Something needs shifting, And the Inner Development Guide is Naming It

Our world is very good at counting what it produces. It is much less good at noticing what it costs.

GDP tells us how much we produce. It does not tell us how we feel. Whether people belong. Whether leaders are leading from wisdom or from fear. Although, this one we can tell very well ourselves.

The Measurement Problem

The United Nations Secretary-General has said plainly:

"Global decision-making is fixed on immediate gain, ignoring the long-term consequences of decisions" — and that we need "new metrics that value the life and wellbeing of people."

We have built entire economies, organizations, and leadership cultures around a single number that was never designed to measure human flourishing.

And we are surprised when people are burning out, disconnecting, and quietly asking whether any of this is worth it.

The SDGs, the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, gave us the most ambitious roadmap for a just, sustainable, and peaceful world.

And yet, as of 2025, less than 15% of SDG targets are on track. Not because the goals are wrong. But because we keep trying to solve them with the same level of consciousness that created them.

What Are the Inner Development Goals?

"We already have all the knowledge we need to tackle the climate crisis and the challenges facing democracy and peace, yet we continue to focus on marginal changes. That’s why we started the Inner Development Goals" - founder Erik Fernholm

The Inner Development Goals, IDGs, are a research-backed, open-source framework co-created by over 1,000 scientists, practitioners, and leaders.

They were born from a simple and radical observation: that the outer change the world needs requires inner development we have not yet prioritized.

The IDGs define 25 skills across five dimensions:

Being: our relationship with ourselves. Presence, self-awareness, inner compass, openness, resilience

Thinking: our cognitive capacities. Critical thinking, complexity awareness, perspective-taking, sense-making, long-term orientation

Relating: how we connect with others and the world. Empathy, compassion, appreciation, trust, inclusivity

Collaborating: how we work and create together. Communication, co-creation, mobilization, humility

Acting: how we show up and make change. Courage, creativity, optimism, determination, self-leadership

They are the inner architecture of effective, creative, and sustainable leadership.

Research shows that without them, no matter how sophisticated our strategies, systems, or technologies, change does not happen fast enough.

The SDGs define the destination. The IDGs ask what kind of inner development the journey requires.

So going back to the myopic GDP measurement - well some countries and institutions are already doing something different.

Costa Rica became the first country in the world to formally implement the Inner Development Goals framework, integrating inner development into national policy guidelines and school curricula. Because they understand that climate change, inequality, and complexity cannot be solved from the outside alone.

Bhutan has measured Gross National Happiness since 1972, nine domains including psychological wellbeing, community vitality, cultural resilience, and ecological sustainability. Not just what the economy produces. What makes a life worth living.

Harvard's Human Flourishing Program is building a global science of what it means for people to truly thrive, across health, meaning, relationships, happiness, and character.

Gallup's World Happiness research tracks what actually predicts wellbeing across 140+ countries. And it is not income beyond a certain point. It is purpose, connection, and the sense that your life matters.

Something is shifting in how we understand progress.

And it is long overdue.

How I Got Here

Years ago, I took the CliftonStrengths assessment and learned that one of my top strengths was, and still is, Connectedness.

It named something I had always known but never had language for: a deep, operating belief that we are all part of something larger than ourselves. That the separation we experience, from each other, from nature, from our own inner lives, is real, but it is not the whole story.

Life experience, ancestry, geography, and the times we are born into create many forms of fragmentation.

Separation from our true selves, often as a result of trauma. Separation from each other, through fear, through difference, through systems designed to divide.

And the particular disconnection that stress, survival mode, and relentless grind produce: the slow estrangement from nature.

I have experienced all of these. And through all of it, something in me remained certain of the fundamental oneness of humanity. You might call it the collective unconscious. Spirit. Life force. I am not religious, but I have a deep understanding that we are not isolated from one another.

And that understanding comes with responsibility.

This is why I have always been drawn to learning and to building bridges, between people from different cultures and backgrounds, through art, through work, through conversation, and through travel.

That thread of Connectedness led me from one life chapter to another, always asking: How do I thrive and contribute to the flourishing of others?

Leading and Empowering Self and Others

In my coaching practice, I see the profound impact that self-leadership and presence have on both individuals and teams. This is why I’m drawn to specific aspects of the IDG framework: expanding self-awareness, inner compass, authenticity, empowering self, learning and re-learning, and empowering others.

These inner capacities are transformative, enabling us to navigate uncertainty, foster collaboration, and inspire change.

True leadership begins with ourselves. To make a difference in the world, we need to develop self-awareness, confront limiting beliefs, and embrace new perspectives.

This inner work creates the foundation for empowering others, whether it’s a team member, a partner, or an entire community. By lifting others, we cultivate environments where creativity flourishes and collective goals become achievable.

The Problem That Made IDGs Inevitable

There is a distinction in change theory between technical problems and adaptive problems.

Technical problems can be solved with existing knowledge and tools, better processes, smarter systems, education, more data. Adaptive problems are different. They require us to shift our perspective, to examine our assumptions, to change who we are in relation to the challenge.

They require us to face our blind spots.

Which is not easy, because by definition, we are blind to them. And they are hidden for a reason too.

“How do we think our way through the messes we’re in when the way we think is part of the mess?”- Nora Bateson

Much of what is breaking down in our organizations, our leadership cultures, and our world right now is adaptive in nature. The grind that is burning people out. The complexity that overwhelms teams. The disconnection quietly hollowing out workplaces. These are not productivity problems to be optimized. They are not solvable by adding more resilience training to already exhausted people, or more strategy to a culture that has lost its soul.

They require a different quality of presence. A different quality of thinking. A different quality of relating.

This is where I came to understand what it means to lead from wisdom versus leading from fear. What the difference between reactive and creative leadership actually feels like from the inside. What authentic means, not as a personality trait, but as a daily practice of returning to what is true.

And then why self-awareness, as essential as it is, is not enough on its own.

We all exist within, and at the intersections of systems. The more perspectives we can genuinely hold, the more complexity becomes navigable rather than overwhelming.

Only with humility can we begin to understand that no single perspective holds the whole truth, that apparently contradictory realities can coexist.

And then you learn about courage. "Standing up for fundamental values, making decisions, taking action and, when needed, questioning and disrupting established structures and views"

This framework draws attention to the need to develop the skills and qualities required to address complex social issues, generate engagement and stimulate further development.

Still, every leadership coaching process remains unique and individual.

An Invitation

The IDG framework is open source and free, link here. It is one of the most generative tools I have encountered for anyone who is serious about leading with purpose.

If something in this resonates or if you are navigating a "something needs to shift" moment and you want a thinking partner who understands both the outer complexity and the inner work, I would love to connect.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." - Alan Watts

We’ll co-design a coaching process that helps you feel more clarity, confidence, and strength in your complex context.

Book a free strategy call → here

Or reach out directly monika@goodone.ca

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Hi, I’m Monika, Strengths Coach and facilitator. I help individuals and groups cultivate resilience, emotional intelligence, and well-being through strengths-based coaching. Passionate about transformative and creative leadership, I empower leaders to drive meaningful change within themselves, their organizations, and beyond.

I hope you’ll visit often, and I look forward to connecting and working together!