What is the LVI 360?
The Leadership Versatility Index (LVI 360) is a powerful feedback tool that helps leaders understand how their behaviour is perceived by others. Unlike traditional 360s, it focuses on versatility – the ability to balance complementary leadership styles, such as being both forceful and enabling or strategic and operational.
By highlighting where leaders may overuse or underuse certain behaviours, the LVI provides actionable insights to help them adapt their approach, improve effectiveness, and lead more successfully in today’s complex business environment.
Why LVI 360?
Unique Rating Scale
The LVI 360 rating scale is designed to show not just how often a leader displays certain behaviours, but how balanced those behaviours are. Each behaviour is rated on a continuum to indicate whether it is: Too Little – the behaviour is displayed too little, potentially limiting effectiveness. Just Right – the behaviour is used appropriately, complementing other leadership styles.Too Much – the behaviour is applied too much, which can create blind spots or unintended consequences. This approach helps leaders see not only their strengths and weaknesses but also where they may need to adjust their style to achieve better outcomes. It’s this focus on balance and complementarity that makes the LVI scale unique compared to traditional 360s.
Focus on Versatility
The LVI 360 highlights a leader’s ability to adapt their behaviour to meet the needs of different situations. It shows where a leader may lean too heavily on one style or struggle to switch between approaches, helping them become more flexible and responsive. Versatility is key because the most effective leaders can adjust their approach – whether being forceful or enabling, strategic or operational – depending on the context and the people they are leading.
Complementary Behaviours
Rather than looking at behaviours individually, the LVI examines paired behaviours that work together to drive effective leadership. For example, forceful paired with enabling or strategic paired with operational. By analysing these pairs, the LVI reveals how well leaders integrate different skills and whether they are achieving the right balance between behaviours that support each other, rather than over-relying on one at the expense of the other.
Research Based
The LVI 360 is grounded in decades of rigorous research led by Dr. Robert Kaiser and his team. Based on studies of thousands of leaders across industries, the LVI identifies the specific behaviours that make leaders most effective and demonstrates how balancing complementary behaviours – known as versatility – directly impacts performance, team engagement, and organisational outcomes. Its framework is supported by empirical evidence showing that leaders who are more versatile adapt better to change, build stronger relationships, and achieve greater overall effectiveness, making the LVI a trusted, evidence-based tool for leadership development.
ZERO BARRIERS
When Michelangelo was asked how he created the statue of David, he replied, “I just removed everything that wasn’t David.” Strengths often emerge not by adding more, but by uncovering and refining what is already there.
That’s exactly how the LVI 360 works. It doesn’t ask leaders to become someone different – it reveals the behaviours, patterns and blind spots that may be obscuring their natural strengths. By bringing clarity to what’s already within, the LVI helps leaders refine, focus and elevate their impact. It’s about removing what gets in the way so the best version of the leader can emerge.
Balancing Leadership Styles
The LVI 360 measures complementary behaviours, which are pairs of leadership styles that work best when balanced. For example: a leader may need to be forceful to drive results but also enabling to engage and motivate their team. Similarly, being strategic helps leaders focus on the big picture, while being operational ensures plans are executed effectively.
The LVI doesn’t just measure each behaviour in isolation – it shows how these behaviours interact and whether a leader is overusing, underusing, or balancing them. This focus on complementarity helps leaders see where they may need to adjust their approach to be more versatile and effective in different situations.
LVI 360
Watch this video to find out more about the LVI 360.
