Seven Transformations of Leadership: Why Most Leaders Get Stuck at One Level

A Fascinating Discovery About How Leaders Think

 

I recently came across a remarkable 25-year research study by David Rooke and William Torbert that widened my understanding of how I think about leadership development. Working with thousands of executives across companies like Deutsche Bank, Hewlett-Packard, and Volvo, they discovered something profound: what distinguishes effective leaders isn't their management philosophy, personality, or style—it's their internal "action logic."

 

Here's the uncomfortable truth: 55% of leaders operate at levels associated with below-average performance. But the encouraging news? Leaders can transform their action logic—if they're willing to do the work.

 

Let me walk you through the seven action logics they identified, with real examples that bring each one to life.

"Win at Any Cost"

 

Larry Ellison, now CEO of Oracle, provides a brutally honest example of Opportunist leadership. He described his early management approach as "management by ridicule," admitting: "You've got to be good at intellectual intimidation and rhetorical bullying. I'd excuse my behavior by telling myself I was just having 'an open and honest debate.' The fact is, I just didn't know any better."

 

Characteristics:

• Views people as objects or competitors to be exploited
• Manipulative, ego-centric behavior
• Rejects feedback, externalizes blame
• "Might makes right" worldview

From Melanie Klein's perspective, I believe that Opportunists operate in what she termed the "paranoid-schizoid position"—splitting the world into all-good or all-bad, with limited capacity for integration or ambiguity. They defend against anxiety through domination and control.

 

Interestingly, the research found that few Opportunists remain managers long unless they transform (as Ellison eventually did). Their constant firefighting creates exciting but unsustainable environments—think Enron before the fall.

"Avoid Conflict at All Costs"

 

The researchers share a compelling case: When a CEO died suddenly, his deputy—a Diplomat—became interim leader. The board, split on selecting a permanent successor, asked him to continue.

 

He excelled at ceremonial functions and public speaking. But when several underperforming senior managers resisted his predecessor's change program, he simply... avoided them. He scheduled business trips during team meetings. Eventually, the frustrated team resigned en masse.

 

Characteristics:

• Obsessed with pleasing higher-status colleagues
• Cannot give critical feedback
• Views conflict as existential threat
• Overly polite to the point of organizational damage

 

Through a Psychodynamic Lens: The Tavistock Institute describes this as "basic assumption dependency"—an unconscious group mentality where members avoid personal responsibility for difficult decisions. Diplomats unconsciously collude with organizational defenses against anxiety, perpetuating dysfunctional patterns rather than confronting them.

 

Key Finding: In a study of 497 managers, 80% of Diplomats worked at junior levels, while 80% of Strategists held senior positions—suggesting developmental growth strongly correlates with career advancement.

"My Way or the Highway"

 

This is the largest category—38% of all professionals in the study. Scott McNealy, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, exemplified this logic when he declared: "I don't do feelings; I'll leave that to Barry Manilow."

After repeatedly ignoring his team's pleas to scale back during the 2001-2002 dot-com crash, nearly a dozen senior executives left the company.

 

Characteristics:

• Perfects knowledge as a control mechanism
• Dismisses collaboration as time-wasting
• Treats "less expert" opinions with contempt
• Watertight thinking, absolute certainty

Through a Psychodynamic Lens: Experts exhibit rigid boundary management—creating impermeable psychological boundaries to protect their expertise. This defensive structure, while protecting against the anxiety of "not knowing," severely limits organizational learning. In Bion's terms, they operate in "fight" mode against ideas that threaten their expert status.

The Paradox: At Hewlett-Packard, Expert research engineers constantly clashed with Achiever lab managers. One manager slammed her coffee cup down: "I know we can get 18 features into this, but customers want delivery this century, and the main eight features will do." An engineer snorted, "Philistine!" This tension, while difficult, actually fuels innovation at HP.

