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SEPTEMBER 2010
Hi Folks; The end of summer is approaching and we suddenly have unseasonably cooler weather, after a hot, scorching summer. It has been reported steadily that though the economy in general seems stalled, there is a boat-load of cash being accumulated by many corporations. Many are preparing to make acquisition bids like the recent bidding war between Dell and HP for 3Par. As coaches and consultants, the opportunity for work will be happening quickly. I anticipate executive integration and acquisition integration will be a thriving business again. For executives, successful acquisition integration must include cultural integration. In this issue, we continue to look at the developmental stages of leaders utilizing the Leadership Development Profile1 created by Suzanne Cooke-Greuter2 and Bill Torbert3. In my work, I use a variety of assessment tools, including development assessments, to get a sense of what is the primary frame of perception driving the executive. Often, when given a developmental view, it enables the client to sense a new way of being that might be possible. Using the work of Harthill Consulting, the base for the work of Bill Torbert, we will explore adult development and the creation of action logics that depict each stage of development. In the prior issue, we explored the "individualist and strategists" action logics. In this issue, we will explore the alchemist action logic and include a sample report. I encourage the readers to consider client situations and/or self reflect on how you might use a particular action logic as your meaning making perceptual window to life.4 If you enjoyed the newsletter, please forward it to someone that would benefit from it. If not, thanks for reading it and kindly click on the unsubscribe link below. Respectfully, Herb StevensonCEO/President Refresher of the Nine Action Logics and their DynamicsThe Leadership Development Framework describes nine sequential changes in how a person interprets events, or makes meaning. Research and our extensive experience confirms that most people develop the Action Logics in the order presented. Once an Action Logic has been assimilated it remains a part of the person's meaning making capability, even as later and more integrated logics are adopted (just as when a child learns to run it doesn't cease to be able to walk). The Leadership Development Framework provides a way of understanding how a leader or manager is likely to interpret situations and thus how they may act. Although people draw their understanding from multiple Action Logics, we can usually describe one, and sometimes two which are dominant. People may be in transition from one Action Logic to another or rooted firmly in one central logic. In stressful times adults often revert to behavior associated with earlier Action Logics because of unconscious patterns. People may choose to act from earlier Action Logics if the situation demands it (in a robbery Diplomat behavior is a lifesaver). In contrast, behaviors associated with Action Logics later than a person's current logic cannot be consistently summoned forth. The Leadership Development Framework offers a chance to reach deep personal understanding and the option to identify unique developmental challenges. The Leadership Development Framework does not provide a once-and-for-all label which describes a person fully. It does not predict how people will behave in particular situations. It does not predict whether or when a person will transform to another Action Logic in the future. It is important to understand that this framework is not a guide to increased happiness (or even wealth). Each Action Logic has its own merits and difficulties, beauties and shadows. There is no evidence that later stages bring more joy or greater satisfaction from life, only that the nature of what delights and what causes suffering changes. However the framework does give some very reliable pointers as to the qualities and types of leadership capability an individual may have.
Detailed descriptions of the key Action Logics of the Leadership Development FrameworkThe Alchemist Action LogicLess than 2% of people in a mixed sample of 4510 people profile at the Alchemist Action Logic. The next post-conventional Action Logic is labeled Alchemist. In organizations, as well as in society at large, people who score at this level are very rare. In one sample of nearly 500 managers in the USA only three were at the Alchemist stage. It is possible that you do not personally know someone whose Action Logic can be described as Alchemist--although there may be elements or glimpses of Alchemist behaviors in yourself or people who you know and admire. We have not found a title for this stage that does justice to its quality and complexity. Other terms considered for this stage, such as haman, Jester, Crone, Witch and Magician, also have connotations that are useful and misleading. Alchemists are individuals who embody a deep wisdom coupled with the humility, ordinariness and the lightness of a jester. They are likely to personify seemingly opposite attributes such as complexity and simplicity, joyfulness and sadness, intensity and tranquillity. In other words, they live in paradox, and at times appear to transcend it in a 'marriage of opposites'. At the Alchemist stage, people are committed to transforming themselves and others as well as changing the society and institutions in which they participate. They are able to hold many perspectives at once, seeing their multiple, interconnecting pros and cons. They are less likely than Strategists to initiate well-meaning interventions based on principled, but personal theories of what is good for the world. In pursuit of potential transformation, Alchemists seek timely action on a moment-to-moment basis founded upon exquisite awareness of what is happening and who the potential stake holders are in the widest sense. They base decisions on all available sources, from dreams to intuition to data and experience. Alchemists seemingly have a knack for doing the right things (often unexpected or unorthodox) at the right time. They handle many things at once as they often hold more than one significant post in organizations and society, yet have adequate time available. The following is a description of a vice-president of Motorola, who measured at the Alchemist stage by a consultant who worked with him: ". . . he is visionary yet practical, effervescent yet confronting, playful yet at work by 6.00 a.m. most mornings. . . (he) generates spontaneity, laughter, long-term focus and attention to execution and follow through (from his team)." Alchemists are capable of friendly contact with adversaries. They may create more enlightened social rules as Gandhi did for non-violent protest and in overturning the caste principles within his own household. Like many charismatic leaders at this stage, he was abhorred by more conventional people for his actions and beliefs. Unlike Achievers in organizations, Alchemists may not be the persons who dedicate themselves to immediate goals and outcomes if the moment or long-term considerations require a different approach. The Alchemist's ability to simultaneously attend to multiple practical, ethical, ecological, immediate and long-term concerns, as well as to emotional, rational and spiritual realities, may disturb others or arouse suspicion in them. Historically, Alchemists have been the kind of social catalysts and visionaries who have been rejected, locked up, assassinated or simply ignored as being mad or out of touch with common sense "reality". High profile examples include Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Anwar Sadat and Nelson Mandela. What allows the move from the Strategist to Alchemist stage is as yet not well known. Near-death experiences (both physical and psychological) have been reported as key turning points. Alchemists have also mentioned outstanding mentors, an ongoing spiritual quest or discipline as a crucial dimension of development into this stage. Characteristics of managers with Alchemist Action LogicWe cannot describe Alchemists as 'typically' doing anything. The sample is small and by definition Alchemists are highly postconventional. However some of the following might be observed about leaders at this stage. Alchemists:
How Alchemists May Regard the Leadership Development FrameworkAlchemists will likely see both its strengths and its limits! They may find it too categorical, linear and hierarchical. While they may recognize and appreciate its transformational potential, they will not overvalue or overestimate it. Thus they may use the Framework as a powerful support in helping people and organizations to conceive of and foster transformation by making them more aware of natural developmental patterns, whilst holding that it is just another construction. Next IssueIn the Next Issue, we will examine a sample report. FOOTNOTES1 I am indebted to Bill Torbert, David Rooke, Elaine Barker, and Jackie Keeley at Harthill for their gracious permission to reprint the descriptions of their leadership development framework, including the leadership action-logics that depicts the stages of executive development. Information in how to become certified in the LDF can be found on their website. www.harthill.co.uk. 3 See David Rooke and Bill Torbert, Seven Transformation of Leadership, in the Harvard Business Review for an abbreviated description of the action-logics of leader development. 4 See Fisher, Dalmar, Rooke, David, and Torbert, Bill, 2003 Personal and Organisational Transformations through Action Inquiry. Edge/Work Press. Training ProgramsFor those seeking more information on the Tuck Executive Education At Dartmouth Leadership and Strategic Impact Program: www.tuck.darmouth.edu/exec/openprograms/leadershipimpact.html RETREATThe Power of ChoiceDate to be Announced
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