Unexpected Acts of Leadership (UALs) are efforts to speak up and step up for something important – efforts not necessarily initiated by people who have rank, authority and power, but also by people of normal means; anyone going beyond their official duties. The small local changes they create can have huge ripple effects. We’re on a mission to find these UALs – and inspire more of them.
What is an Unexpected Act of Leadership?
Once you understand unexpected leadership, you’ll notice it everywhere. But UALs stand apart from more conventional leadership in several ways.

We believe unexpected leadership, coming from anywhere and everywhere, can create positive futures in more powerful ways than traditional leadership models can. There are five main ways we want to explore this phenomenon and, hopefully, make it spread.
- Envision a new form of leadership
- Engage with you about the UALs you’ve seen and done
- Explore what impact you’ve witnessed as a result of such leadership
- Empower more people to step up and lead
- Encourage organizations to make it safer for their people to do so