"Results Through Teams"

 

Finally, we arrive at genuinely effective leadership. A fascinating study of ophthalmologists in private practice revealed that those profiling as Achievers had:

 

• Lower staff turnover
• Greater delegation of responsibility
• Practices earning at least double the gross annual revenues of Expert-run practices

 

Characteristics:

• Open to feedback and multiple perspectives
• Understands conflicts stem from different interpretations
• Balances short and long-term objectives
• Creates positive team environments

Through a Psychodynamic Lens: Achievers have developed what the Tavistock model calls "work group mentality"—the capacity to stay focused on primary tasks despite emotional undercurrents. They've moved beyond Klein's paranoid-schizoid position into the "depressive position," where they can hold ambiguity and recognize that people are neither all-good nor all-bad.

 

The Limitation: While Achievers excel at implementing strategies, they rarely question the system itself. They work brilliantly in the system but not on it. This is why only 30% of managers reach this level, but organizational transformation requires going further.

"All Rules Are Constructs"

 

The researchers share the story of Sharon, a star performer who established an IT shared services center in Czech Republic—ahead of schedule and under budget. She formed a highly cohesive team with great political savvy on her projects.

 

The problem? Her unconventional methods irritated the broader organization. She ignored processes she deemed irrelevant, putting people's "noses out of joint." The CEO was repeatedly called in to resolve problems she created. Her Achiever CEO faced a dilemma: keep the brilliant troublemaker or let her go? He kept her, ambivalently. Eventually, Sharon left to start her own offshoring consultancy—where her Individualist strengths became assets rather than liabilities.

 

Characteristics:

• Recognizes all action logics as constructed perspectives
• Sees conflicts between principles and actions
• Ignores "irrelevant" rules
• Communicates effectively across different action logics

Through a Psychodynamic Lens: Individualists have developed what Robert Kegan calls "self-authoring" consciousness—they're no longer subject to organizational norms but can examine them from outside. This creates what Donald Winnicott called "creative living," but it also generates friction with those still embedded in conventional frameworks. The organization couldn't contain Sharon's creativity; neither could she fully contain herself within organizational boundaries.

"Transformation Through Understanding"

Joan Bavaria exemplifies Strategist leadership. In 1985, she created one of the first socially responsible investment funds, founding Trillium Asset Management. By 2001, the industry managed over $3 trillion in assets.

 

But she didn't stop there. She co-wrote the CERES Environmental Principles, which dozens of major companies signed. Then, working with the United Nations, she created the Global Reporting Initiative—establishing financial, social, and environmental accountability standards worldwide.

 

Characteristics:

• Views organizational constraints as transformable
• Creates shared visions across different action logics
• Comfortable with conflict and resistance
• Operates across personal, organizational, and societal levels simultaneously

The Research Finding That Stunned Me: They studied ten CEOs across six industries, all attempting organizational transformation with consultant support:

 

5 CEOs profiled as Strategists → ALL 5 successfully transformed their organizations
5 CEOs at other action logics → Only 2 of 5 succeeded (despite expert consultants!)

"Historic Transformation"

Only 1% of leaders reach this level. The researchers found six willing to participate in close study, and while the sample is small, the pattern is striking.

Nelson Mandela exemplifies Alchemist leadership. In 1995, he attended the Rugby World Cup wearing the Springboks jersey—a symbol of white supremacy, hated by Black South Africans—while simultaneously giving the ANC clenched fist salute.

As ANC activist Tokyo Sexwale said: "Only Mandela could wear an enemy jersey. Only Mandela would go down there and be associated with the Springboks… All the years in the underground, in the trenches, denial, self-denial, away from home, prison, it was worth it. That's all we wanted to see."

 

Characteristics:

• Simultaneously manages multiple situations at multiple levels
• Neither rushed nor slow-moving
• Catches unique historical moments
• Creates symbols speaking to hearts and minds
• Lives by high moral standards, intensely truth-focused

Through a Psychodynamic Lens: Alchemists demonstrate what Bion called "negative capability"—the capacity to remain present with uncertainty, paradox, and conflicting emotional realities without premature resolution. They practice profound "containment"—holding and metabolizing collective anxiety to enable transformation. Mandela held the unbearable tension between Black and white South African identities, creating space for a new national identity to emerge.

 

Another corporate example: A UK financial services CEO turned up for work in a tracksuit instead of pinstripes, saying nothing about it for weeks. People wondered if this was a new dress code. Later, he spoke publicly about the need for unconventional thinking, greater agility, and speed—the tracksuit became a powerful symbol that bypassed rational resistance.

