“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
- Eric Hoffer

In addition to this month's resources brought to you by SoLD and Gallup, the Seven Transformations of Leadership HBR article is timely as we prepare for what one client recently called "Academic Year 2021-2022 or, as we refer to it around here, COVID 2.0." While we had hoped for a more optimistic start to this academic year back in May/June, the inherent complexity and uncertainty of the mutating virus takes us ever deeper into the developmental edge of school and district leadership.

In the article, Rooke and Torbert explore how a leader's "action logic" differentiates the impact of their leadership, i.e. "...how they interpret their surroundings and react when their power or safety is challenged". Every day I am seeing school leaders' power be challenged - and the Delta variant is challenging everyone's safety, with no immediate end in sight. The article discusses seven dominant ways of thinking (Opportunist, Diplomat, Expert, Achiever, Individualist, Strategist, or Alchemist) and outlines the developmental pathways to move beyond a dominant way of thinking.

As I read the article, it struck me that the majority of school cultures reflect some combination of Diplomat/Expert/Achiever - and that our VUCA reality is inviting a shift to Strategist/Alchemist: "What sets (Strategists) apart is their focus on organizational constraints and perceptions, which they treat as discussable and transformable." Rooke and Torbert's research reveals how leaders can transform themselves from one action logic to another with a brief case study for each. I encourage you to identify your own action logic shift and its associated developmental path. What is your developmental edge right now and how might you marshal the support needed to meet it?