Review and Refine Your Theory of Leadership
Timing - 60 minutes
In this activity, you will work with collaborators to review and refine your draft Theory of Leadership.
Back to Phase 2 overviewOverview
Using this protocol, review and polish your draft Theory with your collaborators. Keep in mind that the polished Theory you develop in this step will not be perfect or “final”—it represents a shared hypothesis that you will test and continue to refine over time. This is where you assess whether your theory matches your system’s learning values.
Let’s get started.
Tools & Materials
Completed Theory of Leadership
Completed Leading Through Learning Assessment activity template (Phase 1, Step 3.1)
Suggested Preparation
Independently review your completed Theory of Leadership and make note of any gaps or areas in need of refinement.
Need support? Learn more about working with CPRL.
Protocol
As a group, review and reflect on your draft Theory of Leadership.
Consider, in particular, the causal pathways between your actions and goals. Will the actions you’ve articulated in each driver lead to the behavioral and mindset goals outlined?
For example, look at the goals you’ve coded in green.
- What leadership actions have enabled those outcomes to date?
- Are those actions captured on your Theory? If not, add them to the appropriate driver in your actions column.
Then, review the outcomes you’ve coded in yellow and red.
- What new leadership actions or structures might support progress toward those goals?
- Are those actions represented on your Theory? If not, add them to the appropriate driver in your actions column.
Compare the actions you’ve articulated to the Leading Through Learning principles you adapted in the Leading Through Learning Assessment activity template (Phase 1, Step 3.1).
Do the leadership actions and design decisions articulated in your Theory of Leadership reflect those principles and values? If not, adjust your actions as needed.
FOLLOW UP
At this point, it’s important to get feedback from stakeholders outside your immediate team of collaborators. Workshop your Theory with others and incorporate their feedback.