Alicia Couri is the Founder and CEO of Audacious Concepts Inc., a boutique leadership firm that helps organizations boost performance by aligning action with instinct. She is a Kolbe-Certified Consultant, Predictive Index expert, TEDx speaker, and cancer survivor. Her diverse background informs her unique approach to leadership development, emphasizing not just what you think or feel, but how you instinctively act.

She is also the founder of RedCarpet CEO, a digital media and content platform dedicated to amplifying powerful voices. In this episode, Alicia shares insights on a range of critical topics, including conative intelligence, the deep insights offered by the Kolbe assessment, the pervasive issue of burnout among high performers, the cultivation of audacious confidence, and the vital role of self-advocacy in both leadership and personal health.

This conversation is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand their innate strengths, combat professional exhaustion, and lead with authenticity and courage.

The Third Part of the Mind: What Is Conation?

The human mind is traditionally understood through two primary lenses: the cognitive, encompassing IQ, skills, and reasoning, and the affective, which covers emotional intelligence, personality, and values. However, Alicia introduces us to the crucial third part: conation. Conation represents the instinctive drive to act, the innate wiring that dictates how individuals approach problem-solving and take action when faced with unstructured situations.

It's important to differentiate conation from mere gut instinct. While gut instinct can be an impulsive, "lizard-brain" reaction, conation is a performance instinct—a consistent, natural pattern of behavior that emerges when an individual is free to act in their own way. This intrinsic force profoundly influences how we engage with tasks and challenges.

The concept of conation was extensively researched by Kathy Kolbe, inspired by Aristotle's writings on volition. Kolbe's work built upon her father's legacy, who founded the Wonderlic cognitive assessment, providing a complementary framework for understanding human potential.

"You can think about a problem, you can feel about a problem. This is how you're actually going to do the solution for the problem. That's conation."

— Alicia Couri

The Kolbe Assessment and Why It Matters for Leaders

The Kolbe A Index is a powerful 36-question assessment designed to measure an individual's innate conative strengths. It evaluates four key action modes: Fact Finder (how one gathers and shares information), Follow Through (how one organizes and works with patterns and systems), Quick Start (how one handles risk and change), and Implementation (how one interacts with tangible objects and three-dimensional space).

The results are displayed on a continuum of 1-10 across three distinct zones, providing a nuanced understanding of a person's natural inclinations. Notably, the assessment is remarkably stable, validated by over 50 years of test-retest research, indicating that these conative strengths are fundamental and unchanging aspects of one's being.

For leaders, understanding their unique conative design is transformative. It allows them to stop blindly following advice that contradicts their natural instincts, a common pitfall that often leads to burnout. By aligning their actions with their inherent strengths, leaders can operate more efficiently and sustainably, conserving their mental energy for what truly matters.

"When you're operating outside of that mental energy, it's like kindling — it burns up quickly. But if you're operating within it, it's like solid wood that takes a long time to burn, but keeps the fuel going."

— Alicia Couri

Conative Misalignment and the Burnout Epidemic

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