Levels of Leadership Agility - ChangeWise, Inc. · organizational agility • Managers create...

Levels of Leadership Agility:

An Integral Leadership Roadmap and

its Applications to Date

Bill Joiner

CHANGEWISE

IntegralLeadership

Review

Russ Volckmann, Editor

For 2007

Voted Integral LeadershipBook of the Year

5 Years Research & WritingWhy?

• Strong correlation between developmental stages & effective leadership was well‐established, but many specifics lacking

• Too much thinking about Integral leadership was deduced from theory, not enough from actual behavior

• Desire to better understand what powers transformation through and between stages

• Need for a clearer understanding of the capacities andpractices needed for 21st century leadership

Copyright © 2011 ChangeWise, Inc. – All Rights Reserved

Sources for the Synthesis

• Ken Wilber – esp. Integral Psychology

• Bob Kegan – orders of consciousness

• Loevinger, Cook‐Greuter – ego development

• Tobert, Rook – “action logics”

• King & Kitchener – reflective judgment

• Other – Perry, Lasker, Fowler


Conformer

Explorer

Enthusiast

Operator

Copyright © 2011 ChangeWise Inc.. – All Rights Reserved

Childhood Stages

Synergist – 1%

Expert – 45%

Achiever – 35%

Copyright © 2011 ChangeWise Inc.. – All Rights Reserved

Adult Stages – Manager %s

Catalyst – 5%

Co-Creator – 4%

Current “institutional ceiling”

Next level for mainstream organizations

Reflective Action:the Heart of Development

Focus

Step back

Gain a broader, deeper perspective

Re‐engage, take action


Each New Stage ismore Integral & more “Agile”

• Agility is the ability to deal effectively with novelty and uncertainly (increased by rapid change) and to effectively manage interdependencies (e.g., collaborate with others)

• As we develop stage‐by‐stage, we become more integral. In doing so, we develop the mental & emotional capacities needed to act in more agile ways

• That is, Agility = Integral in action. We become more integral and more agile through reflective action

• Stages are not a monolithic. They are composed of eight dynamic, inter‐related mental & emotional capacities


The Leadership Agility Compass


The Leadership Agility Compass


Level of Awareness and Intent

Levels of Awareness & IntentAwareness Intent

Expert

Achiever

Catalyst

Modest reflective capacity

To improve and accomplish things

Robust reflective capacity

Ability to “reflect in the moment”

To achieve desired outcomes for valued institutions

To create satisfying human contexts that enable sustained achievement of desired outcomes

Co-Creator Slightly more sustained attention to the flow of ongoing experience

To tap into an evolving sense of life purpose & actualize it through deep collaboration with others

Synergist Sustained, expanded present-centered attention to physical presence, thought processes, intuitions and emotions

To engage with life in all its fullness and to be of benefit to others as well as yourself


Three Leadership Arenas Leading Change

Leading Teams

Pivotal Conversations

Synergist Level

Co‐Creator Level

Catalyst Level

Achiever Level

Expert Level


• Key assumptions: Leaders are respected and followed because of their authority and expertise

• Organizational change: Tactical focus on incremental improvements within one’s unit, with minimal stakeholder engagement

• Team leadership: Focuses on one‐on‐one supervision vs. management/leadership of direct reports as a system

• Pivotal conversations: Low tolerance for conflict: Assertive or accommodative – advocates or inquires

Expert Leadership


• Key assumptions: Leaders motivate others by making it challenging and satisfying to contribute to larger objectives

• Organizational change: Strategic outcome focus, making episodic changes to address environmental changes while seeking stakeholder buy‐in

• Team leadership: Treats direct reports as a system that needs to be orchestrated as a team

• Pivotal conversations: Moderate tolerance for conflict: Primarily assertive or accommodative with some ability to compensate using the other style

Achiever Leadership


• Key assumptions: Articulate an inspiring vision and empower & develop others to make it a reality

• Organizational change: Aim through the target: Develop organizational capacity to meet any strategic challenge

• Team leadership: Creates a highly participative, empowered team that leads change together

• Pivotal conversations: Greater tolerance for conflict: Combines advocacy and inquiry as needed in specific situations

Catalyst Leadership


• Key assumptions: Leaders collaborate with other leaders to develop a shared vision each finds deeply purposeful. Leadership is authentically expressed as a service

• Organizational change: Tend to create companies or units committed to sustainability and deep collaboration

