Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021 - 34

a hiring and spending freeze, and has
legacy employees who were promoted
for tenure rather than ability. The other
has a large budget and the ability to
have the right people in the right roles.
Their current capability to take effective
action will be different.
stage level of development, they will be
unable to assist leaders in increasing
capacity. This is one problem with
many train-the-trainer approaches.
Unfortunately, in our experience, the field
of training and development is largely
unaware of levels of development and
does not know how to promote actual
capacity building.
Increasing Vertical Development
It is very important to understand that the
level at which a leader functions is not
" fixed. " Leaders can and do make leaps
in their overall capacity. What does that
take? It helps when they have leaders
around them who function at a laterstage
level, when they see limitations or
gaps in their own leadership thinking and
action, and when they are motivated to
stretch themselves and grow. But even
with all these factors, they also need
to be provided the right opportunity,
exposure to capacity-building curriculum,
and a learning context that is based on an
understanding of Levels of Developmentin-Action,
where they are presented tools
and models that " stretch their brains. "
Our brains change slowly over time with
regular ongoing cycles of action and
reflection. They do not change through
attending a single workshop, no matter
how well the material is presented.
Willing participants need to be coupled
with skilled trainers who function at a
later-stage level and understand how
to build capacity (rather than just teach
competencies). And then they need to
be given the time and support to grow,
where they can be provided a safe
environment to try new ways of thinking
and acting.
If training and development professionals
do not function at a sufficiently later|
34
Unless you have specifically been
introduced to levels of adult development,
these models will be new to you. If you
try to map them onto other ideas or
models, you will lose the point. This is not
about IQ. Two people with the same IQ
can function at very different Levels of
Development-in-Action, and therefore,
capacity. This also has nothing to do with
personality models, styles of leadership,
experience, age-related maturity, or
one's management level. It has a lot
to do with what learning approaches
and environments someone has been
exposed to, and their motivation coupled
with having the right opportunities.
In order to assist leaders in moving
to later-stage levels of development,
whether we're in the role of leader,
consultant, trainer, coach, human
resources, talent management or
human capital professionals, we have to
first be functioning at later-stage levels
of development than those leaders.
If you are drawn to what we have
shared, then please take the time to
understand the difference between
competencies and capacity to build
your own capacity so you can assist
others to do the same.
We hope this article has stimulated
some new thinking, and that we have
made a compelling case for why it
is imperative to consciously craft
opportunities and contexts that support
vertical development in order for our
leaders to deal more effectively with
complex problems.
Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, MCC, and Dr.
Sandra L. Hill are organizational
effectiveness consultants, executive
coaches and leadership development
specialists at Clear Impact Consulting
Group. Email the authors.
Takeaways
⊲ Leadership competencies are leadership behaviors and skills.
⊲ Leaders function at different levels of development, and all competencies are
understood and expressed more effectively at later-stage levels.
⊲ Vertical development focuses on increasing the capacity to use any competencies
more effectively, and thus the capacity to lead more effectively during times of
increasing VUCA and rapid change.
⊲ Some competencies, like coaching and collaboration, are not viable until a leader
reaches a certain stage of development.
⊲ Depending on how a competency is defined, there may be a " capacity gap " for a
particular leader to be able to embody that competency at a minimally effective
level, no matter how much they are rewarded, encouraged, punished externally,
or motivated internally.
⊲ Whatever the competency, it will always be expressed more effectively by leaders
thinking at a later-stage capacity level.
⊲ Focusing solely on leadership competencies is inherently limited. It is like adding
new software programs without upgrading the overall operating system.
Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021
