The processes of action inquiry offer many valuable and timely insights for personal and organisation development. For example, the work of David Rooke on 'Transformations of Leadership' shows how someone's world view influences how they give meaning to their own behavior and that of others in different situations. William Torbert created labels to summarise the essence of these different world views as Action Logics.

What is action inquiry ?
Its a process of analysing situations or world views in order to react to them appropriately and pre-empt negative consequences. It is desiged to increae personal integrity, mature relationships, organisation performance and environmental sustainability.

What are action logics ?
Individuals and organisations can progress through development stages which Rooke & Torbert call " action logics". They draw on Development Theory which describes the unfolding of human potential towards a deeper understanding, wisdom and effectiveness in the world. There are parallels in the thinking of Claire Grave's that lies behind Spiral Dynamics

Action Logics provides a way of understanding how people tend to interpret events and how they are likely to act in different situations. Development occurs through the interplay between person (inside-out) and environment (outside-in), not just by one or the other. Growth occurs in a logic sequence of stages or expanding worldviews, paradigms or mental models - all of which are complex meaning-making systems. The preferred logic can be referred to as the 'system in focus' or 'centre of gravity' which takes you into the realms of Activity Theory and Complexity Theory

Think of Action Logics as stages of growth based on the idea that the depth, complexity and scope of what people notice expands throughout their life. The seven logics (originally 9) are explained on the Action Logics page.

What differentiates one manager or leader from another is how they interpret their surroundings and react when his or her power of safety is challenged. To understand your 'action logics' can help you transform your capabilities.

Each stage includes and transcends the previous ones, with the earlier perspectives remaining to influence current thinking, experience and knowledge. Organisations need people in all stages with leaders performing best if they have reached the strategic and alchemist levels. These action logics are used to score the Leadership Development Profile

Intervention Modes
Action Logics can be used initiatives to transform and support personal responsibility and performance through self-awareness. It can support interventions such as executive coaching, mentoring, self-assesment, personal development planning, 360° feedback, action learning sets, accelerated learning workshops and career development.

Return to top