Leadership Circle Profile® (LCP) is a 360-degree assessment that reveals the hidden patterns driving your leadership, the ones your team sees but you can't. Built on 20+ years of research and trusted by the most influential organizations in the world, it gives mission-driven leaders the clarity to lead from intention instead of survival.
You didn't get into nonprofit work or education for the corner office. You got into it because you care. Because you believe in the mission. Because somewhere along the way, someone or something called you to serve, and you said yes.
Maybe you were a teacher who kept getting handed more responsibility until one day you realized you were running the department. Maybe you were a program coordinator who poured your heart into the work and got tapped to lead the organization. Maybe you founded something from nothing and now you're leading a team of people who are counting on you to have the answers.
Here's what nobody tells you: caring about the mission and knowing how to lead people are two different things. And the gap between them is where most nonprofit and education leaders get stuck.
You react to pressure in ways that don't align with who you want to be as a leader
You avoid hard conversations because you don't want to damage relationships on a team that's already stretched thin
You carry the weight of everyone else's needs (your staff, your board, the community you serve), but no one is carrying yours
You're running on fumes, leading from exhaustion instead of intention
You've been promoted for your expertise, but no one ever trained you for the leadership part
You feel guilty even thinking about investing in your own development when resources are tight
The thing that's holding you back is almost never a skill gap. It's a pattern you can't see. And you can't see your own blind spots. That's why they're called blind spots. But those blind spots become visible the moment someone holds up the right mirror.
"The truth is that we are all wounded. The only question is whether we use our wounds to hurt others or whether we use them to become healers."
Cornel West
I'm Carlon Howard, a leadership coach, ICF-certified professional, and Certified Practitioner of the Leadership Circle Profile.
I know this world because I've lived in it. I serve as Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer at The Equity Institute, a nonprofit organization.
But I didn't arrive at this work from a mountaintop. I arrived through my own wounds.
I grew up with an inner critic, that voice that says "you should have worked harder, you should have been better." For years, I was running a race and I didn't even know where the finish line was. I literally got the word "excellence" tattooed on my arm because I thought that's what I needed to be.
Sound familiar? If you're in nonprofit or education work, you probably know that voice. The one that says you're not doing enough. The one that makes you feel guilty for taking a day off when the mission is urgent.
It wasn't until I worked with my own leadership coach that I discovered there was a process for this: a cycle of awareness, exploration, possibility, and integration that turns the things you've been carrying into the wisdom you need to lead.
That process changed my life. And now I use it, powered by the most comprehensive leadership assessment available, to help other mission-driven leaders see what they can't see, shift what's been holding them back, and step into the fullness of who they're becoming.
Not so they can be better leaders for the sake of their resumes. So they can be better leaders for the communities they serve.
Hear Carlon share his personal journey: from the inner critic to the mirror exercise that changed everything. This is the story behind the coaching.
The LCP isn't just another personality test or strengths assessment. It's the only 360-degree leadership assessment that reveals both what you do (your Creative Competencies) and why you do it (your Reactive Tendencies).
Most assessments tell you what behaviors are showing up. The LCP goes deeper. It reveals the underlying beliefs, assumptions, and habits of thought that are driving those behaviors in the first place. In nonprofit and education work, the stakes of that gap are higher. It's not just your career. It's your team, your mission, and the community counting on you.
You complete a 20-25 minute online assessment. Simultaneously, 10+ people from your professional life (your supervisor, board members, peers, direct reports, and partners) provide confidential feedback on your leadership.
You get a comprehensive, visually rich report mapping your leadership across 29 dimensions. You'll see your Creative Competencies and your Reactive Tendencies, and where your self-perception aligns or doesn't with how others see you.
We sit down together for a 90-minute debrief. This isn't a data dump. It's where the transformation begins. We identify the one or two patterns that, if shifted, would have the greatest impact on your leadership.
The assessment reveals the patterns. Coaching is where you change them. Most leaders continue with a 3-month or 6-month coaching engagement to turn insights into lasting, measurable growth.
The pattern is always the same: the thing they need to see is the thing they can't see on their own. That's what the LCP does. It holds up a mirror, not just to your behaviors, but to the beliefs underneath them.
