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The full instrument, on one page.

Every statement, the two identity measures, the Identity Debt calculation and the six-stage framework.

Respondents see one statement at a time on a five-point scale from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”, with no skip option.

The 26 statements

Energy

  1. 01I often finish the week more depleted than the work itself should justify.Reflection only
  2. 02My energy returns quickly when I step away from the role.Reflection only

Motivation

  1. 03What once drove me no longer moves me in the same way.Reflection only
  2. 04I keep going more from obligation than from desire.Reflection only

Alignment

  1. 05How I lead reflects who I actually am.Authentic
  2. 06There is a growing gap between how I appear and how I feel.Reflection only
  3. 25I have recently felt unsettled, as if something has to change.Reflection only

Values

  1. 07I make decisions at work that quietly sit against my own values.Reflection only
  2. 08I can clearly name what matters most to me, beyond the role.Authentic

Authenticity

  1. 09I edit myself in most rooms I walk into.Adaptive
  2. 10The people closest to me would say I am still myself.Authentic
  3. 26I choose consciously which parts of myself I bring to the role.Authentic

Pressure

  1. 11I feel I cannot afford to be seen struggling.Adaptive
  2. 12Expectations of me have grown faster than my capacity to carry them well.Adaptive

Identity

  1. 13If the title disappeared tomorrow, I am not sure who I would be.Reflection only
  2. 14I have become the role more than I have become myself.Adaptive
  3. 15I know where the role ends and where I begin.Authentic
  4. 24I sometimes perform a version of myself that no longer fits.Adaptive

Relationships

  1. 16I am more present for my work than for the people I love.Reflection only
  2. 17Few people truly know what this role is costing me.Reflection only

Meaning

  1. 18I am successful, but not fulfilled.Reflection only
  2. 19I have started to question what success actually means for me.Reflection only
  3. 20My work feels like an expression of something I care about.Authentic

Leadership load

  1. 21Leadership feels heavier than it did a few years ago.Adaptive
  2. 22I carry the role home with me, even when I am not working.Reflection only
  3. 23I feel a low, persistent friction I struggle to explain.Reflection only

All question wording is unchanged. Six statements contribute to each identity measure; the remaining fourteen are reflection only.

The Identity Debt model

Identity Debt = Adaptive Identity − Authentic Identity

Low Identity Debt0–10
Moderate Identity Debt11–25
Significant Identity Debt26–40
Advanced Identity Debt41–60
Critical Identity Debt61–100

Each of your six specified items is weighted equally within its independent measure. Agreement increases both scores: strongly disagree is 0, strongly agree is 4. Each measure is scaled to 0–100 and rounded before subtraction. For example: 88 − 42 = 46 points. Negative gaps are retained and indicate authentic identity ahead, not positive debt.

Adaptive Leadership Identity

Agreement increases: 9, 11, 14, 24, 12, 21.

Authentic Identity

Agreement increases: 8, 15, 20, 5, 10, 26.

Adaptive Leadership Identity explores adaptation to the leadership role; Authentic Identity explores values, alignment, purpose and sovereignty. Neither score individually is Identity Debt. The selected adaptive statements do not directly establish leadership effectiveness, resilience or capability; this remains a reflective tool, not a validated assessment.

Illustrative profile · not a respondent result

Your Identity Debt Profile

Your Identity Debt

Adaptive Leadership Identity

91/ 100

Authentic Identity

47/ 100

Identity Debt

44points

Advanced Identity Debt

Identity Debt accumulates when the adaptive identity grows faster than the authentic identity of the person carrying the role.

91 − 47 = 44 points

Your Personal Reflection

Your responses suggest a strongly developed adaptive identity: you have learned to become what the role asks of you.

The role grew. The adaptive identity grew with it. The authentic self did not. This gap is what I call Identity Debt.

This does not mean the role is the problem. It may mean the relationship between you and the role deserves attention.

— Paul Sansom, former international CEO

Personal reflection

  1. 01What role are you currently performing?
  2. 02Who are you when the role disappears?
  3. 03What part of yourself deserves more attention?

