In my work as a leadership coach I work with senior executives to help them make the journey to fulfil their potential as leaders. There are a number of maps, which are useful in helping someone understand where they are on the journey and what they can expect the next stage of their journey will involve. One such map is Hall's Values Map (see newsletter 4), another is Rooke and Torbert's 7 Transformations of Leadership (left).

Rooke and Torbert found that leadership effectiveness was least at the Opportunist level and most at the Alchemist level (Numbers on the figure show the % at each stage of development.)

The Opportunist asks "How can I survive?" They will tend to focus on personal wins and see the world and others as opportunities to be exploited.

The Diplomat asks "Do I belong?" They can therefore be tactful, loyal, respectful, but may also find it difficult to deal with conflict, give or receive criticism or take unpopular decisions.

The Expert asks "Who am I?" They lead through controlling the world around them through the quality of their knowledge, intellect and expert ability.

The Achiever asks "Am I successful?" They seek to manage people efficiently and effectively to achieve work goals.

The Individualist asks "Who am I really?" They have a democratic, facilitative, team-oriented, empathetic and people-focused style of leadership.

The Strategist asks: "What can we contribute together to make a difference?" They are clear about their gifts and are seeking to discover how to integrate them with the needs of our organisation and of society

The Alchemist asks: "What does the planet need?" They and their organisation lead the way in creating a sustainable future for humanity and the planet.

For more information see Rooke and Torbert's article in the April 2005 Harvard Business Review (pp 67-76) or my article or the book Personal and Organisational Transformations: Through Action Inquiry.