Every engagement starts with the Leadership Circle Profile, because you need to see the full picture before you can change it. Pricing below reflects the nonprofit and education rate.
Full 360-degree assessment with 10+ evaluators plus a personalized 90-minute debrief session.
LCP 360 assessment plus 3 months of biweekly 1:1 coaching for focused development.
Full LCP 360 plus 6 months of biweekly coaching designed for deep, lasting transformation.
Half-day or full-day workshop for leadership teams (5-15 leaders) using the LCP and Universal Model of Leadership™.
Cohort-based program for emerging leaders stepping into leadership for the first time.
A free, original 10-dimension leadership assessment designed specifically for nonprofit and education leaders. No commitment, no pressure. Just a starting point.
In nonprofit and education work, the mission is always urgent. It's easy (and I'd argue it's culturally encouraged in this sector) to put yourself last. To treat your own development as a luxury you'll get to when things slow down.
But things never slow down. And the patterns you've been carrying, the ones you can't see, aren't going anywhere on their own.
Leaders who work with the Leadership Circle Profile experience measurable shifts in how they lead. They see the patterns capping their effectiveness. They build awareness of how their behaviors impact the people around them: their staff, their board, the communities they serve.
They stop running a race without a finish line. They stop leading from survival mode. They start leading with intention, with awareness, with the kind of presence that transforms teams and organizations.
When a nonprofit or education leader does their own inner work, the organization benefits. Staff retention improves. Team dynamics shift. The mission gets stronger because the leader grew.
Every quarter you wait, those patterns keep operating. Every hard conversation you avoid, every feedback loop you miss, every team dynamic that strains under the weight of something you can't name. That's the cost of staying blind.
The inner critic doesn't take a day off. The reactive tendencies don't resolve themselves. The burnout doesn't resolve on its own. And in a sector where people leave organizations because of leadership, not because of the mission, the cost of waiting isn't just personal.
The moment you decide to look, everything begins to shift. Awareness. Exploration. Possibility. Integration. It starts with one decision.
My coaching journey with Carlon was very inspiring. I was able to dive deep into my personal story and learned how to shift my perspective on past experiences that I have always suppressed because I thought they were crippling. He provided me with insight and guidance that allowed me to reframe those experiences as essential building blocks in the development of my current self. I am forever grateful for the support.
Working with Carlon has been an incredibly positive experience for our team. He was accessible, transparent, and clear in his approach, guiding us with both knowledge and integrity. His ability to listen with an unbiased ear and understand the dynamics of our team was one of my favorite parts of the process. He helped us identify and address communication barriers that we wouldn’t have noticed on our own.
I came to Carlon with a very clear path of where I was heading and he validated the actions that I was taking to achieve my goals. But more importantly he held me accountable for the things I needed to keep in check in order to not burnout in the process. He was the sounding board for my ideas and actions. I truly appreciate his support through it all.
I participated in Carlon’s coaching program for one year. His coaching style was both empowering and grounding — rather than giving me answers outright, he asked insightful questions that guided me toward clarity and helped me take ownership of my choices. Over time, I noticed myself becoming more intentional, more empowered, and better equipped to trust my own judgment.
It was helpful to discuss my career goals in a nonjudgmental space. My journey allowed me to prioritize and brought me to a space where I was able to create more work-life balance. When I was in a challenging situation at work, he was able to provide guidance that I wouldn’t have received elsewhere.
My coaching sessions with Carlon were thought-provoking. He created a space for me to be vulnerable and honest — not only with him, but with myself. I appreciated every session and felt that he understood where I was coming from, which made the time spent worth it.
How effectively are you leading, not just in what you accomplish, but in how you're showing up? This free, original 10-dimension assessment helps you understand your leadership patterns and identify areas for growth. Get instant results with a visual breakdown of your leadership profile.
10 dimensions. 30 questions. 8 minutes. No cost, no strings.
You don't have to commit to a full coaching engagement to get started. Pick the option that feels right.
Not sure which option is right for you? Share a bit about yourself and I'll follow up with recommendations.