SEVEN TRANSFORMATIONS OF LEADERSHIP

David Rooke and William R. Torbert, Harvard Business Review April 2005

ACTION LOGIC: how a leader interprets their own and other peoples behavior and how they maintain power or protect against threats

Type Opportunist

Characteristics Wins any way possible. Self-oriented; manipulative; might makes right Avoids conflict Wants to belong; obeys group norms; doesnt rock the boat Rules by logic and expertise Uses hard data to gain consensus Meets strategic goals

Strengths Good in emergencies and pursing sales Supportive glue on teams

Weaknesses Few people want to follow them for the long term Cant provide painful feedback or make the hard decisions needed to improve performance Lacks emotional intelligence; lacks respect for those with less expertise Inhibits thinking outside the box

Diplomat

Expert

Good individual contributor

Achiever

Individualist

Promotes teamwork; juggles managerial duties and responds to market demands to achieve goals Operates in unconventional ways Ignores the rules he/she regards as irrelevant Generates organizational and personal change Highly collaborative; weaves visions with pragmatic, timely initiatives; challenges existing assumptions Generates social transformations Reinvents organizations in historically significant ways

Well suited to managerial work

Effective in venture and consulting roles

Irritates colleagues and bosses by ignoring key organizational processes and people

Generates transformations None over the short and long term

Strategist

Leads society-wide change

None

Alchemist

Opportunist Only 5% of leaders Approach is determined by their perception of control Consider bad behavior appropriate- eye for an eye world Dont remain managers very long DiplomatMore focused on gaining control of own behavior than of external events or others Good in a support role or on a team Usually junior management Too polite for top leadership Expert Largest category of leaders (38%) Pursue continuous improvement, efficiency and perfection Dont recognize skills of subordinates Collaboration is a waste of time

Achiever More integrated understanding of the world Open to feedback Lower job turnover Clash with experts Individualist Aware of a conflict between principles and actions Conflict becomes source of tension but also creativity and a desire for further development Not concerned about breaking rules that seem irrelevant Upper managers come in to fix or complete the communication Strategist Any constraint can be discussed and transformed Can work with colleagues but can also talk across the organization Better at handling conflict & peoples resistance to change Work on three levels of social interplay: personal relationships, organizational relations, national/international developments Believes in promoting principles beyond the interests of self or company Alchemist Fewest Charismatic and extremely aware Live by high moral standards Focus on the truth Is the change in the world he/she wishes to see