The Triad of Human Development

 Human behavior is a fascinating and complex blend of emotion, wonder, curiosity, and awe. I have spent much of my adult life reading, studying, and working at the intersection of leadership, behavior, and science. In recent decades, modern neuroscience has opened doors into a deeper understanding of how the human mind actually functions under pressure, uncertainty, and change.

What I have come to believe is that at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs—Self-Actualization—is not a destination, but an integration. Specifically, it is the integration of self-awareness, mindfulness, and intentionality. Self-Actualization, in this sense, is not something we arrive at once, but something we practice continuously. It is the result of what I call The Triad of Human Development.

When leaders integrate the Triad in a mature and honest way, they become a version of themselves that not only moves toward their own potential, but actively develops and encourages the potential of those around them.

Early in my career, a supervisor once told me that I was “too emotional.” That comment stayed with me for years and resurfaced later when a club president said, “Erwin, you could have 99 people tell you how great the course was, and if one person made the slightest comment that could be interpreted as negative, it would ruin your whole day.” I understood that immediately. What I did not understand at the time was that I didn’t have a character flaw—I simply didn’t understand my internal wiring, or how my own brain could work against the best version of myself.

Eventually, I came to understand that humans operate through a relatively small set of foundational capacities. When those capacities are underdeveloped or poorly understood, unconscious patterns take over. These foundations exist beneath roles, titles, and expertise. They do not disappear with experience. Instead, they quietly determine whether those roles elevate us, stagnate us, or slowly disintegrate our effectiveness.

Those foundational capacities are self-awareness, mindfulness, and intentionality.

The Triad functions as an integrated system. Practicing mindfulness alone, without self-awareness, fails to account for misinterpretation, bias, and deeply conditioned subconscious responses. In isolation, mindfulness can even reinforce victimhood or reactive postures. Likewise, intentionality on its own—without the grounding of the other two—can quickly devolve into command-and-control behavior.

When the three capacities are integrated and allowed to flow together, they create individuals and teams that operate from a framework of psychological safety. That safety encourages collaboration, connection, and curiosity—the conditions necessary to solve complex problems without unnecessary noise, defensiveness, or ego.

This framework is not self-help. It is not abstract theory, and it is not a system of control. It is also not a replacement for technical skill or continuing education. Instead, it acts as an amplifier of skill, helping keep the executive functioning regions of the brain more accessible. This area—the prefrontal cortex (PFC)—is where our best problem-solving, perspective-taking, and forward-looking thinking occurs.

Humans evolved with a powerful pattern-seeking and threat-scanning brain. This trait has kept us alive in a dangerous world. It is not a flaw—it is efficiency. But in a modern environment saturated with noise, speed, and ambiguity, this same mechanism can work against us if we are unaware of how it operates beneath the surface.

At the core of every stimulus, interaction, and experience, the nervous system asks a primary question: Am I safe? This question is answered before conscious thought ever engages. The system is always running, always scanning.

Self-awareness allows us to distinguish real threat from perceived threat. Mindfulness provides real-time presence to the physiological effects of activation—within ourselves and in others. Intentionality is the moment we choose how to move forward, keeping the prefrontal cortex accessible so that our actions reflect our values rather than our reflexes.

This triad belongs to all of us. Regardless of position, title, or industry, we all arrive with the same underlying wiring and biochemical processes. These systems can either be harnessed intentionally or left to run us unconsciously.

Self-awareness is not a momentary state. It is preparatory work conducted outside moments of activation. It does not eliminate activation; it makes activation intelligible. Mindfulness is not calmness, control, or suppression. It is presence—clarity within activation, not the absence of it. Intentionality is negotiation in action. It is the point at which agency is exercised, choosing engagement over imposition or submission.

Many people—and even some textbooks—confuse self-awareness with mindfulness. Others assume that simply “knowing” themselves is sufficient. In reality, the mechanisms that shape perception and reaction operate subconsciously in the background. These patterns are old, established as the brain developed, and they require honest effort to uncover. This work is often uncomfortable. Yet if we are to perform to our potential under the pressure of stress and distraction, we must understand the wiring beneath our emotions. That is where this framework begins.

Intentionally,

Turf 

The Triad of Human Development is a foundational framework within the McKone Human Development™ body of work, developed by Erwin McKone.