Skip to content
BEST FOR LEADERS

The Autopilot Gap™

Every team learns how to lead its leader.

Leadership is shaped by the choices we make every day. What we notice. What we assume. What we ask. What we decide. And what we do next.

A leader standing by a window, thinking

Why good leaders drift

Most leaders know what good leadership looks like. The problem is that busy days run on habit. We assume people understood. We take silence as agreement. We keep decisions running long after the reasons for them have changed.

Over time, teams adapt to their leader. The distance between the leader we believe we are and the leader our team actually experiences is the Autopilot Gap. Deliberate leadership is the practice of noticing it, and choosing differently.

The Autopilot Mirror™ makes the gap visible: you score yourself on nine statements, your team scores you on the same nine, and the distance between the two is your gap. The distance is the diagnosis.

Based on The Autopilot Gap by Imre van Gastel.

The nine Autopilot Gaps

Nine places your team quietly edits what reaches you. Start with the one you already suspect is yours.

  1. Acceptance of the Leader

    Do they truly accept your leadership, or just go along with you to your face and question it behind your back?

  2. Understanding of the Leader

    Do they really understand you, or just nod and then walk out of the room unable to explain what you meant?

  3. Transparency with the Leader

    Are they 100% transparent with you, or only as far as feels safe?

  4. Ownership without the Leader

    Do they take real ownership and bring you solutions, giving you back time, or do they keep handing the problems back to you, too often and too early?

  5. Performance Potential

    Are they performing at their best for you, or could they reach much more if you challenged them to?

  6. Intent Behind the Direction

    Do they genuinely believe in your intentions, direction and decisions, or just follow without really being behind them?

  7. Look Ahead

    Do they look ahead as much as they can to prevent problems from arising, or do they keep fighting the same fires again and again?

  8. Opportunity Exploration

    Do they bring you new ways of working and opportunities to do better, or too often repeat what already worked?

  9. Traction

    Do they turn commitments into traction and measurable progress, or do they frequently come up with reasons why things didn't get done?

Together, their initials spell AUTOPILOT. Read them slowly. Trust the one that won't let go.

The whole method in one line

  1. 01

    See the gap

    Through your team's eyes, not your own.

  2. 02

    Choose one

    The gap that brought someone to mind. Not all nine.

  3. 03

    Close it

    Pick one practice from the 59 in the book, do it, and watch what your team does in response.

The course

Close your gaps in two live sessions.

Work through the nine gaps with other leaders and leave with deliberate habits you can use straight away.

Join The Deliberate Leader™ course

Free

Where are you on autopilot?

A short self-check based on The Autopilot Gap. See which gaps are costing you most.

Take the free Autopilot Check (opens in a new tab)