This book presents the idea of exploring both conscious and unconscious drivers and blockers in a person's leadership development. From the outset, the authors show that exploring drivers (forces that motivate) and blockers (forces that obstruct) leads to profound self-awareness, increasing the chances that meaningful change can occur for the person. Research in the book builds on and integrates well-established leadership development approaches such as 'immunity to change' and 'positive psychology'.  

Chapters in the book cover drivers and blockers as "assumptions" and "forces" in people that will impact their personal change efforts. The authors examine the reservoirs or sources of drivers and blockers in the mind, such as worldviews, emotions, personality traits, as well as values and motivators, and conclude by providing a tool that leadership development practitioners, coaches and scholars can use with people to explore their drivers and blockers. Throughout the work, real examples from the authors' field research are used to bring these concepts to life.