Date of Completion

5-31-2025

Document Type

Open Access Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Robert Ricketts

Second Advisor

Jeremy Szteiter

Abstract

This synthesis project introduces the HELP Model—Humility, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Service, and Psychological Safety—as a developmental framework for sustainable leadership rooted in character formation and relational trust. It asserts that credible and effective leadership begins with inner orientation before it can be embodied as consistent, ethical action in the world. Through integration of leadership theory, developmental psychology, and theology, the project critiques conventional, strategy-driven paradigms of organizational well-being. HELP extends Robert Kegan’s framework to include relational and spiritual dimensions of the leader’s individual growth as necessary conditions for fostering organizational collaboration. Drawing on reflective inquiry and practice-based insight, the project examines how each HELP capacity can be cultivated in complex organizational environments to support a culture of trust, resilience, and ethical integrity. Rather than treating leadership as a fixed role or position, the synthesis approaches it as a relational vocation—calling leaders to become bridges across divides of culture, function, and hierarchy. The project is especially relevant to professionals navigating mission-driven and public sector contexts, where high complexity and competing demands challenge traditional approaches to authority. By articulating the inner conditions that foster sustainable leadership from the inside out, the project invites readers to consider not only what leaders do, but who they are becoming in the process.

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