Introduction
In this, the last of a four-part series, we examine how L&D leaders, coaches and leaders can facilitate vertical developmental shifts for their people and for themselves. For an explanation of vertical development, please read part one of this series. For reasons why vertical development is important, read part two. And for an exploration of when vertical development is the right move, for the individual and for the organisation, read part three.
This blog series accompanies two Safe Space events. These are opportunities for HR, L&D & DEIB leaders to discuss vertical leadership development in an open, curious and supportive environment. Click here to register for the next event.
If you are curious about vertical leadership development and how it could help your leaders, please do get in touch, we’d love to talk.
The “how” of vertical development
There is ample literature available describing what vertical development is, when it should be done and the critical individual and organisational benefits. However, there is much less written about how L&D leaders, coaches and leaders can facilitate vertical developmental shifts for their people and for themselves.
Vertical development is developing deeper, more comprehensive and complex ways of making sense of and operating in the world. Inherent within it is the expectation that people change in order to access these different ways of sense-making and behaving.
Scaffolding for vertical development
Our contention is that vertical development is an interactional process which is scaffolded in four ways through:
- a framework that signposts ever deeper spirals of development.
- a model of change to underpin the personal transition.
- an approach of carefully selected experiences, inputs, and behavioural tools that equip the individual to make a developmental shift
- support from coaches, peers and skilful facilitators who themselves have done their own vertical developmental work
Each aspect of this scaffolding is a necessary element of how to put vertical development in place for leaders and organisations.
How – a signposting framework
What needs to change?
A starting point for any development initiative should be to understand what we are aiming to develop. Research and practice highlights that vertical development is neither linear nor generic. Instead, it occurs across several lines of development such as:
- cognitive complexity,
- broader and nuanced perspective taking (own self, other selves, systems, power, ethics),
- and expanding bandwidth (for uncertainty, difference, relational complexity).
These dimensions of development carry direct implications for how leadership programmes and other interventions are conceived, designed and positioned.
In previous blogs we’ve laid out the signposting framework we frequently use at Becoming – Robert Kegan’s stages of adult development. The three stages that are most relevant in the workplace are the transitions through the socialised mind, the self-authoring mind and the self-transforming mind.
Socialised mind
In this stage we are strongly influenced by others’ perceptions and societal norms. We seek identity within a group, we align our behaviour to expectations.
Self-authoring mind
At the stage of the self-authoring mind, we are able to question the worldview that we have taken for granted. We can articulate our own beliefs and values more clearly. We can see nuance and alternative perspectives. We can disagree and sit with the discomfort of different opinions. We can make decisions that are challenging for others to accept.
Self-transforming mind
Kegan goes on to describe a further stage: the self-transforming mind. In this stage, we are able to hold our own beliefs, values and perspectives within the context of the wider system of potential perspectives. We can recognise the limitations of our own process of making meaning of the world and stay open to multiple views of reality.
How – a model for change
Vertical development is a process of change for the individual. Therefore, as well as a framework that articulates the anticipated development, any intervention must also be founded on a model of change that will support the individual through their personal transition experience.
How does change happen?
There are many models of change in the literature and in applied settings; such as the behaviour change wheel used and researched in a myriad of health-related settings; Kubler-Ross’ change curve, now adapted to organisational settings; or Wilber’s metatheoretical integral approach, including a person’s state of consciousness and inner awakening. The key is to select a model of change that situates the internal personal growth in the context of the individual’s external experience and challenge.
At Becoming, the roadmap we use to support individuals as they navigate the vertical development journey is the hero/heroine’s journey. Based on Joseph Campbell’s seminal book The Hero of a Thousand Faces, it lays out the archetypal phases of change that humans experience each time they develop as adults. It acts as a practical guide and operational metaphor to help navigate the change process.
"…a good life is one hero journey after another. Over and over again, you are called to the realm of adventure, you are called to new horizons. Each time, there is the same problem: do I dare? And then if you do dare, the dangers are there, and the help also, and the fulfilment of the fiasco."
How – developmental tools and experiences
Vertical development is not a cognitive activity. It is experiential. It is lived.
