The Whole Person Model: A holistic way to build inspiring leaders and thriving teams

It was once conventional wisdom that great leaders were born, not made. To succeed at work, one must have certain qualities that help achieve and inspire greatness in others. Over time, through advances in behavioral science and organizational psychology, we’ve actually learned that successful leaders can come from anywhere in an organization. With the right help, we can all cultivate ways of thinking and acting that help us lead. 

That’s good news for your organization, because in the modern workforce it’s not only formal management who need to engage in leadership behaviors — effective leadership is becoming essential for all members of a team. Due to the new hybrid work environment, the way we work and live has changed, and so have the drivers behind employee productivity, job satisfaction, and well-being. With the lines between home-self and work-self blurred, a more holistic approach is needed to thrive in this “next normal.”

Research shows that when we bring our whole selves to work, we’re more creative and perform better. That’s why BetterUp created the Whole Person Model (WPM) to measure the mindsets and behaviors that research shows lead to peak performance, enhanced well-being, and strong company culture. The WPM helps track employee growth over time and better understand ways to drive lasting change for your entire organization.  

While many traditional leadership approaches typically focus on one aspect of an employee’s day-to-day work life, the Whole Person Model takes a more comprehensive approach. When we show up at work, we bring our complete selves, so it’s important to make investments in thriving behaviors like rest and emotional regulation that are proven to impact how we lead and interact with others, along with the quality of our work.

Take rest, for example — it’s not typically measured on traditional leadership assessments but it plays an important role in our success. Studies show that 40% of people in corporate jobs get less than 6 hours of sleep a night, and that even missing one night of sleep leads to decreased innovation². Rest is just one of many examples that highlight the need for organizations to do more than simply call for their leaders to be innovative and influential. Without strengthening the underlying behaviors that promote that kind of success, organizations miss the first step of what influences how an employee can show up at work.

BetterUp has gathered billions of employee data points that help us understand the behaviors that lead to thriving as a person and inspiring as a leader.

To re-envision leadership development and assessment, our Whole Person Model was developed by a team of 8 PhDs and 3 MAs with expertise in psychology and leadership, drawing from literature in management science, organizational psychology, and positive psychology. In addition, the WPM was reviewed by members of BetterUp’s Science Board — including the father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, PhD. 

Our Whole Person Model was specifically designed to reflect behaviors that:

• People can change
• Directly or indirectly impact others, and
• Are linked to individual well-being, effective performance, collaboration, and leadership
  

  "BetterUp developed the Whole Person Model to address a critical gap in the leadership development space by combining essential skills with the psychological resources that allow individuals to adapt to change and sustain performance over time."

   BetterUp

BetterUp’s Whole Person Model accounts for mindsets, behaviors, and outcomes that drive employee success. 

The Whole Person Model has three core components:

1. Mindsets - which are goals, beliefs, and emotions that motivate individuals to achieve an optimal state of functioning (e.g., growth mindset, optimism, self-awareness).  
2. Behaviors - which help enable individuals to act on their full potential. Starting from a place of strength, employees can focus on building and improving behaviors that are lacking. Behaviors fall under two categories:
   
   
   • Thriving Behaviors support personal thriving in all domains of work and personal life and across cognitive, emotional, social, and physical dimensions (e.g., rest, focus, strategic planning, and emotional regulation).
   • Inspiring Behaviors enable employees to empower others to perform at their best, either in a formal or informal leadership capacity (e.g., motivating others, guiding others, and including others).   
3. Outcomes - which are the beneficial results associated with positive mindsets and behaviors (e.g., resilience, productivity, performance, engagement, job satisfaction).

When employees complete their initial Whole Person Assessment, their results will help them and their BetterUp Coach identify areas of focus for their ongoing work together. Rather than uncovering static, fixed qualities, the WPM allows both the employee and the organization to receive and act upon regular pulse insights of behavior change. 

By highlighting key growth opportunities for each individual, the WPM helps inform a tailored developmental journey that employees engage with through coaching, content, and resources.

Here's how it works for your people:

Assessments backed by science

For employees, getting started with BetterUp means taking the Whole Person Assessment. This 15-20 minute exercise is an engaging way to help measure key mindsets, behaviors, and outcomes while boosting awareness of strengths and opportunities for further development. From the information that employees share in their Whole Person Assessment, BetterUp personalizes their experience with unique Coach match suggestions (with 97% accuracy), content aligned to their needs and goals, and various coaching engagements to meet them where they're at. 

A development journey tailored for every employee’s needs.

We collect over 150 additional unique data points, compared to traditional coaching arrangements, from your employees, Coaches, their teams and managers, and from our platform itself. We then stack up reports against industry benchmarks for leader behavioral skills most critical for the workforce today. 

"My results woke me up. My lowest scores were in self-compassion, resilience, and authenticity. I realized that I spent so much time prioritizing my ‘corporate skills’ that I neglected some of my most ‘human skills’ … and it was affecting how I show up both at work and at home."

BetterUp Member

Seamless onramp to coaching

The Whole Person Assessment provides a jumping off point for the coaching relationship. The personalized results help each employee and their Coach customize learning and set focused goals with a plan for growth and development — whether it's to increase focus, strengthen communication skills, learn to manage stress, and more. The WPM allows employees to hone in on how they can best show up in their personal and work lives and develop mindsets most vital to them. By unlocking the best version of themselves, your organization is helping to empower employees to reach their fullest potential. 

"Amazing first session! Already unpacking actionable steps to reach my goals!"

BetterUp Member

Ongoing check-ins and accountability

To provide sustained impact and accountability, leadership training and learning needs to be ongoing. Unlike other assessments, the WPM is continuous and evolving, which provides employees with opportunities to check in and adapt with their goals along the coaching journey. 

Employees can track progress on their goals and even loop in their managers.

Periodic assessments occur every four months to help track progress over time, and 360° feedback allows employees to collect necessary input from colleagues on key leadership behaviors that provide accountability to their teams and help further inform the coaching process. 

"Picture me, week over week, working to become a more patient, calm, clear, understanding, wise version of myself in partnership with my Coach."

BetterUp Member