How to Lead Without a Map: Becoming a Self-Dependent Executive

“The journey from seeking direction to providing it is the mark of an evolving leader. You learn to create direction through empathy, demonstrate proactiveness through valued initiatives, and prove resilience through relentless, informed adaptation.”

Atip Muangsuwan
CEO Coach and Coach Supervisor

In today’s fast-paced and often ambiguous business environment, waiting for clear direction can be a luxury we can no longer afford. For leaders like Susan, an Executive reporting directly to the CEO, this reality became a personal challenge and a catalyst for growth. Despite her expertise, Susan found herself navigating consistent organizational change without clear guidance from above. A recent, pivotal conversation with her CEO highlighted the need for a shift: to become more self-dependent, proactive, and resilient—even in the absence of explicit direction.

This article explores the framework and insights from an executive coaching session designed to tackle this very challenge. The core solution lies not in a single trick, but in the integrated application of two powerful models: the VVI+ Model and the EE-FI Leadership Model.

The Core Challenge: Navigating Ambiguity

Susan’s situation is common among high-performers. She was accustomed to proposing initiatives, but past rejections had led to discouragement and a hesitation to step forward without a clear sign-off. The feedback was clear: to excel and create impact, she needed to transform from a responsive leader into a self-motivated, resilient driver of value—someone who could chart the course, not just follow it.

The Integrated Framework: VVI+ and EE-FI in Tandem

The breakthrough came from combining two actionable models to create a self-reinforcing system for leadership initiative.

1. The VVI+ Model: Your Daily Leadership Compass

This model provides the what—the areas you must actively cultivate every day:

• V (Values): Your primary job is to create and add value daily. This is the “why” behind every initiative.
• V (Visibility): Create 360-degree visibility for your work and contributions. Don’t let your impact go unseen.
• I (Influence): Actively expand your influence upwards, across peers, and within your team.
• + (Connections): Build strategic relationships daily. This is the critical bridge to the next model.

2. The EE-FI Leadership Model: The Engine for Effective Initiative

This model provides the how—specifically for engaging with leadership to ensure your initiatives are aligned and resilient. It turns connections into understanding and influence.

• Engage to Empathize: Commit to frequent, regular, and quality engagement with your CEO and senior executives. This isn’t about status updates; it’s about actively listening to understand their underlying needs, pressures, and expectations. Direction often emerges from empathy, not a formal memo.
• Empathize to Fulfill: Use that deep understanding to shape your initiatives and actions so they precisely fulfill the real (sometimes unspoken) expectations you’ve identified.
• Fulfill to Influence: When you consistently deliver what is truly needed, you build immense credibility. Influence—the ability to get your ideas heard and approved—becomes a natural, automatic outcome.

Key Insights for the Self-Dependent Leader

1. Direction is Created, Not Just Received: Truly proactive leaders don’t wait. They use the VVI+ model to identify value-adding opportunities and the EE-FI model to socialize and align them.
2. Initiatives are Your Currency: Proposing well-considered initiatives is the primary evidence of self-dependence. They are how you “add value” (VVI+) and “fulfill expectations” (EE-FI).
3. Resilience is Defined by Response to ‘No’: Resilience isn’t about avoiding rejection; it’s about your response to it. If an initiative is turned down, use the EE-FI model to re-engage, understand the concerns, refine your proposal, or present a new one. This cycle of propose-learn-adapt-propose again is the very proof of resilience.
4. You Are Not an Island: Self-dependence doesn’t mean solo-dependence. Leverage your team, peers, and even tools like Gen-AI to brainstorm and pressure-test initiatives. Your strategic connections (the “+” in VVI+) are a force multiplier.

Your Action Plan: Moving from Concept to Practice

To translate this into tangible progress, Susan’s homework provides a clear starting point:

1. Engage 360-Degree: Start conversations up, across, and down to gather insights and co-create value.
2. Schedule Strategic Engagement: Proactively book regular time with your CEO and senior executives. Go in with the goal to understand (Empathize), not just to report.
3. Leverage and Build Connections: Use your existing network for visibility and support, while consciously building new strategic relationships.
4. Propose, Propose, Propose: Frame and present at least one value-adding initiative based on your empathetic understanding. See feedback not as a stop sign, but as a critical input for the next iteration.

The journey from seeking direction to providing it is the mark of an evolving leader. By integrating the daily habits of the VVI+ Model with the relational intelligence of the EE-FI Leadership Model, you build a sustainable system for self-dependence. You learn to create direction through empathy, demonstrate proactiveness through valued initiatives, and prove resilience through relentless, informed adaptation.

Ready to transform how you lead in the AI Era? This is the core of the work I do with leaders. Book your discovery session with me now to transform how you lead and build your team that is truly self-dependent, proactive and resilient.

About Atip Muangsuwan: Atip is an executive leadership coach who specializes in helping high-achieving leaders overcome internal barriers to unlock their full potential and drive organizational success. Through a blend of strategic frameworks and profound personal insights, he empowers leaders in transforming their mindsets, emotional states, and behaviors for lasting impact.