If you hang around the leadership-development space long enough, you’ll eventually run into the idea of vertical development—the process of upgrading a leader’s internal operating system so they can think, feel, and relate at higher levels of complexity.
This isn’t a new idea.
For decades, developmental psychologists and leadership scholars have been mapping how adults evolve in how they make meaning of the world—think Jane Loevinger, Robert Kegan, Susanne Cook-Greuter, Bill Torbert, and others. One of the more visible pieces in the business world was a 2005 Harvard Business Review article arguing that leaders operate from different “action logics,” and that later, more complex logics are disproportionately effective in leading change.
So the core ideas of vertical development have been around for a long time.
And yet, despite the growing complexity of our world—and the clear need for leaders who can navigate that complexity—vertical development is still not the mainstream paradigm in leadership development.
Why?
Below are several reasons I see, drawn both from the literature and from working with organizations on vertical development.
1. It Breaks the “Common Sense” of Leadership Development
Most organizations still treat leadership as a set of skills and behaviors.
- Problem? Send them to a workshop.
- Need a new capability? Add a training module.
Vertical development says, “That’s not enough. The real leverage is in who the leader is—their level of meaning-making and maturity.”
That doesn’t just add to the current model; it contradicts it. And it’s easier to defend what we already do than to admit we might be working at the wrong level.
2. It’s Harder to Put in a Box
Horizontal development is simple to sell:
“In this program, you will learn 5 tools you can use tomorrow.”
Vertical development is messier:
“In this journey, you will upgrade your internal operating system over time.”
It’s less linear. Less predictable. Less “checklist-y.”
That doesn’t fit neatly into a standard catalog, budget cycle, or 90-minute webinar.
3. It Threatens Existing Success
Vertical development implies a hard truth:
You can be high-performing and still be underdeveloped for today’s complexity.
That means some of our most rewarded leaders might be operating from:
- Control and certainty over curiosity and openness
- Ego protection over shared learning
- Short-term wins over long-term, systemic impact
That’s a politically uncomfortable conversation. It’s much safer to offer them another skills course than to question their current way of being.
4. It Doesn’t Match the “Quick Win” Culture
Organizations love speed:
- Quarterly results
- Immediate ROI
- Fast, visible behavior change
Vertical development is slow, deep work. It often requires:
- Disruption to our current identity
- Honest feedback that stings
- Reflection and integration over time
In other words, you may feel worse before you operate better. That’s not the easiest thing to sell in a world obsessed with rapid hacks and “5 easy steps.”
5. The Deepest Reason: It Makes Us Face Ourselves
Underneath all of this is something even more human:
Vertical development forces us to reconcile with ourselves.
To truly vertically develop, we have to look at:
- How our nervous system is wired to self-protect
- How our identities cling to being right, being in control, or being admired
- How our current mindset is quietly limiting our relationships and impact
That’s uncomfortable. It’s much easier to:
- Consume more content
- Collect more tools
- Stay busy “doing better”
…than it is to slow down and become better.
And yet, that uncomfortable inner work is exactly where the transformational gains live.
A Question and an Invitation
So here’s the challenging question:
Are you willing to do the uncomfortable, but transformational work of vertical development?
If something in you says “yes”—or even “I’m nervous, but curious”—then I’d love to invite you to explore my Becoming Better Coaching Program.
It’s designed specifically to help you:
- See your current internal operating system clearly
- Do the real inner work of vertical development
- Turn that growth into greater wisdom, calm, and impact in your world
Because the future doesn’t just need leaders who do more.
It needs leaders who have become more.
