Assessing and Elevating the Sophistication of Your Leadership Team

In my experience of working with dozens of leadership teams, I have observed the following: Every leadership team operates at a different level of sophistication ranging from low to high Most (if not all) leadership teams believe that they are more sophisticated than they really are An organization’s growth and success are largely determined by […]
The Five Best Business/Leadership Books I Read in 2022

I have always loved reading because I have felt it make me a better person. I find that reading broadens my horizon, deepens my insights, and exposes me to unique perspectives that differ from my own experience. In fact, as I have come to study vertical development and vertical developed people/leaders, I have come to […]
The Five Best Non-Fiction Books I Read in 2022

I have always loved reading because I have felt it makes me a better person. I find that reading broadens my horizon, deepens my insights, and exposes me to unique perspectives that differ from my own experience. In fact, as I have come to study vertical development and vertical developed people/leaders, I have come to […]
The Five Best Fiction Books I Read in 2022

I have always loved reading because I have felt it makes me a better person. I find that reading broadens my horizon, deepens my insights, and exposes me to unique perspectives that differ from my own experience. In fact, as I have come to study vertical development and vertical developed people/leaders, I have come to […]
Vertical Development: Elevating Our Complexity and Dynamism by Awakening to and Expanding our “Modes”

One of the first laws of vertical development for leaders is that as leaders become more vertically developed, they become more dynamic. In this article, I want to make this concept come to life. To do so, let me invite you to introspect for a moment: Over the last 24 hours, what modes have you […]
Disney is Going Back to An Elevated Leader: Iger’s First Move as Reinstated CEO

One of my favorite business/leadership books is A Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger, the former and newly reinstated CEO of Disney. I loved this book for two primary reasons: It highlighted the CEO/Board dynamic in a way that I had never read about before It shows what amazing things can happen when an […]
Dear Leader: Please Explore If You Have a Trust Issue

In my article last week, I discussed how most executives and leaders: Follow the traditional notions of leadership and LEAD WITH CONTROL But, that this notion of leadership is losing its relevance. And instead, executives and leaders need to: Follow the modern notion of leadership and LEAD WITH CONTEXT When I present these ideas to […]
Do You Lead with Control or Do You Lead with Context?

On of the best leadership books that I have read is No Rules Rules by Reed Hoffman (Netflix CEO) and Erin Meyer. The book is about how Reed Hoffman has created a high-performance culture and organization (Note: the examples and figures in the post either come from or are inspired by No Rules Rules). In […]
An Undervalued Key to Effective Leadership: Possessing a Willingness for Reinvention

Fill in the blank: I want to be a successful/effective/loving ____________________. I imagine that your ‘blank’ was filled with “leader,” “spouse,” “parent,” “manager,” “employee,” “teacher,” or something similar. I want to propose an idea to you: Your ability to become truly successful/effective/loving is contingent on your willingness to reinvent yourself. I am not talking about […]
Leader: You Think You Are Right, But You Are Probably Not as Right as You Think

There was a study of crew coaches (the rowing sport you have probably seen in the Olympics) that confirms several fundamental premises of vertical development: A leader’s vertical altitude dictates what they focus on and prioritize What feels right at one vertical altitude will feel wrong when we operate at a different vertical altitude Specifically, […]