I posted previously about The Seven Transformations of Leadership article by David Rooke and Bill Torbert.

My colleague Mary Stacey, along with Torbert, is running “Action Inquiry: Transformational Leadership in the Midst of Action” this week at the Shambhala Authentic Leadership in Action Institute.

Thinking of that, I reread the Rooke and Torbert article recently, and the characteristics shared by the Alchemist leaders (the Nelson Mandela level of leadership) jumped out at me:

On a daily basis, all were engaged in multiple organizations and found time to deal with issues raised by each. However, they were not in a constant rush — nor did they devote hours on end to a single activity. Alchemists are typically charismatic and extremely aware individuals who live by high moral standards. They focus intensely on the truth. Perhaps most important, they’re able to catch unique moments in the history of their organizations, creating symbols and metaphors that speak to people’s hearts and minds.

I’m many leadership levels away from an Alchemist, but appreciate these characteristics as a way to notice and create the situations that will further my leadership growth, and to notice Alchemists in action so that I can learn from them. Maybe even to see a little bit of alchemy in myself.

If you saw me anytime in December, I was probably dropping the Harvard Business Review article Seven Transformations of Leadership into my conversation. I read it and couldn’t stop thinking about it, wondering what my own leadership “action logic” was, and where I saw leaders with different action logics.

Authors David Rooke and William R. Torbert say that leaders are made, not born; that there are seven leadership “action logics”; and that with intention, coaching, and practice, one can develop one’s leadership skills along the action logic continuum.

Starting at the bottom and working up to the top leadership style, they list:

• The Opportunist
• The Diplomat
• The Expert
• The Achiever
• The Individualist
• The Strategist
• The Alchemist

While the Opportunist, at the bottom of the scale, “wins any way possible” and is self-oriented, the Alchemist – the pinnacle of the leadership scale – “generates social transformations”.

The good news? Rooke and Torbert believe that anyone can move up the scale and progressively develop their leadership abilities, one step at a time.

What type of leader are you now? What type of leader do you aspire to be? What is your next leadership step?

(Thanks to Sandy McMullen and Mary Stacey at Context Consulting for passing along the article.)