What I Did on my Summer Vacation

I checked out. I turned off my email. I went incommunicado. For two weeks. It was fabulous. It also wasn’t always this way. Sometimes clients think we coaches have got it all figured out, and that’s high praise, but it’s hardly true. I think the best we can do as humans is continue to improve…

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How to Measure Vertical Development with Assessments

Maturity assessments measure where a person falls within the seven stages of the vertical development framework. Key Takeaways: Maturity assessments are used to help leaders and their coaches understand the stage of adult development they’re in and how they can move forward The assessments usually contain a sentence completion element, take about 20 minutes online,…

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Proactively Trying to Move to the Next Stage of Adult Development: The Last Three Stages

We’re back with more about how to transition from one stage of vertical development (or adult development) to the next. Now, we’re focusing on the post-conventional phases. Post-conventional means these stages have the common characteristic of shedding some societal norms and expectations. This may look like letting go of stories we’ve always told about ourselves…

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What Is the Value of Leadership Coaching?

There is no more valuable investment for leaders and organizations than coaching. Leaders set the tone for the entire organization, and the organization can only be as good as its leaders.   Key Takeaways: Effective leaders increase the probability of achieving better business performance by 38 percent Leadership coaching costs are influenced by the type of…

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How Do We Grow Vertically?

Vertical development requires the right conditions and experiences, which we can find ourselves in and also create for ourselves when we want to grow. Key Takeaways: Growing vertically means we move forward through the seven stages of vertical development, finding and working through our limitations to expand our thinking Often unplanned life experiences push us…

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Can You Skip Steps in Vertical Development?

While we can’t skip stages, we often go back to earlier stages, and sometimes we take on the state of another stage without fully embodying it. Key Takeaways: No skipping the line: We can’t skip vertical development stages – think of the framework like tree rings, where the outer rings can’t exist without the inner…

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Why Vertical Development Is the Antidote to VUCA

VUCA helps us define how complex our modern world has become. Vertical development allows leaders to deal with the ongoing complexity crisis. Key Takeaways: The term VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity and helps us understand our modern world Vertical development is a requirement for leaders because how they think becomes more important…

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Seeing and Working With Limiting Mindsets and Behaviors

Limiting beliefs can get in the way of desired results and outcomes. Here’s how to see them, understand them, and address them. Key Takeaways: It is possible to change limiting mindsets by focusing on beliefs and emotions, in addition to behaviors Three ways to address limiting beliefs: Unmaking and remaking beliefs Recognizing that a belief…

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The Strategist and the Alchemist: Advanced Vertical Development

The sixth and seventh stages of vertical development are when leaders can expand their capacity and handle a complex world.  Key Takeaways: Strategists are on more solid ground than those in the Redefining stage and have a fuller view of themselves.  They can take on multiple perspectives and prioritize them.  The Strategist stage is most…

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