed with tasks, struggling to prioritize, or want to help your team distinguish between what's urgent and what's truly important.
Master the 7-Step Problem-Solving Process for Better Decision-Making
StrategyPunk
Description: A structured, seven-step framework that turns complex problems into clear action plans. From defining the problem to implementing and reviewing solutions.
Use this when: You're facing a complex business challenge and need a repeatable process to work through it systematically. Includes free PowerPoint and PDF templates.
Communication & Stakeholder Management
Frameworks for effective reporting and stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder Communication with the RPM Status Update Framework
StrategyPunk
Description: The RPM (Reflect, Present, Map) framework for writing status updates that actually engage stakeholders. Moving beyond generic project updates to strategic communication.
Use this when: Your stakeholder updates feel flat or ignored, or you need a simple structure to make your progress reports more impactful. Ideal for project managers and team leads.