Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2017 - 37

challenges of each and consider which
approach is best. Having an executive
"practice" keeping composure or
building relationships through better
listening only addresses behavior
and not the underlying worldview,
values and beliefs that drive automatic
behavior. Offering an online course for
listening skills is laughable without
additional feedback and practice - and
yet, it happens all the time.
Robert Kegan and Susanne Cook-Greuter
both provide research supporting the
position that cognitive and mental
development in adults does not end
at a certain age, including emotional
intelligence. Cook-Greuter offers a
description of horizontal and vertical
development which aligns neatly with
the description above of functional/
technical competencies and behavioral
or leadership competencies.

HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT:
WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT YOU KNOW
Horizontal
proficiency
looks
at
knowledge, skills and functional or
technical competencies. Think of these
in terms of what an employee needs to
know and what they need to do to deliver
the work expected. It's the manager's
job to make sure the employee is clear
on what knowledge and technical or
functional competencies are needed and

expected, what the manager's priorities
are and the quality of work expected. In
most organizations, these expectations
go deeper than the bulleted list of
general skills and knowledge listed on a
job description.
An integrated framework of formal
training, learning through others and
learning by doing works well for most
functional and technical skills. Three
approaches are 1) formal learning
through online/classroom courses and
reading, 2) learning from or observing
others with peer coaching, job
shadowing and communities of practice,
and 3) learning by doing with feedback
and practice.

TRADITIONAL
ADULT LEARNING
APPROACHES WORK
WELL FOR HORIZONTAL
DEVELOPMENT.
While knowledge can be gained from
training or reading, skills and functional
competencies require the utilization
of all approaches. Some classroom

THREE METHODS TO BOOST HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT
Horizontal proficiency looks at
knowledge, skills and functional or
technical competencies. In other
words, what an employee needs to
know and what they need to do to
deliver the work expected.

* Formal training: online/classroom
courses and reading

Here are three approaches to
improve horizontal development:

* Learning by doing: feedback
and practice

* Learning through others: peer
coaching, job shadowing,
communities of practice

learning will involve one or all three
approaches. Traditional adult learning
approaches work well for horizontal
development. Learning through others
is often implemented through peer
coaching, observation and shadowing.
As social learning and knowledgesharing technologies improve within
organizations, opportunities and options
for this aspect of learning will increase
exponentially. New technologies in
virtual and augmented reality will begin
to transform how practice and feedback
are implemented, and research supports
the effectiveness of these immersive
practices in learning.

VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT:
HOW AND WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO
Vertical proficiency focuses on how
and why one delivers their work
in the context of solving problems
and working with others. Vertical
proficiency is important for success
in higher level roles or positions
dealing with broader scope, increased
complexity and diverse workforce
and vendor and client populations.
Behavioral competency expectations for
many large companies are sometimes
defined as a leadership competency
framework or a competency model.
Vertical proficiency looks at behaviors,
mindset, professionalism, emotional
intelligence and cognitive framework.
The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)
asserts that to be effective, a leader's
thinking "must be equal or superior to
the complexity of the environment."
Vertical proficiency is not equivalent
to your current role, title or position; it
is common for people to be promoted
into higher levels before achieving the
vertical proficiency to be effective and
successful at that level.
Looking at the primary levels of leadership
in a typical organization, the levels

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - MIND THE GAP 201 7 I WWW . T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

| 37

http://www.cook-greuter.com/ https://www.jstor.org/stable/23879642?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents http://www.trainingindustry.com/ezine.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2017