The Crucibles of Leadership - Part 1

You may ask yourself, "How did I get here?"


In my leadership classes I spend a considerable amount of time helping students understand their inner workings and identifying how their core values and leadership philosophies have been developed. The single most important determining factor in a leader’s success is what Bennis & Thomas call adaptive capacity or “applied creativity.”

Adaptive capacity involves the skills of understanding the environmental context and seizing the strategic windows of opportunity that are present.

This adaptive capacity is developed through what Bennis & Thomas call “the crucibles of leadership.” The idea of a crucible is borrowed from the vessel used medieval alchemists in their attempt to turn base metals into gold. In the context of the development of a leader, “a crucible is a transformative experience from which a person extracts his or her ‘gold:’ a new or altered sense of identity.”

Crucible events are transformational events that shake the entire fabric of an individual’s life. Frequently, these events touch the very core of one’s being by challenging their life purpose. They provide the catalyst for profound change in direction, self-perception and worldview.

Crucible events are distinguished from life stages. Certainly, life stage transitions can be stressful, but they are characterized by a gradual pattern that can be reasonably predicted. In contrast, crucibles are trials that “invariably rupture the status quo.”

These events come upon an individual unexpectedly and force them to answer fundamental questions about their identity, values, purpose, and priorities. Crucibles require a level of deep self-reflection that they may have never experienced.

They require a person to step up and do something they had never done before or become someone that had not been previously.

In my next several posts I will be discussing the various types of crucibles that are commonly experienced by leaders. As you read these, ask yourself this question:

What were the crucible experiences that shaped your leadership?

Sources:
Bennis, W. & Thomas, R. (2007) Leading for a Lifetime: How Defining Moments Shape Leaders of Today and Tomorrow. Harvard Business Review Press.


Thomas, R. (2008) Crucibles of Leadership: How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader.  Harvard Business Review Press.