Achiever

The Achiever action logic is what we in the modern, developed world consider to be the optimum level of development for successful adults. The main thing for the Achiever is passion for achieving goals. So, the corporate world of targets and bottom line results is fertile ground for the Achiever.

The Achiever helps his organization carry out their strategy. Picture a project manager, juggling various tasks, people and agendas to achieve a defined result. With his “eyes on the prize”, the Achiever will move mountains to achieve his  goal.

Where the Expert loves to dig into the details and know everything there is to know about something, the Achiever is more interested in how things are in relation to the wider environment, and relative to the desired outcome.

Where the Expert is concerned with doing things right. The Achiever is concerned with doing the right thing to get the right result. They’re probably less concerned with the approach to be used.

The Achiever focuses on cause and effect, on consequences of actions, and on outcomes.

The Achiever will seek out and welcome feedback, but only if it helps them to achieve what they have already set out to do. They don’t like to hear that they may need to reconsider goal itself.

The Achiever recognizes that people have differing points of view and unique skills. The Achiever values teamwork and making and keeping agreements as a way of managing individual differences.

The Achiever has a rational approach to life. He knows the answer is “out there” even if it isn’t yet known. Many scientists operate from the Achiever action logic.

The Achiever often feels like there’s never enough time to do the all the things he wants to do. He may think that he’s taken on too much to fit into his available time. The Achiever often has a system for managing his time so that they can try to fit more of the important things into their life. It may be a priority to the Achiever that he balance his work life  and private life.

In the general population, we find that  about 35% of adults are at the Achiever action logic.

Opportunist

To the Opportunist, everything is about getting personal advantage and winning. The Opportunist makes things and people work by unilateral manipulation, or by getting the most personally advantageous trade -off possible.

The Opportunist views the world as “Me against Them”, and the and the main thing is to not get caught

The Opportunist can only view a short term horizon, and gives little or no thought to longer term consequences, or how his actions today affect other’s impressions of him or even his own success over the longer term.

The Opportunist values only short term, visible, costs and benefits: this week’s sales figures, or the best parking space, or the photo with the powerful leader. Luck plays a big part in success.

The Opportunist plays his hand close to his chest, because that’s the way he thinks others are playing.

The Opportunist might use flattery to get your help with something, or might feign sharing of his personal details to get you onside as a “friend”. But the Opportunist is no friend, and won’t hesitate to use you for his own gain.

Fortunately, Opportunists aren’t often found in positions of management. But you might have one in your workplace.

Distribution in managers: about 1%

Expert

Experts no longer identify with what makes them the same as the group. Now they value their special, unique skills and what makes them stand out from the group.

The shift from Diplomat to Expert can come about as the Diplomat begins to realize that they can belong to more than one group, each of which has different values. It becomes more and more difficult to know which group has the “right” values.

Experts depend less on others’ judgments of quality, and more on their own standards. But they can do this to the extreme: “My way is the only way!”

Experts sometimes defiantly and stubbornly refuse to acknowledge any authority but their own, or their craft’s ” best practices” or their craft hero’s values. In other words, unless you are a recognized authority on the subject matter, your opinion will not be worth anything to the Expert. Feedback is only welcomed from acknowledged subject matter experts.

The Expert is often a perfectionist, and therefore not such a good team player. They may try to take on a whole project by themselves because they know they can do it better than anyone else.

The Expert sees things as black or white. So an Expert manager may praise a job well done (that is, done to the Expert’s own standards) and criticize anything not done the right way (that is, not done the Expert’s way!).

The Expert’s aim for perfection can take its toll though: stress can be high, and there may be difficult relationships with colleagues.

Distribution in managers

  • 19%-68% of managers are Experts. This percentage is higher in more junior managers, and lower in senor managers.

You’re likely to know lots of Experts!

A devlopmental model of human meaning making

As human beings, we develop throughout our lives, and we do so along several lines. Some examples of developmental lines are: intelligence, cognitive complexity, creativity, interpersonal relations, morality. A developmental model helps explain how genius can be cruel, how artists can be narcissistic: we develop along these lines independently.

The line I’m interested in is referred to as “ego development” or “action logic” or “meaning making”. Some people refer to it as the developmental line of cognitive complexity. The main model is the Leadership Development Framework,  developed by William Torbert and his associates at Harthill Consulting, who expanded on original research by Jane Loevinger. I use the terms action logic, meaning making, developmental level, stage interchangeably.

This model explains a lot about how people develop and mature in the way that they observe the world and draw conclusions, what they notice, what they value, and how they make meaning of the world they live in.

Understanding this model can be instrumental in supporting staff to perform well in their jobs and in achieving personal satisfaction at work. Understanding this model can also help one to live a happier life: as someone said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

We develop through well-defined (and well-researched) stages throughout our lives. We pass through the stages in order, not skipping stages. We experience each stage in three possible ways:

  1. A peak experience gives us a brief and tantalizing glimpse of a later stage action logic. These peak experiences are exciting, can be life-altering and we recall and talk about them for a long time.
  2. When under stress, we regress to an earlier action logic, where we may feel more in control, or safer. Once the stress passes, or is managed adequately, we return to the action logic that is our ground of being.
  3. Our ground of being is the developmental level, or stage, or action logic, where we usually dwell. This can be determined by a professionally validated assessment, such as the Leadership Development Profile.

In future posts, I’m going to write about each of the 7 main action logics we encounter in the adult world.

There are earlier levels than Opportunist, but most of us pass through those as children.

There are later levels than Alchemist, but few adults reach these later stages.

So we won’t look at those here.