Try out the next action logic in a real, lower-stakes role
Take on a real responsibility that demands the next logic’s moves, with regular reflection alongside it.
Why it works
Each action logic is a way of acting, not just a set of ideas, so it develops through doing things the current logic cannot handle well. In Torbert’s Boston College MBA program, ordinary developmental coursework rarely produced a full shift, while voluntarily taking on a real consulting role with new teams, supported by weekly in-depth reflection, very often did. The ingredients he names are practical demands from real clients, depth mutual inquiry, and voluntary commitment to one’s own development.
How to do it
- Name one move the next action logic makes that yours rarely does — for an Expert, delegating to an agreed goal; for an Achiever, openly questioning the goal itself.
- Find a real but contained setting to practice it: a volunteer committee, a side project, mentoring a new team.
- Commit to it voluntarily and for months, not a single meeting.
- Meet weekly with one or two peers to examine what you did, what you assumed, and what you avoided.
Evidence
Torbert and Livne-Tarandach (2009) report that of 177 Boston College MBA students who went through the program’s developmental activities in their first 11 months, 3 transformed a full action logic by the end of 22 months, while 15 of 16 who also volunteered for and won an unpaid consulting role with new teams, with weekly in-depth processing, did. (observational)
The 16 chose and competed for the role, so motivation and selection may explain much of the difference; the program was run by the researchers. It is a striking field result, not a controlled trial.
Sources
- Torbert, W. R., & Livne-Tarandach, R. (2009). Reliability and Validity Tests of the Harthill Leadership Development Profile in the Context of Developmental Action Inquiry Theory, Practice and Method. Integral Review, 5(2), 133–151.
- Torbert, B., & Associates (2004). Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Common mistake
Rehearsing the next logic’s vocabulary instead of its actions. Talking about systems and mutual inquiry in a workshop is not the same as running a group where you actually have to share control.
Practice this with IX Coach
More practices for Torbert’s Seven Action Logics of Leadership
- Spot your default action logic under pressure
Notice how you reliably respond when your authority or safety at work is challenged, and compare it with the seven descriptions.
- Get a scored profile instead of self-typing
If you want an estimate of your action logic, take a sentence-completion profile scored by trained raters — and write down your own guess first.
- Review a decision through three loops of feedback
After a decision plays out, ask in turn whether the action was right, whether the strategy was right, and what your attention was doing.
- Ask colleagues for feedback on your frame, not just your results
Invite people you work with to tell you how you tend to see situations, not only how well you performed.
- Use all four parts of speech in hard conversations
In a difficult conversation, check that you are framing, advocating, illustrating and inquiring — not just advocating.
- Match an organizational change to the action logics leading it
Before leading a deep organizational change, look honestly at whether the people leading it can question their own frame — and bring in someone who can.
- Name each action logic’s strength before its limit
When you see a colleague’s action logic, start with what it does well, so the map informs collaboration instead of ranking people.
Related concepts
- Kegan’s Subject-Object Theory, Made Practical
Moving from being run by your assumptions to being able to examine them
- Terri O’Fallon’s STAGES Model, Made Practical
Twelve stages built from three repeating questions, and how to work with the one you are in
- Adaptive Leadership, Made Practical
Distinguishing adaptive challenges from technical problems — and leading accordingly
- Spiral Dynamics, Made Practical
Understanding how value systems develop and how to navigate across them
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