The Performance Chain explains how results are produced. The 3 I's give leaders and core talent the three questions that read the chain — at any altitude, in any conversation, without needing the full model.
Traditional performance management buries organizations under 15-30 generic competencies. C2 replaces those with 10 validated trait families — the diagnostic layer, measured through LeadView at Level™. But even 10 traits can be complex for daily coaching. The 3 I's distill those traits into three actionable questions that any leader or core talent can use in any conversation.
C2 measures 10 trait families through LeadView at Level™ — that's the diagnostic layer. The 3 I's sit on top of that measurement as the coaching and self-governance layer, organizing those traits into three questions that map directly to the Performance Chain: Traits → Behavior → Conditions → Activity → Performance.
Click each lever to explore both altitudes — how leaders use it to read and develop people, and how core talent uses it to own their own signal.
Your coaching question: "Is this person beginning — or waiting for permission?" If they're waiting, the question isn't about them. It's about you. Are you setting clear enough direction that people can act without asking?
Your self-check: "Am I starting — or am I waiting for someone to tell me?" Initiative is the single clearest signal of career trajectory. It's the reflex to see something that needs doing and own it.
Your coaching question: "Is this person depositing or withdrawing trust in their daily interactions?" Don't ask about big moments. Ask about the pattern across fifty small ones. The person who is positive in meetings but sharp in hallways has a net-negative Influence score — and the people around them know it before any review captures it.
Your self-check: "In my last five interactions under pressure, was I net-positive or net-negative?" You don't need to be perfect. You need to be aware. The core talent who recognizes a negative interaction and repairs it quickly builds more trust than one who is always pleasant but never accountable.
Your coaching question: "Are this person's results durable — or fragile?" Impact isn't just output. It's whether results were produced through healthy conditions or through pressure that will eventually break.
Your self-check: "After I deliver something, do I follow up on whether it actually worked?" Impact is the discipline of following your work forward — not just finishing, but tracking whether it produced the intended result.
The 3 I's read different parts of the chain. But what does that actually look like in daily work? Click any scenario below to see how Initiative, Influence, and Impact play out at each node — for leaders and core talent.
Choose your altitude first — the questions shift because the same three I's read differently at Executive, Core Leader, and Core Talent levels. Then rate yourself honestly: 1 (rarely) to 10 (consistently, under pressure).
Whether you're a leader coaching your team or core talent governing your own trajectory, the approach is the same. The 3 I's are multiplicative — the biggest gains come from lifting the lowest variable first.
Which I scored lowest? That's the constraining variable. In a multiplicative system, raising the weakest lever produces more return than perfecting the strongest one. Leaders: ask this about each person. Core talent: ask it about yourself.
Pick one specific behavior — not a goal. Initiative low? Raise one issue proactively per week. Influence low? Ask one peer for feedback before submitting. Impact low? Follow up on one project to learn what happened after handoff.
After 30 days of deliberate practice, re-assess. Not whether you feel different — whether the people around you are experiencing something different. The signal is in their response, not your intention.
Use the 3 I's as the structure for every performance conversation. Three questions: Where's the Initiative? How's the Influence landing? What Impact is actually being produced? Same framework, both altitudes, continuous signal.
This isn't a performance improvement plan. It's a signal improvement plan — one bottleneck, one behavior change, one 30-day cycle. Below is what it looks like in practice. Choose your altitude to see the plan shift.