Vertical development interventions must build on our existing knowledge and experience, so we can then make sense of new information and ways of being. Further, we are more able to be open to new concepts and ideas if we are given opportunities to reflect on how they apply to our real-world context.
However, there is a risk that development reinforces what we already know and do. This is why programmes must take leaders beyond the boundaries of their current experiences, and provide new tools that equip them to navigate the world differently.
At Becoming, we use a toolkit drawn from depth psychology and an acceptance and commitment approach. These tools build the psychological flexibility necessary to open new perspectives and ways of being. They enable leaders to:
- Build the psychological flexibility to move away from rigidity and avoidance toward adaptive, value-driven behaviour.
- Embrace ‘edge emotions’ rather than retreat to avoidance, creating choice in how to respond.
- Draw on somatic experiences to inform action and decision making
- Drop the struggle with a harsh inner dialogue and open up possibility
- Bring awareness to the present moment and flex their focus
- Reflect critically, creating space to question attitudes, assumptions, prejudices and habits.
- Listen actively as a foundation for dialogue, teaming & leadership
- Tolerate ambiguity and contradiction rather than seek the right answer
- Develop a richer sense of self that is not dominated by the distortions of the ego and self-story.
- Commit to co-create or serve something bigger than yourself in the world.
This is a stark contrast to the content of many traditional leadership programmes which use models and competencies that tell leaders how to ‘be’, and use reductive performance measures to determine effectiveness.
How – support from those (further) on the journey
Vertical development is not a journey to be done alone. Support from a wise facilitator and the comradeship of peers are the final scaffolds of the vertical development journey.
Wise facilitators
Campbell foresaw the archetype of the mentor who can help the hero/heroine make positive changes. For L&D, this is the skilled wise facilitator, who has undergone significant internal change work themselves.
Key qualities would include an awareness of one’s own worldview, psychological flexibility and the ability to hold their own approach with nuance, allowing space for what emerges. Wise facilitators understand that their perspective of any leaders on a programme is only one interpretation. They can adapt to the context and the people in front of them, focusing on inquiry and reflection, not trying to bring about any predetermined change. They continue their own vertical development journey outside of and in support of their client work.
Development circles/Peer learning groups
Similarly, having the comradeship of other allies on the journey helps leaders to see that whilst their journey is unique, they often face similar trials and challenges. This allyship can be accelerated with groupwork and small peer learning circles embedded in a larger leadership programme.
Peer learning allows leaders to:
- Embrace diversity and value different perspectives and provide space for them to be explored.
- Share issues, questions and thoughts around the journey that they are on.
- Support and challenge fellow journeyers with their issues, questions and thoughts
- Build a safe space to experiment, collaborate, co-create and problem solve as a group.
- Apply their learning to their organizational / career challenges
- Build their network and relationships with each other.
Conclusion
To develop leaders with deeper, more comprehensive and complex ways of operating in their organisation takes a radical shift in how we help them to flourish.
Effective vertical development requires scaffolding in four ways:
- a framework that signposts ever deeper spirals of development.
- a model of change to underpin the personal transition.
- an approach of carefully selected experiences, inputs, and behavioural tools that equip the individual to make a developmental shift
- support from coaches, peers and skilful facilitators who themselves have done their own vertical developmental work
And perhaps most critically, it is essential to let go of the need to measure the ‘achievement’ of development, and accept the unique personal journey that each individual undertakes.
Reflecting on the ‘how’ of vertical development
This blog explores how L&D leaders, coaches and leaders can facilitate vertical developmental shifts for their people and for themselves. What thoughts or reflections has it prompted for you? You might like to consider the following questions:
- What is the framework for adult development that underpins learning and development in your organisation?
- What model of change supports your leaders to make personal transitions as they learn?
- How do your learning programmes acknowledge the interplay between the internal and external experiences of the individual?
- How do you support your learners as they take their personal journey of change?
If you missed it, our first blog explained the ‘what’ of vertical development, and our second blog looked at the ‘why, and our third blog explored the ‘when’’.
Our upcoming Safe Space event will explore ‘when’ and ‘how’ in person. This is an opportunity for HR, L&D & DEIB leaders to discuss vertical leadership development in an open, curious and supportive environment. Click here to register.
If you have questions or would like to explore vertical development for your leaders further, then please do get in touch.
