Beyond the Compass: Why the IOWL Leadership Stool Delivers What the OECD Cannot
The OECD Learning Compass 2030 is a well-meaning global attempt to reframe education for the future. Its intentions are admirable: to foster agency, values, and long-term well-being. But when it comes to preparing leaders—not just learners—its conceptual flexibility becomes a liability.
At the Institute of One World Leadership (IOWL), we recognise the global appetite for values-based leadership. But we also recognise the global absence of a shared definition of what those values are, and how they should be embedded, evidenced, and enacted.
That’s where the IOWL Leadership Stool™ stands apart. Where the Compass points vaguely forward, the Stool supports a career—and a civilisation—that won’t collapse.
The Compass or the Stool?
The OECD Compass points vaguely at values.
The IOWL Stool provides the structure to stand on them.
Both frameworks aim to guide future action. But only one is grounded in structural stability and practical deployment.
| Dimension | OECD Learning Compass 2030 | IOWL Leadership Stool™ |
|---|---|---|
| Core Focus | Education systems, learner well-being, agency | Leadership development, institutional integrity, societal impact |
| Values Structure | Describes values (personal, social, societal, human) but does not define or prescribe | Defines 24 Positive Leadership Values under 6 validated Exemplars |
| Cultural Approach | Pluralist, context-dependent, interpretive | Universal, behaviour-defined, cross-contextual |
| Application | Curriculum design and conceptual education reform | Recruitment, CPD, leadership assessment, exam standards, career diagnostics |
| Accountability | No shared indicators or ethical enforcement mechanism | Exemplar Statements, Exam Integrity, Calibre Credits™, Code of Practice |
| Transfer to Leadership | Implied but undeveloped | Explicitly leadership-centric across public, private, civic and NGO sectors |
Conceptual Conflict vs Collaborative Competition
The OECD framework encourages “globally informed but locally contextualised” values. While this celebrates diversity, it can inadvertently produce conceptual conflict—where systems speak about values, but do so in conflicting tongues.
For example, the value of “respect” may be interpreted in one system as obedience to authority, and in another as non-hierarchical inclusion. The result is a world where education systems talk about “shared values,” but in practice, undermine the very possibility of collaborative standards.
This is not collaborative competition. It is fragmented signalling.
“The OECD invites discussion. IOWL enables resolution.”
Why the IOWL Approach Works
The IOWL Leadership Stool offers three critical advantages in a global leadership deficit:
- Clarity: Calibre, Capability, and Competency are distinct but interdependent.
- Consistency: Positive Values are fixed, observable, and not open to ideological manipulation.
- Credibility: Tools like the OBOW Exam, Calibre Credits™, and Exemplar Statements provide measurable trustworthiness.
While the OECD calls for education to be more human, the IOWL model shows what humane leadership actually looks like.
From Starting Line to Finish Line
As we say at IOWL:
Capability gets students to the starting line. Calibre gets them across the finish line.
And because leadership isn’t just for the C-suite, we build Calibre from the ground up:
From classroom to boardroom.
From school door to shop floor.
The OECD Learning Compass helps you navigate values—but from a distance. It gestures vaguely: “Values are over there… attitudes are somewhere nearby.”
IOWL, by contrast, says of both attitudes and values: “Here they are.” Defined. Embedded. Non-negotiable.
Because the world doesn’t need another map. It needs leaders with a backbone.
Learn more about Calibre and Integrity →Join Us
If you believe in the power of leadership with calibre and integrity, we invite you to be part of this movement. Together, we can shape the future of leadership—one defined by excellence, accountability, and ethical responsibility.
Join Now FAQs
