Helping Leaders Manage Effectively in a VUCA Environment

Best Practices in Vertical Leadership Development; What do the Experts Say?

So, what do the experts in Vertical Leadership Development say about how to develop leaders vertically and why is it necessary in coaching?  Let’s look at three key researchers in the field of vertical leadership development; Nick Petri from the Center for Creative Leadership, Dr. Susanne Cook-Grueter as we explore her Harvard University doctoral dissertation on the Levels of Leader Maturity and Neuroscientist Alan Watkins.

Nick Petri is a bright mind in the field of Vertical Leadership Development.  In a white paper entitled, “Vertical Leadership Development, Developing Leaders for a Complex World”, Petrie explains how to implement Vertical Leadership Development. The key is to recognize that three primary conditions must be in place in order for Vertical Leadership Development to be possible. Without all three being in place, Vertical Leadership Development does not occur. The three primary conditions are as follows:

• The first condition is Heat Experiences. These are events or situations to which leaders cannot respond with their current way of thinking. Unable to make sense of their challenges, their minds open up and they start a new and better ways to respond. Heat experiences can be summarized as the ‘what,’ and they initiate the process
• The second condition is Colliding Perspectives. Leaders are exposed to people with different perspectives and backgrounds, which challenges their existing mindsets and mental models. This is the ‘who’ phase, and it enables vertical development
• The third primary condition is Elevated Sensemaking. Through the help of coaches, leaders integrate the new perspectives and experiences, and thus develop a larger, more advanced worldview

 Dr. Susanne Cook-Greuter, research for a Doctorate from Harvard University, looked at over 4,000 leaders to identify levels of leadership maturity.  She mapped the maturity levels on a Leadership Maturity framework.  The levels of maturity significantly influence our capacity to deal with life and work situations, how we see our role and function in the workplace, how you interact with other people, how you solve problems and how self-aware we are.  

Leaders develop through various stages of maturity as they grow. Leadership Maturity is about how leaders ‘make meaning’ or sense and interpret experiences at the different stages of development.  This is important because the perspectives leaders use to make sense of the world influences their thoughts and actions. This can have an impact on how leaders interact with different generations.  Incorporating the idea of the various stages of Maturity is critical to innovating leadership.  It is common for people to be promoted into higher levels, before they have achieved the vertical proficiency needed to be effective and successful, thus vertical maturity is essential.  Dr. Cook-Grueter outlines the principles of maturity to include the following:

• We make sense of experiences & form a view of the world
• Through vertical development, our view of the world changes & evolves
• The Stage of Maturity follows a logical sequence, creating a hierarchy over our lifetime
• These views are stable, as long as they are reinforced with internal and external support
• The more support, the more stable the view
• Not everyone grows fully
• People tend to peak at a stage most suitable for their internal and external circumstances
• A person cannot skip a stage of development
• Early stages are characterized by narrow, simple, concrete, construct driven, protective stances
• Later stages are characterized by broader complex, abstract, dynamic, context driven expletory stance
• Those at earlier stages of maturity cannot understand later stages; Later stages can grasp earlier stage perspectives; They may reject some perspectives or include them by choice
• Research shows several years are necessary to move from one stage of maturity to another; Maturity is dependent on internal and external support available

With each stage, individuals develop an increasingly complex and inclusive point of view. This contrasts with traditional horizontal development which focuses on the development of skills and abilities from a technical perspective and supplies useful strategy when problems and their correlating approaches for resolution are clearly defined.  People at higher levels of development have a greater ability to learn and solve complex problems. They can question their own assumptions about the world and are more likely to accept paradox while remaining centered and confident in their ability to take action.   

Horizontal Coaching Vs. Vertical Coaching

All coaching increases learning, but not all coaching causes a leader to challenge his/her thinking, and recognize conditioning. 

Regular or Horizontal Coaching causes leaders to become more effective, productive, and able to do a better job, providing definition, not depth or a shift in a person’s self-awareness, identity or view of the world. 

Vertical Coaching, causes the coachee to elevate their thinking, to challenge their behaviors, mindset, professional maturity, emotional intelligence and cognitive frameworks to expand their view of the world.  Through vertical coaching the leader challenges their mental models and focuses on building their ability to think in more complex, systematic, strategic and interdependent way.  This elevated thinking transforms one’s ability to make meaning of their world view, and empowers them to lead more effectively in a VUCA environment.

Dr. Alan Watkins, Neuroscientist indicates that organizations that select their own competences for vertical development miss the important ones that they feel they just don’t need.  In his book Competitive advantage Through Vertical Leadership Development Dr. Watkins, provides a list of key competencies that are necessary for an organization to expand, be more competitive successful in the ever-changing environment.  Additionally, he states that it is essential for leaders to develop vertically to address complex VUCA problems, navigate rapidly changing uncertain circumstances, handle ambiguity of leadership and drive transformational change.

Conducting a Vertical Development Assessment

Vertical assessments are different from horizontal assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Dominance Inducement, Submission Compliance (DISC).  Vertical assessments measure stages of development rather than preference Start by encouraging leaders to understand the following:

• Their current stage of development
• The strengths and limitations of this stage of development
• What their next stage of development looks like
• Why people they work with view the world differently from them

The goal of a vertical coaching initiatives is to help leaders expand their thinking to a new level.  So, where do you start to get your organization moving toward Vertical Coaching:

• Assess mindset and behaviors
• Review feedback from formal and informal assessments
• Assess level of competency
• Assess derailers

Vertical development does not replace horizontal development. Both are equally important. In the past, however, too much attention has been paid to adding skills and methodologies, and not enough to changing the mindsets and perspectives of high-potential leaders.  By focusing on both approaches, companies can develop leaders who have the wisdom to choose the right strategies (thanks to vertical development) as well as the skills and experience to implement them (thanks to horizontal development).  

In summary

Vertical development and vertical coaching promotes advancement in a person’s thinking capability, it looks at behaviors, mindset, professional maturity, emotional intelligence and cognitive framework.  The focuses are on building the ability to think in more complex, systematic, strategic and interdependent ways.  Vertical development is essential to address complex VUCA problems, cultivate high stakes relationships, navigate rapidly changing unchanging circumstances, handle ambiguity of leadership and drive transformational change so needed in this day and time