WEBINAR: The What and Why of Underperforming Leaders: Unlocking Performance Through Behavior, Motivation and Competencies
2026-05-19 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Leadership underperformance is often viewed as a behavioral or competency issue, but these factors alone rarely provide a complete explanation. This webinar, on Tuesday, May 19th and in partnership with The Society of Consulting Psychology and exclusive for their members, will explore how effective coaching requires understanding what leaders do, and also why they do it.
Using a case study, co-presenters Tricia Naddaff and Maria Brown will demonstrate how integrating behavioral and competency data with underlying motivations offers a more comprehensive and actionable view of performance – and underperformance. Participants will learn how combining these perspectives can enhance diagnosis, self-awareness, and sustainable change. This session is designed for organizational psychologists, executive coaches, and leadership professionals seeking a more complete approach to coaching underperforming leaders.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:

Describe the role of underlying motivations in shaping leadership behavior.
Evaluate behavioral and motivational patterns in combination to identify opportunities for client performance improvement.
Apply strategies to help clients integrate behavioral and competency assessment data with motivational insights to support sustained change.
Explain the importance of individual measurement in enhancing self-awareness and informing leadership development.

Educational Goal
The educational goal of this workshop is to deepen coaches and consultants’ understanding of how to support underperforming leaders by examining not only observable behaviors and competencies, but also the underlying motivations that drive them. Participants will learn how to integrate behavioral, competency, and motivational data through practical application to more accurately diagnose performance issues, enhance self-awareness through individual measurement, and apply targeted strategies that support meaningful and sustained leadership development.
If you’re an executive coach, organizational psychologist, or leadership professional and an SCP member, this session will offer practical ways to elevate your impact.