• Team leadership: Creates a highly engaged team where each member takes responsibility for the whole

• Pivotal conversations: Assertive and receptive sides are well‐integrated. Able to process negative feedback even when it is highly charged emotionally

Co‐Creator Leadership


• Key assumptions: Experiences leadership as participation in a palpable life purpose that benefits others and serves as a means of self‐transformation

• Organizational change: Through deep empathy with conflicting stakeholder accesses synergistic intuitions that transform intractable conflicts for mutual benefit

• Team leadership: Fluid, situationally appropriate style that can shape or amplify energy for mutual benefit

• Pivotal conversations: Centered within assertive and receptive energies. Being fully present creates subtle connection with others even during challenging conversations

Synergist Leadership


• Levels build on one another

• You retain capacities you develop at previous levels

• Your agility level can vary throughout the day

• “Downshifting” to previous levels can be intentional or unintentional

• Leaders don’t always “act their stage.” Need to distinguish between stage & agility level

The Research Shows that …


• Many of the coaches we train have previous training with Integral, Kegan, Torbert, Cook‐Greuter, etc.

• Not basic coach training. Supplements and integrates the repertories of experienced coaches

• This is a coaching clinic where coaches learn:

Leadership Agility Coaching


How to assess a client’s agility level and underlying capacities (stage)

Questions and areas of exploration that facilitate development to the next stage and agility level

How to help a client shift to a deeper level of awareness and intent

• Assesses level of agility in leading organizational change, leading teams, pivotal conversations

• An “Upper Right Quadrant” tool. Complements “Upper Left” tools (Cook-Greuter and Kegan)

• The only 360 that identifies leader-ship behaviors that have a direct, one-on-one correlation with stages

• So far, over 130 LA360 coaches trained from six continents

• Partner: Cambria Consulting

Leadership Agility 360


LA360: Sample Item


• Participants bring a real change project to work on in the Lab

• They learn the relevant agility levels experientially, self‐assess, and set an aspiration

• Through guided reflection and peer coaching, participants move through the Leadership Agility Compass

• Throughout, they work on developing more agile capacities and practices

• They return with new plans, new behavior and supports for follow‐through

Agile Change‐Leader Lab


• Pivotal Conversations Learning Lab

• Leadership Agility coaching programs

• Development of agile teams

• Creative strategic thinking, rapid process redesign, and organizational change consulting

• Raising the agility level of the leadership culture

Other Leadership Agility Applications


• An invisible system of shared assumptions, norms & practices that shape and reward leadership behavior

• Conveyed implicitly through role‐modeling, stories, images, rewards & recognition, etc.

• Everyone shapes the leadership culture in some way

What is Leadership Culture?


• Managers operate within silos with little emphasis on cross‐functional teamwork

• Organizational improvements are mainly tactical & incremental

• Sub‐ordinates managed primarily one‐on‐one. Micro‐management, fire‐fighting

• Little time available for managers to approach their roles strategically

Expert Leadership Culture


• Managers articulate strategic objectives & create a customer‐focused culture

• Managers initiate changes within & across units and seek buy‐in to change

• Managers orchestrate teamwork in their own teams and across units

• Managers engage subordinates in group discussion of key issues

Achiever Leadership Culture


• Managers articulate a vision of long‐term organizational agility

• Managers create highly participative, candid, empowered teams & leadership culture

• Leaders are proactive in seeking feedback and experimenting with new behavior

• Senior leadership teams become living laboratories of culture change

Catalyst Leadership Culture


Most Common Leadership Culture

• A few Catalyst leaders here and there

• Strong Achiever culture at the top levels

• Strong Expert culture at the middle levels

• High‐potential and executive leadership development programs focus mainly at Achiever level


The Next Step for Mainstream Organizations• Strong Catalyst culture at the top levels

• Strong Achiever culture at the middle levels

• High‐potential and executive LD programs would have greater focus on Catalyst level


Questions & Comments

www.changewise.biz

Bill Joiner’s Bio• Doctorate from Harvard

• 30+ years Organization Development consulting and leadership education & coaching

• President of ChangeWise


• Clients: Aetna, Bell Canada, Corning, Digitas, EMC, IBM, Harvard Business School, McKinsey, MIT, PepsiCo, Royal Canadian Mint, State Street, Sunoco, T. Rowe Price, Travelers & various federal agencies

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