In this third article on developing system leaders, psychologist and leadership development coach Mike Mullins explains why the seven stages of leadership matter.
The way leaders perceive, interpret, and respond to their environments – particularly under threat or pressure – is crucial. In an increasingly complex world, healthcare leaders must transcend ‘system blindness’ and act to change the context. This kind of leadership is not about personality, philosophy, or style. It’s about action logic.
Action logic describes how a leader makes sense of the world. It shapes what they notice, what they value, and how they interpret events. It guides decisions, assumptions, and ultimately, behaviour. When facing unfamiliar or complex situations, a leader’s action logic helps define roles, anticipate outcomes, and understand the relationships and systems involved.
Crucially, action logic isn’t fixed. It typically evolves with leadership maturity. According to organisational researchers David Rooke and William Torbert, there are seven stages of successful leadership, each associated with a different action logic.
An earlier article shared the importance of taking an ‘inside out’ approach to developing system leaders. The second step of this journey is to understand and refine your current action logic.
Seven stages of successful leadership
So, what are the seven stages of a leader? They are:
- Opportunist – when a leader focuses on meeting their own desires and ‘winning’.
- Diplomat – a focus on harmony, conforming, belonging and following rules. Conflict is avoided.
- Expert – they focus efforts on mastery, getting satisfaction from what they know and what they are good at.
- Achiever – attention is on achieving outcomes through others. They don’t need others to validate them.
- Redefining – they can see the subjective nature of reality and begin to appreciate other perspectives. There is a shift from doing to being.
- Transforming – they care deeply about the transformation of people, teams and organisations and are often a catalyst for both. Usually very self-aware, they see their own shortcomings, accept and integrate these into their sense of self and do so with self-compassion.
- Alchemist – extremely rare as an action logic. Alchemists bring a great depth of understanding and awareness of the interconnectedness and complexity of social, ecological and spiritual life.
As leaders mature, they typically progress through these stages, integrating aspects of earlier ones. Leaders progress from one stage to the next by deepening self-awareness, developing skills such as emotional intelligence and a willingness to reflect and adapt.
In practical terms, each stage will influence outcomes in healthcare leadership because of the impact on organisational performance.
Research suggests that underperforming organisations are often led by those operating within the opportunist, diplomat, or expert action logics. In contrast, leaders with redefining, transforming, or alchemist logics are more likely to foster innovation and drive transformational change
Inner work of leadership
Becoming a systems leader can feel risky. It requires personal change, reflection and emotional courage.
For example, leaders may need the mettle to drive a radical shift from within the organisation to avoid ‘the road of slow death’ – a state where everyone knows the current approach is failing but no-one speaks up. In this climate, trust erodes, motivation drains, and burnout spreads.
Successful leaders undertake the inner journey to make them better in their role.
The journey is not about acquiring new skills and techniques. It’s about reflexivity in the moment – understanding your emotions and how you’re reacting to what is going on around you. It’s about identifying your current action logic. Only then can you begin to shift towards a more effective one.
All change
The catalyst for change might come from within or be triggered by external events.
If the push is internal, signs include growing doubt in long-held beliefs, low energy, boredom or even irritability and depression. There may also be positive cues, such as new relationships, creative interests, or a pull toward more meaningful work. For example, leaders might feel drawn to the qualities of individuals with more effective action logics.
External events like a promotion, role change, or personal crisis can also spark transformation. While the journey is transformative, it can also be tumultuous and isolating. It can feel particularly difficult in organisations where the dominant culture aligns with achiever action logic. Support from like-minded peers, through mentoring or coaching, can help leaders sustain momentum during these transitions.
Changing your action logic is like learning a new language and navigating a new culture. You need to familiarise yourself with different cultural norms, beliefs and assumptions. It requires a shift in how you think and, more importantly, your ways of relating, leading, and being.
In the next article, I’ll share the third step in developing systems leadership, which is understanding your default approach to different types of problems within the health and care system.
This is the third in a series of five articles on the subject. You can read the first one here and the second one here.
