Over the next several weeks, I want to share examples of people I have worked or interacted with that are at different stages of their personal vertical development journeys.
The purpose of doing this is to help you:
- Better see what vertical development looks and feels like
- See the value of focusing on your vertical development
- Be inspired, as I have been, by the courage of others who are letting go of who they have been and embracing an elevated version of themselves
Two weeks ago, I introduced you to Tracy, who is elevating from Mind 1.0 to Mind 2.0.
Last week, I introduced you to Todd, who is Stuck in Mind 2.0
This week, I want to introduce you to Lori, a CEO who has found success with her Mind 2.0 internal operating system, but is beginning to realize that there is more to leadership than making progress and reaching goals. As you will see, she is starting to push against the cracks in her façade. This is not fun for her, but she sees it as the start of an upcoming metamorphosis.
Example #3 – Lori
Lori is in her late 40’s and is the Founder and CEO of a mid-sized software company.
If you had the ability to ask Lori behind closed doors why she brought me in to work with her executive team, she would say that it is because she doesn’t think that her executive team members are operating as executives, and she doesn’t have the patience or the bandwidth to help them get there on her own.
When I started the development program with her team, I got the impression that although Lori was an active participation, she felt like the program was for her team and not really for herself.
But, as we got into it, she found the content interesting and became excited about the prospect of leveling up in her leadership via vertical development.
Awakening to Her Mind 2.0 Leadership
One of the initial challenges that I had with Lori was that as I described a Mind 3.0 leader, her initial thought was that she was already a Mind 3.0 leader.
To help her become self-aware of the actual level of her internal operating system, we did a couple of things.
First, I had her take my mindset assessment. Her results came back with:
- Low Fixed Mindset (2nd quartile)
- Low Open Mindset (3rd quartile)
- Strong Promotion Mindset (4th quartile)
- Low Outward Mindset (3rd quartile)
Whenever I see a (1) fixed mindset and a (2) promotion mindset that is stronger than an outward mindset, this is a strong indication that they are wired to stand out, advance, and win; a firm Mind 2.0.
Second, we then connected for a call to go over her mindset results. During the call, I asked a number of questions that help me confirm my hunch from the mindset assessment results.
Here are some of the questions and responses:
- Question: Why did you start your business?
- Answer: I wanted to prove people wrong. I heard so many people say that a female can’t run a successful software company and I want to show them that it is possible.
- Question: What is your purpose?
- Answer: My purpose is to scale up my organization to the point where we are doing $500M in annual sales with a 40% profit margin.
- Question: What drives you crazy in your job?
- Answer: Slow people. I can’t stand it when my leaders can’t get me a quick answer. I am commonly feeling like I have to drag them along, and I am sick of doing that.
As we went through these questions, I think she could sense that maybe she doesn’t operate from a Mind 3.0 internal operating system because throughout the call, she became increasingly humble and vulnerable. She was recognizing that what was driving her was not necessarily to fulfill a stakeholder-centric purpose. Instead, she was driven to make her organization a success.
In fact, this is what she said to me:
“I try really hard not to let other people see this, but deep down I am a very insecure person. What I am now starting to see that my worth and identity is wrapped up in the success of my business. If my organization is successful, that validates me. I get a lot of my sense of self-worth from the awards we have won and from proving others wrong.”
Wow, right!?!
The Path to Mind 3.0
Upon awakening to this connection between her organization’s success and her sense of self-worth, it became clear to her that if she wanted to elevate her leadership and operate in Mind 3.0, she needed to improve her relationship with herself.
She needed to become more secure. If she can do that, she will be able to alter her internal operating system from being driven to stand out, advance, and win (Mind 2.0) to being driven contribute, add value, and lift others (Mind 3.0).
Now, what is her path going to look like? That is yet to be seen, but here are some things we have discussed as options:
- Read Brené Brown’s collection
- Focus on developing a growth mindset
- Become more consistent in well-being practices, including meditating, gratitude journaling, and creating greater work/life balance
- Hiring a therapist to work through some past trauma
- Continue to use me as a coach to gain new insights and have someone hold her accountable for the development efforts she decides to focus on
Lessons to be Learned
For me, there are two big lessons that I have learned from working with Lori:
- It is really difficult to vertically develop if we are unwilling to recognize our fears and insecurities.
- If we can awaken to our fears and insecurities, we will naturally desire to vertically develop
Are you aware of your fears and insecurities?
Would the people around you agree with your answer?
Next week, I share a little of my own personal journey of awakening to my fears and insecurities.
