Reorienting Your Leadership Style

Understanding your action logic

Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam.

Many tend to believe that one's leadership style is innate, a product of their unique personality, values, and experiences. I don't entirely agree with this perspective. While it is true that a person's leadership style is shaped by their individuality and life experiences, it can also be intentionally designed.

I firmly believe that leaders have the capacity to evolve their style by working on their action logic¹. I’m borrowing this term from leadership experts Rooke and Torbert, who suggest that leaders go through various developmental stages or transformations over time. These stages represent different ways of thinking, leading, and relating to others. An action logic dictates how leaders interpret their own actions and the world around them. It can be thought of as a leader’s dominant way of thinking, influencing how they perceive their surroundings and react to it. By gaining insight into your action logic, you can purposefully redesign it, ultimately becoming a better version of the leader you are today.

“Leaders are made, not born, and how they develop is critical for organizational change.” David Rooke & William R. Torbert

In my coaching work with design leaders, this is typically my starting point. I initiate most coaching journeys with leaders by addressing these three questions:

1. What is your current action logic?

2. What type of leader do you aspire to be?

3. What do you need to do to get there?

Simple, right? Not quite. Awareness of the status quo is fundamental for any transformational work, whether at the individual, team, or organisational level. Unfortunately, it's striking to witness how many leaders are oblivious to their leadership style and the impact they have on people and the environment around them. Even fewer are actively working on transforming their action logic.

Why is this important? Because being in a leadership position is a privilege, and because leadership is not about you. Let me explain.

Being in a leadership position is a privilege. It isn't granted to everyone, and it often results from more than just your talent, skills, and hard work. It frequently stems from a series of other privileges that come as a package with you as an individual. Having access to education or having someone who believed in you, for instance, can make a significant difference compared to those who didn't have such opportunities. Gender is another example of innate privilege. In a world where 90% of men and 87% of women hold internal biases against women² (yes, you have read that right), being a man provides an objective competitive advantage in business. (Mind you, those percentages have remained the same for over a decade; we haven't made any progress in recent years in that respect). I could offer many other examples (shall we talk about race and ethnicity?), but I think you understand the point by now.

So being a leader is a privilege. You have it; that's a fact. However, that doesn't necessarily define you as a person. What you choose to do with that privilege defines you as a person. Privilege is not the problem; entitlement is the problem. You can choose to wear leadership as an entitlement, or recognise it as a privilege and do something positive and constructive with that privilege. As my brand new professional hero, Arlan Hamilton, states:

“Privilege is a hand-me-down heirloom, rooted in the circumstances you are born into; entitlement is something you procure and choose to wear. There is nothing wrong with being privileged, as long as you use your privilege to help others who lack it³.” Arlan Hamilton

The second reason why this is important is because leadership is not about you. This leads us directly to the definition of leadership I prefer to use, by Professor Frances Frei and Anne Morriss. If you've been reading my work regularly, you've probably come across this before.

“Leadership is making others better as a result of your presence - and making sure that impact continues into your absence. It is not about you⁴.” Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

Leadership has nothing to do with you. This is a difficult concept for most people to digest, especially if you have a traditional business background, with an MBA and whatnot. You have probably been taught about the hero-like idea of a leader who is a visionary human inspiring the masses towards a novel and bright future. Instead, what I'm arguing here, and what many other scholars argue, is that to be a good leader, you have to park your ego and start caring first and foremost about others. That's your job as a leader. Your legacy is those amazing people you have lifted to achieve the impossible.

By now, we have established that leadership is a privilege and that it is not about you. Therefore, understanding your action logic as a leader is not only desirable but necessary to leverage that privilege by uplifting others and improving your surroundings.

What is your current action logic?

Have I convinced you that awareness is everything? Yes? Great! Now, let's discuss how to begin recognising your current action logic as a foundation for reorienting your leadership style.

Rooke and Torbert, in their article 'Seven Transformations of Leadership,' present seven types of action logic. I will not share those here because I don't want you to fall into the trap of checking if you are a strawberry or a banana, as you would do when filling a personality test. Instead, I believe it is more insightful and useful to guide you through an open and contextual exploration of your action logic.

Two simple and effective ways to reflect on your current action logic are:

1. Self-reflection: Whenever you make a key decision or take a significant action, write down what you expect will happen. After some time, compare the actual results with your expectations. You will likely find yourself very surprised by what you discover. This simple method will reveal your biases, the strength of your logic, your attitude towards others, and the way you tend to react to your surroundings. I learned this method from Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker⁵ and it has never failed to serve me well.

2. Seek Feedback: Request feedback from those around you, including peers, superiors, the team you manage, clients, and suppliers. Include especially those people with whom you have had frictions. This is gonna be challenging, people usually are terrible at giving and receiving feedback. However, it's essential to do this regularly and in a timely manner. Don't wait for your performance review to gather feedback. Incorporate it into your routine. Ask for feedback immediately after significant exchanges or interactions, while the impression of you is still vivid in the other person's mind. If you don't like what the other person has to say, accept it and be grateful for their honesty. Reflect on the source of that feedback and keep a record of the feedback you receive over time.

By following these two simple exercises, you should be able, with a fair degree of confidence, to identify your current action logic. Some of the questions you should be able to answer at this point:

• When am I the most authentic?

• Do I hold any prejudice?

• Am I being of service to others?

• Am I able to empathise with others?

• Is my logic sound?

• Do I trust others?

• Do I collaborate with others?

• How do I manage conflict?

Chances are you won't be thrilled with what you discover, and that's okay. It's actually a good thing because now you have the opportunity to make a change. You can work on your action logic and become a much-improved version of the professional you are today. Knowing where you stand today is the beginning of your journey.

I will continue exploring this topic in the next couple of months. In the meantime, as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please reply in the comments, subscribe to this blog if you haven't already, and follow me on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

I’d love to hear from you.

1. Rooke, D., & Torbert, W. R. (2005). Seven Transformations of Leadership. Harvard Business Review.

2. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2023. 2023 Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI): Breaking down gender biases: Shifting social norms towards gender equality. New York.

3. Hamilton, A. (2020). It's About Damn Time. Currency, New York.

4. Frei, F., & Morriss, A. (2020). Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. Harvard Business Review Press.

5. Drucker, P. F. (1999) Managing Oneself. Harvard Business Review.