The Head-Heart-Hands Experiment
by Donna Lichaw • Executive Coach and Author at Donna Lichaw Coaching
Former product manager and designer turned executive coach who helps founders and CEOs scale their leadership. She is the author of 'The User's Journey' and 'The Leader's Journey', known for applying product thinking and storytelling frameworks to leadership development.
🎙️ Episode Context
Donna Lichaw explores the intersection of product management and leadership development, introducing the concept of 'Story-Driven Leadership'. She explains how the narratives leaders tell themselves act as operating systems that dictate success or failure. The conversation covers tactical frameworks for identifying personal 'superpowers' and 'kryptonite', reframing imposter syndrome through a functional lens, and applying product discovery techniques to personal growth.
Problem It Solves
Paralysis when attempting difficult behavioral changes or new ways of working.
Framework Overview
A micro-experimentation framework derived from Gestalt therapy to test new behaviors in real-time through three distinct sensory filters.
🧠 Framework Structure
Define the Micro-Experiment: Choose a...
Run In-The-Room: Execute the action i...
Audit Head (Cognitive): What thoughts...
Audit Heart (Emotional): What emotion...
Audit Hands (Somatic): What happened ...
When to Use
When trying to change a habit like interrupting others, micromanaging, or public speaking anxiety.
Common Mistakes
Ignoring the somatic (body) response, which often indicates the true level of comfort or resistance.
Real World Example
A loud executive who needed to listen more tried listening for just 30 seconds in a session. Her face turned red ('Hands' filter), revealing that silence felt physically unsafe, which was the root cause to address.
Life is like product thinking... You run it through three filters: head, heart, hands.
— Donna Lichaw