Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021 - 20

GIVE YOUR
LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT A
VERTICAL LIFT
Vertical development is
the advancement of a
person's ability to think
in complex, strategic and
interdependent ways.
stages of development having a more
dependent mindset, those in the middle
with an independent mindset and those
at later stages taking an interdependent
perspective. While these leaders
may have learned the same change
management strategies, their priorities
in the change process will be different.
A PROCESS FOR INTEGRATING
VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT INTO
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS
BY CLAUDIA ESCRIBANO
AND JAMES HADLEY, Ph.D.
Ben has just taken his first leadership
position. As a top performer, he was
promoted to a supervisory role. He
quickly realizes that the rules and
expectations are entirely different. As a
technical expert, he felt confident. As a
people leader, he feels inadequate.
Ben goes to a leadership development
program, where he learns models and
tools for effective decision-making,
team building, communication and
trust-building. He applies these tools
on the job and finds some useful, but
when it comes to the tough realities -
the stress, the interpersonal problems,
the impossible demands from senior
leadership - there's a disconnect
between what he learns in the safety
of the classroom and the challenges he
faces daily.
Ben can build his leadership
competencies, but - until he develops
the capacity to manage the volatile,
uncertain, complex and ambiguous
environment in which he works - he will
| 20
always be roiled by chaos. What Ben
needs now is vertical development.
WHAT IS VERTICAL
DEVELOPMENT?
Vertical development is the
advancement of a person's ability
to think in complex, strategic and
interdependent ways. Whereas typical
leadership development programs
address building leaders' knowledge
and skills, vertical development
addresses growing their attributes,
abilities and characteristics.
Building on a large body of research into
the developmental stages of children
and adults, David Rooke and William
Torbert identified seven stages that
represent how leaders are likely to
interpret and respond to situations, as
summarized in Figure 1 on page 21.
Leaders at different stages react
differently to the same demands
for change - with leaders in earlier
By understanding these developmental
stages, leadership development
professionals can create experiences
to help leaders grow and elevate their
thinking. Here's a four-step process
that you can apply to integrate vertical
development in both new and existing
leadership development programs:
STEP 1: Determine the
vertical stage needed for the
organizational environment.
As you define the leadership
competencies to be developed,
consider the stages at which those
competencies will be applied. What
stage of development is required to
succeed in the organization's current
environment?
STEP 2. Know your audience and
their level of development.
Next, understand your audience and
their current stage of development.
Apply an assessment for determining
developmental stage, such as the
vertical maturity indicator or the
leadership circle profile.
Any group of leaders will represent
different stages of development. William
Torbert's research shows that most
leaders in today's organizations are at
the achiever or redefining stages.
Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021

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