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Action Inquiry: Transforming Leadership in the Midst of Actionwith Thomas Arthur, Mary Stacey & Bill TorbertAction inquiry is a disciplined practice that will accelerate your learning and transformation as a leader. It also powerfully supports the developmental transformation that is needed in our organizations and large-scale systems today. No matter what the level of your positional power — within your family, community, organization, global network — this practice will enable you to better access the potential in every situation. Action inquiry enables you to assess, in real time, the effectiveness of your actions and to create opportunities for mutual letting-go into higher levels of relationship and organization, providing both a competitive and a collaborative advantage. In this module, we will create a community of inquiry together. You will share your leadership stories and diagnose difficult conversations. You will learn how to take and share leadership in particular situations. You will also diagnose your own, your associates', your team's, and your organization's developmental "action-logics" (strategies for making sense of the world and responding to it). In the process you will learn how to creatively foster your own and others' developmental transformation. You will leave with a greater capacity to facilitate collaboration in every relationship and next steps for transforming your organizational settings. You are encouraged to read Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership before you arrive or, if you have less time, to read the Harvard Business Review article Seven Transformations of Leadership (April 2005) and Action Learning and Inquiry: Addressing Today's Business Challenges While Developing Leaders for Tomorrow (2007). Interested in assessing your leadership development? Module participants have the option of completing the Harthill Leadership Development Profile (LDP), a highly validated instrument based on the Loevinger and Torbert developmental frameworks. For more information, click here. “As a leader of an organization funded by government I look for education that is practical and has immediate applicability. In 2009 I participated in the Action Inquiry module led by Bill Torbert and Mary Stacey. AI exceeded my expectations by a long shot. The past year has been difficult for our organization as we struggle with government cuts and increased demand.
In difficult times, leaders often revert to a transactional style and become less inclusive in their decision-making. By drawing upon and sharing in my organization the rich learning that came out of the AI module, I was able to avoid this pitfall. As a result our organization has become more resilient as we collaborate to address our challenges. Mary and Bill create a dynamic environment where all participants feel comfortable sharing their experiences. The AI module at ALIA has added value to my leadership and more importantly to my organization.”
Bill Torbert is professor emeritus at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and former Graduate Dean and Director of the College's PhD Program in Organizational Transformation. He received his BA and PhD from Yale University, and taught at Yale, Southern Methodist University, and Harvard prior to joining the Boston College faculty in 1978. He founded the Yale Upward Bound (War on Poverty) program and the Theatre of Inquiry. He has won numerous teaching and research awards. Bill has consulted widely and served on the Boards of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and P.B.Svigals & Associates (architects), as well as Trillium Asset Management (the first and largest independent social investing advisor). He currently focuses his consulting contributions through his roles as consultant to the Center for Creative Leadership and as Director of Research and Senior Consultant at Harthill UK. He is the author of the award winning Managing the Corporate Dream (Dow Jones-Irwin, 1987, the Terry Award Finalist book The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society, and Scientific Inquiry (Sage, 1991), and Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership (Berrett-Koehler, 2004). His April 2005 HBR article "Seven Transformations of Leadership" won the worldwide Association of Executive Search Consultants Award for Best Published Research on Leadership and Corporate Governance. 
Mary Stacey's work in executive and organizational development builds leadership capacity to generate personal, organizational, and systemic transformation. As managing director of Context Management Consulting Inc. she designs initiatives that lead to high engagement and bottom line results. “Mary has a light touch and a powerful impact.” Her action learning program was designated an enterprise best practice by the CEO of the 57,000 member Canadian Tire Corporation. Her leadership development designs have been profiled by the US-based Information Management Forum and a case study of her strategic change results is published in The Change Handbook: Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems (2007). As a professor and faculty development specialist at Sheridan College, Mary founded the Collaborative Learning Network to evolve leadership learning within the framework of human development. She served on the Board of the Center for Emerging Leadership and the YWCA's Women of Distinction Committee and currently volunteers with the American Marketing Association's (GTA) Mentoring Exchange Advisory Committee. Mary's MA in organizational leadership and learning, BA in psycholinguistics, and diploma in counseling are complemented by her International Coach Federation (ICF) membership and Leadership Development Profile (LDP) and Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) certifications. With the ALIA Institute, Context offers the Remarkable Leadership Series to senior leaders from all sectors who are expanding their capacity to address complex realities. Mary hosted ALIA's 2008 Intergenerational Leadership Exchange in Ontario. 
Thomas Arthur is a performing and visual artist working to nourish the creativity of leaders from all sectors. A graduate of the 1991 Feldenkrais Method professional training program in movement awareness, Thomas teaches fun and effective methods to explore the interface of chaos and order. Collaborating with individuals and groups, Thomas opens space for new possibilities in moving forward with spontaneity, precision and presence. In performance Thomas integrates choreographed juggling routines with projected imagery and film of water, wind, wood, fire and stone. His current work-in-progress, earthanima, invites participants to interpret a series of photos to deepen an imaginal connection to the animate energies of our planet. Based in Seattle, his 25 year performance career has brought his dance of orbiting objects to audiences around the world, from New York to New Zealand, from Austin to Australia. He has performed as an opening act for Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Arlo Guthrie, Paula Poundstone, Sid Caesar and many others. His collaboration with musician Paul Ely Smith has received grant support from the Seattle Arts Commission, 4Culture of King County, and Artist Trust of Washington. For more information, see his website. Module ListAction Inquiry: Transforming Leadership in the Midst of Action Adaptive Action, Artful Perception Building Capacity for Wise and Skillful Action with Circle, Brush, and Sword Catalyzing Organizational Change Embodying Power and Love: Two Essentials for Effective Leadership Leader as Shambhala Warrior Solving Tough Problems: Co-creating New Realities in Complex Systems Women and Leadership: Life Cycles, Power, and Work |
“It is remarkable to witness how your conferences and gatherings have created such a rich and fertile practice ground for the tools and mindsets that are now moving into communities and organizations. It seems timely that as the world economy contracts, your work expands. There seems no better time than now to offer a radical and compassionate new perspective for leading in difficult and complex times.” Sustain and integrate the learning, deepen the impact. Pathways for Authentic Leadership is a nine-month course that begins with the Summer Institute and continues in your home organization. |
