When Are You Ripe for Vertical Development Coaching?
Most of us only really know one development path. It’s the one we’ve been on since school: Read the book Take the course Get the certification Add another tool to the toolkit This is horizontal development—gaining more knowledge and skills. It’s like downloading another app onto your iPad. Helpful, sometimes necessary, but it doesn’t change […]
The Real Reason Most Coaching Doesn’t Lead to Transformation
Why Horizontal Development Falls Short — and What Vertical Development Offers Instead If you’ve ever felt like you’ve “done the work” — read the books, attended the workshops, worked with a coach — but you still aren’t experiencing the transformation you hoped for, you’re not alone. In fact, that’s one of the most common experiences […]
Outpaced: Leaders are Increasingly Underprepared for the Rising Pace of Change
The latest data from Accenture’s Pulse of Change (September 2025) should stop leaders in their tracks: 90% of C-suite executives say the pace of change has accelerated since January, yet only 42% feel prepared to meet it—down from 46% earlier in the year. In other words, the gap is widening between how fast the world […]
The Three Steps to Truly Becoming Better
My new book, Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation, is officially out tomorrow (June 25th). In this book, I ask this existential question: What if the key to unlocking your next level in business and life isn’t about doing more—but about becoming more? And to celebrate my book launch, I was recently on […]
Why Traditional Leadership No Longer Works—And What Needs to Replace It
We’re living in a time of compounding complexity. As leaders, we’re being asked to navigate environments that are more volatile, uncertain, and fast-moving than ever before. And yet, many organizations are still operating with a traditional model of leadership—one that was built for predictability, not complexity. I was recently at ATD25, where I had the […]
What Emotional Maturity Really Looks Like (And How to Build It)
Vertical development is about elevating our cognitive and emotional sophistication. It’s the internal transformation that allows us to see ourselves, others, and the world in more complex, integrated, and empowering ways. While we often focus on cognitive development—how we think and make sense of the world—emotional development is just as crucial. In this article, I […]
Three Frameworks that Can Reveal Your Biggest Vertical Development Need
What is Vertical Development? If you are not familiar with vertical development, it is important to understand that we have two sides of ourselves: Our Doing Side – The level of our talent, knowledge, skills, & abilities Our Being Side – The sophistication of our internal operating system (to what degree is it wired for […]
Improving Your Mental Toughness: It’s Not About Skill Development—It’s About Being Development
Mental toughness is what allows us to stay focused, grounded, and effective when circumstances become difficult, unpredictable, or high-stakes. In today’s fast-paced, pressure-filled world, mental toughness is not just valuable—it’s essential for meaningful leadership and personal growth. You are probably reading this because you know of the importance of mental toughness. But, I am curious: […]
Moving Your Leaders Beyond Mediocrity: How to Elevate Your Leaders to Mind 3.0
In today’s rapidly changing and increasingly complex world, effective leadership is more critical than ever. Yet, startling data from PWC reveals that 85% of leaders operate at a moderate level of sophistication in their leadership—what we can classify as Mind 2.0. While these leaders are valuable and competent in many ways, most organizations are unknowingly […]
What Leadership Development Goals Should You Have for Yourself?
In my consulting work with organizational leaders, I have observed two phenomena as it relates to their development goals. First, I have observed that most leaders (50+) do not have clear development goals for themselves. I think the primary reason for this is because they tend to operate 100% in performance mode, and 0% in […]
