I spent the majority of my career inside of the walls of General Electric. GE was known for their incredible investment of nearly $1B per year in employee development. We offered a wide array of skill development courses, from Presentation Skills to Time Management and Influencing Skills, which employees could attend for a few hours or a full day to pick up a new capability. GE also offered more immersive development programs which helped leaders go beyond skill development to gain more self-awareness, get exposed to new ideas and people, and expand their thinking. These programs were often offered as a 5-Day immersive experience at their famous Crotonville campus. At the time, Crotonville was considered the gold standard in leadership development. But thanks to the pandemic, and the complexity of leading in today’s world, many organizations have evolved their approach.

In 2021 I entered the consulting world and joined The People Side where they were practicing something called “vertical development.” This type of development is about expanding a leader’s capacity for complexity, and it is enabled through Development Journeys that last anywhere from 6 – 24+ months (yes, we have designed two year leadership development journeys!). My mind was blown to see companies developing their leaders to this extent! Having worked inside of corporate walls for 23 years, my budget minded brain was thinking WOW, now that’s an investment. But then I saw that investment pay off!  Leaders who were once struggling to evolve their ways of working and being were transforming in their ability to operate across an organization with ease, and take action without certainty, and let go of bad habits that were getting in their way.

They were growing, not just learning.  

Traditional leadership development is effective when a leader needs to acquire a new skill, but a growing body of research suggests that we should also be shaping and challenging leadership mindsets if we really want to help them thrive in the complexity of today’s workplace. To develop mindsets, you need to disrupt long-held training paradigms because it cannot be accomplished using the same solutions or timelines. To support mindset development, The People Side considers a person’s current cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal capacities. To expand a leader’s range in this construct, you must first orient them to where they are, and then begin to explore the next levels of their development. Vertical development is nuanced, and it happens over time. This is why we design and deliver integrated Journeys that are more multifaceted and dynamic. Our Development Journeys incorporate a blend of both horizonal development and vertical development, and feature experiential learning, reflection, coaching, and feedback to fuel a leader’s growth.

To design a Development Journey, we suggest leveraging a model that was first introduced to us by Nick Petrie. This model suggests three elements of development need to interact with each other to provide the right conditions for vertical growth.

1. HEAT EXPERIENCES
   Development Journeys should encourage leaders to step out of their comfort zone into the learning zone. At different phases of the Journey, we expose them to “heat experiences” that require them to confront ambiguity and engage in courageous conversations. By grappling with complex, real-world dilemmas, leaders learn to refine their decision-making processes, enhance their empathy, and cultivate a greater sense of authenticity and presence.

2. COLIDING PERSPECTIVES
   We also expose leaders to new ways of seeing the world by providing them with different frameworks and perspectives to consider. By disrupting their mental models, leaders become curious about their current ways of thinking and begin to experiment with new approaches for interacting with the world around them.

3. ELEVATED SENSEMAKING
   Central to any Development Journey is the cultivation of deeper self-awareness— the cornerstone of effective leadership. We help leaders embark on a journey of introspection by providing them with executive coaches. Their coach helps them practice elevated sensemaking and synthesize their learning. Their coach also helps them identify sources of “attachment” that could limit their ability to perform in higher levels of complexity or take on larger roles in the organization. Beyond 1:1 coaching, we provide multiple opportunities for peer and personal reflection.

4. MAKE IT SAFE TO LEARN
   Leaders need to sense they are safe to take risks, experiment with new approaches, and learn from failure without fear of repercussion. We intentionally create these conditions during the Development Journey and encourage the organization to reinforce it in their culture by celebrating the leader’s growth milestones, and fostering communities of practice where people can learn from one another's experiences.

In conclusion, to address some of the biggest challenges leaders face, organizations will need to focus on the development of new mindsets, not just new skillsets. Vertical development offers a compelling framework for nurturing leaders who need to thrive amidst uncertainty and complexity. By fostering self-awareness, embracing discomfort, and cultivating a culture of continuous learning, organizations can empower leaders to navigate the evolving challenges of the 21st century with renewed confidence and resilience!

If your organization needs help developing new mindsets in your leadership, we’d love to start a conversation with you about our approach. Please reach out to me personally or visit our website at www.thepeopleside.com.

References:

1. Petrie, N. (2011). Vertical Leadership Development: A Guide to Scaling Executive Capacity. Center for Creative Leadership.

2. Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Currency Doubleday.