Here's the most encouraging finding: Yes, leaders can transform from one action logic to another.

 

Jenny's Journey: Three Levels in Four Years

 

The researchers share Jenny's remarkable story. Initially an Expert in a PR department, she resigned to "sort out what I really want to do." Six months later, she joined a different company in a similar role. Two years after that, she still profiled as an Expert.

 

The turning point? She joined a peer leadership group (founded by an Alchemist, populated by Strategists). Through their feedback, she learned that her "usefully objective" critical stance isolated her and generated distrust.

She started small experiments: asking questions rather than criticizing, focusing on her contribution rather than others' faults. She found spiritual community in Quaker meetings for ongoing reflection.

 

Two years later, she left to start her own company, profiling as a Strategist—having moved through three action logics (Expert → Achiever → Individualist → Strategist) in under four years. This was one of only two such cases in 25 years of research.

 

What Triggers Transformation?

Internal Signs:

• Loss of faith in the system
• Boredom, irritability, burnout
• Existential questions
• Attraction to people with more complex action logics

External Catalysts:

• Promotion: An HP engineer (Expert) became lab manager → profiled as Achiever within a year
• Practice Changes: Senior managers rotated meeting leadership, creating openness and feedback → several Achievers became Individualists
• Structured Interventions: Oil/gas company profiled future leaders, redefined "leadership talent" to include Individualist/Strategist capabilities

Teams also have dominant action logics, which the researchers found can predict organizational performance:

 

Expert Teams: Vice presidents see themselves as chiefs; meetings are reporting formalities. No collaborative problem-solving.

Achiever Teams: Love clear goals and deadlines. Impatient with reflection ("endless philosophizing!"). Respond with hostile humor to creative exercises. Most common in successful corporations.

Individualist Teams: Excessively reflective. May struggle with rapid decision-making because every voice feels crucial. Common in creative and nonprofit sectors.

Strategist Teams: See challenges as growth opportunities. Practice mutual inquiry. Balance action and reflection.

 

A Real Transformation: Financial Services Team

A financial services senior team, operating as Achievers, emerged from two years of cost-cutting. To adapt to a changing market, they needed to become visionary and innovative.

 

The Process (2+ years):

• Improved how the team discussed issues
• Individual coaching, including for the CEO
• Replaced two executives unwilling to experiment with new approaches

Results:

• Team evolved to Individualist with emerging Strategist capabilities
• CEO transformed from Achiever/Individualist to Strategist
• Employee engagement surveys showed increases across the company
• Outsiders saw them as ahead of the curve
• Third-year results: significantly ahead of industry competitors

 

The Psychodynamic Thread

What strikes me most about this research is how it validates psychodynamic thinking about leadership. Each action logic represents not just cognitive complexity but also:

• Different defenses against anxiety (Opportunist uses domination, Diplomat uses compliance, Expert uses perfectionism)
• Different capacities for containment (holding complexity and emotional reality without collapsing or acting out)
• Different relationships to authority (from submission to collaboration to transcendence)
• Different boundary management (from rigid to permeable to fluid)

The transformation from one logic to another isn't just skill development—it's psychological development. It requires mourning old identities, tolerating the anxiety of not-knowing, and integrating previously split-off parts of self and organization.

This research challenges our obsession with leadership "competencies" and "best practices." It suggests that effective leadership isn't about what you do—it's about how you make sense of what you're doing.

 

The most sobering insight? Only 15% of managers (Individualists, Strategists, Alchemists) show consistent capacity to innovate and transform organizations. Most leaders—55%—operate at levels that actually constrain organizational performance.

 

But transformation is possible. Jenny's story, the HP engineer's promotion, Bavaria's industry creation—these show that leaders can evolve. The question isn't whether you can transform. It's whether you're willing to examine your own action logic and do the uncomfortable work of development.

 

Where do you see yourself in these seven logics? And more importantly—where do you want to go?

 

This article is based on "Seven Transformations of Leadership" by David Rooke and William R. Torbert (Harvard Business Review, 2005), informed by 25 years of research using the Leadership Development Profile with thousands of executives across hundreds of organizations