Gain insight into how you think, so you can decide more intentionally.
The Strategic Intelligence Diagnostic™ is an optional self-reflection tool designed to help leaders understand their dominant thinking patterns and where they may want to stretch.
It does not measure performance.
It does not label or rank you.
And it is not required to use the Strategic Intelligence Decks™.
Instead, it offers a snapshot of how you currently approach clarity, connection, strategy, and executive judgment, so you can use the decks with greater intention.
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack intelligence or experience.
They struggle because they rely on the same thinking patterns, regardless of the situation.
Over time, this can lead to:
The Strategic Intelligence Diagnostic™ helps you notice how you tend to think under pressure—and where alternative thinking modes may be more effective.
The Strategic Intelligence Diagnostic™ is informed by decades of research on leadership capability, systems thinking, and how adults make decisions in increasingly complex environments.
At its core, the Diagnostic reflects a shared conclusion across multiple research streams:
Effective leadership today requires recognizing the nature of a problem before attempting to solve it.
From Skills to Thinking Capacity
Leadership scholar Robert Katz introduced the idea that effective leadership depends on different skill sets, technical, human, and conceptual, depending on role and responsibility. As leaders move into more senior roles, conceptual skill becomes increasingly critical: the ability to see patterns, relationships, and implications beyond immediate tasks.
The Diagnostic builds on this foundation by examining how leaders actually think when making decisions ofvarying complexity.
Research by Dr. Derek Cabrera and Dr. Laura Cabrera on systems thinking highlights that many leadership failures are not due to poor execution, but to misdiagnosing the type of problem being addressed. Leaders often apply linear solutions to non-linear challenges, overlooking interdependencies, feedback loops, and second-order effects.
The Diagnostic incorporates these insights by helping leaders identify when a situation requires:
Work by María Soledad Ramírez-Montoya on open educational models emphasizes the importance of adaptive learning structures that support knowledge integration across contexts. Rather than treating learning as linear or sequential, her research underscores the need for flexible frameworks that allow individuals to apply insight dynamically as situations evolve.
The Diagnostic reflects this approach by offering a snapshot—not a fixed label—of how leaders currently engage different modes of thinking, recognizing that these patterns can and should shift over time.
Research by Jada Kohlmeier on CLEAR thinking further reinforces the idea that leaders must develop cognitive readiness, the ability to pause, clarify, and intentionally select the appropriate thinking approach before acting.
This aligns directly with the Diagnostic’s purpose:to help leaders distinguish between simple problems, where efficiency and speed may be appropriate, and complex challenges, where premature action can create unintended consequences.
Across these research traditions, one insight is consistent:
Leaders are not challenged by a lack of intelligence or experience.
They are challenged by the increasing complexity of the problems they face.
The Strategic Intelligence Diagnostic™ exists to support that reality, helping leaders recognize how they tend to think, when those patterns serve them well, and when a different level of thinking may be required.
The Diagnostic does not assess competence or predict outcomes.
Instead, it provides leaders with:
It is a tool for discernment, not judgment.
The Diagnostic is grounded in the same four modes of thinking represented in the Strategic Intelligence System™
How you create focus, prioritize, and reduce noise.
How you recognize relationships, systems, and second-order impacts.
How you assess options, tradeoffs, timing, and alignment.
How you operate at altitude when decisions carry long-term or organizational consequences.
The Diagnostic highlights which modes you tend to rely on most, and which may be underused.
Leaders typically use the Diagnostic to:
Some complete it once as a baseline.
Others return to it during periods of change, transition, or increased responsibility.
There is no “correct” profile, only insight.
The Diagnostic is:
The Diagnostic is not:
You can use the decks effectively with or without the Diagnostic.
Upon completion, you’ll receive:
The Diagnostic is designed to support growth, not prescribe behavior.
You don’t need to complete the Diagnostic immediately.
Many leaders find it most useful after they’ve spent time with one or more decks.
Think of it as an accelerant, not a starting line.
If you’re curious about how you think, and how to think differently when it matters, the Diagnostic is available to explore at your discretion.
The Strategic Intelligence DIY Deck™ is a free, self-guided introduction to the thinking model behind the decks.
From Insight to Action
Strategic thinking matters most when it shapes real decisions.
If this content resonates, the next step may be a conversation—one designed to help you think more clearly about what matters most right now.
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Real feedback from clients who have experienced measurable impact through our speaking, consulting, and coaching engagements.
It’s not everyday that you meet someone with such great talent like Pam. I had the pleasure to meet Pam at a conference and she instantly wowed me with her ability to touch her audience. She gave me the courage and strength to ask a very bold question and offered me coaching. Pam is an honest individual who keeps her word. Her presence alone makes me feel important and cared for. As a leader, Pam earns my highest recommendation.
Tameko C
Compensation/Human Resources Consultant
Director of Learning and Transformation CommonHealth ACTION
It’s not everyday that you meet someone with such great talent like Pam. I had the pleasure to meet Pam at a conference and she instantly wowed me with her ability to touch her audience. She gave me the courage and strength to ask a very bold question and offered me coaching. Pam is an honest individual who keeps her word. Her presence alone makes me feel important and cared for. As a leader, Pam earns my highest recommendation.
Tameko C
Compensation/Human Resources Consultant
My writing, tools, and resources are designed to help leaders pause, think, and lead more intentionally, even amid pressure and complexity.
From books to newsletters, each resource is grounded in real leadership challenges and practical strategic insight.