A reflective leadership tool, not a diagnosis. These identity measures are a working interpretation of your answers, not a validated assessment.

Want to explore your result?

Book an Identity Debt Debrief with Paul Sansom.

A confidential 60-minute conversation exploring:

  • — where the debt accumulated
  • — what it may be costing
  • — what reclaiming sovereignty could look like

No sales call.
No coaching commitment.
Just clarity.

The six-stage framework

Editorial reference only. No stage is assigned from the gap: a stage mapping has not been defined for this new model.

Stage 1 of 6

Alignment

Who you are and what the role asks of you are, for now, moving together.

Your adaptive identity serves you rather than replacing you.

This often presents as:

Alignment is not permanent. It is maintained.

Reflection

  1. 01What keeps you anchored to yourself right now?
  2. 02What would quietly erode that, if you let it?
  3. 03Who in your life reminds you who you are?

Paul's insight

Alignment is the most underrated asset a leader has. Most people only notice it once it has gone. The work now is protecting it as the role grows.

Stage 2 of 6

Success

The role is growing, and you are growing with it.

Results are visible. The first signs of strain may not be.

This often presents as:

Success is where Identity Debt usually begins: quietly, and with good intentions.

Reflection

  1. 01What has success asked you to set aside?
  2. 02Which parts of you are thriving, and which are waiting?
  3. 03How will you know if the role begins to outgrow you?

Paul's insight

Most leadership development focuses on growing capability. My experience suggests the bigger challenge is identity. Success is the moment to pay attention, not the moment to stop.

Stage 3 of 6

Adaptation

You have become very good at becoming what each situation requires.

The adaptive identity is working hard on your behalf. It may be working harder than you realise.

This often presents as:

Adaptation is a strength. Unexamined, it becomes a habit that costs more each year.

Reflection

  1. 01What role are you currently performing?
  2. 02Where do you feel most like yourself, and how often are you there?
  3. 03What would happen if you adapted a little less?

Paul's insight

Every capable leader adapts. The question is not whether you adapt, but whether anyone, including you, still knows who is doing the adapting.

Stage 4 of 6

Identity Debt

You've successfully adapted to increasing levels of leadership responsibility.

The role continues to grow. The adaptive identity carrying the role continues to grow with it.

The authentic self may not have kept pace.

This often presents as:

This doesn't mean something is wrong with you. It may mean you've outgrown the identity carrying your success.

Reflection

  1. 01What role are you currently performing?
  2. 02Who are you when the role disappears?
  3. 03What part of yourself have you neglected while succeeding?
  4. 04When did leadership start feeling heavier?

Paul's insight

Most leadership development focuses on growing capability. My experience suggests the bigger challenge is identity. The greatest risk of success is not failure. It's losing yourself in the role that created it.

Stage 5 of 6

Internal Dissonance

The debt has compounded. What was once friction now feels like pressure from within.

The identity carrying the role is struggling to hold its shape.

This often presents as:

Internal dissonance is uncomfortable, but it is often the threshold. It is where real reclamation becomes possible.

Reflection

  1. 01What are you no longer willing to carry?
  2. 02Who are you when the role disappears?
  3. 03What is this unsettledness trying to tell you?
  4. 04What would you choose if you were choosing only for yourself?

Paul's insight

I have sat in this place myself, as a CEO who looked successful from every angle. What I learned is that internal dissonance is not the end of the story. It is the moment the old identity can no longer carry you, and a truer one is asking to lead.

Stage 6 of 6

Internal Sovereignty

You lead from a self you know well.

The role is something you hold, not something that holds you.

This often presents as:

Sovereignty is not the absence of pressure. It is the presence of self.

Reflection

  1. 01What did you reclaim to arrive here?
  2. 02Where could the role still pull you back?
  3. 03How might you help other leaders find this ground?

Paul's insight

Leadership feels lighter when you know yourself. Sovereignty is rare, and it is earned. The work now is to keep choosing it, especially when the role grows again.