How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Leadership Development Programs
For a journal article I am working on, I have been combing through the academic research on leadership development. You might be interested to know that given the amount of time and money organizations spend on leadership development, there is relatively little research in academia on leadership development. It is definitely seen as a concern […]
The Value and Importance of Vertical Development
What I am going to present in this article is perhaps the clearest way to articulate (1) what vertical development is and (2) the value and importance of vertical development. To lay the foundation for these two points, we need to recognize that people have two sides to themselves. Two Sides of Ourselves We all […]
What is Character? And How Do Leaders Develop It?
Last week, I presented an idea that we have two sides of ourselves: a DOING Side and a BEING Side. The DOING Side represents our talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The higher we are on the DOING Side, the more capable we will be at performing specific tasks that are aligned with our talents, knowledge, […]
You Have a DOING Side AND a BEING Side
What do these people have in common: Bobby Knight, Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, Shia LaBeouf, Naomi Campbell, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Gordon Ramsay, and Tiger Woods? These are all people that are immensely talented, but have operated in a manner that reveals that they are perceived as having a flawed character. This similarity exposes an […]
What Leadership Development Programs Need to Include to be Effective and Successful
In order for a leadership development program to be effective and successful, what does it need to include? A purpose – The purpose will dictate almost all elements of the programming. There is not one specific purpose that a leadership development program needs. But, the purpose should be broad enough to allow for a focus […]
How Knowing about ADHD Helps Us Understand the Value of Vertical Development
Recently, my daughter was diagnosed as having ADHD-I. As my wife and I have been learning about ADHD-I, my wife has been wondering whether she has ADHD-I. In my research, I have found that ADHD-I commonly goes undiagnosed, and this is particularly the case for adult women. ADHD-I is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-inattentive. It is one of […]
Why Organizations Need Vertical Development
Organizations are increasingly recognizing that the complexity of the world their leaders are facing exceed their abilities to effectively navigate this complexity. The consequence of this is that most leaders are operating at a leadership deficit, with consequences that include exhaustion, burnout, turnover, and poor decision making.
How Many Value Creators Do You Have In Your Organization?
When I talk about the difference between horizontal and vertical development, I generally present the following figure as a way to depict their different foci: I was recently challenged by two colleagues to try to create a figure with horizontal development on the X axis and vertical development on the Y Axis like so: The […]
What Does an Elevated Leader Look Like?
Elevated leaders are leaders who operate on a higher plane than most leaders. These leaders are positively transformational. In Good to Great, Jim Collins calls them “Level 5 Leaders.” In Multipliers, Liz Wiseman calls them just that: “Multipliers.” Often, the best leaders we can think of fall into this category. Historically, it is people Abraham […]
Solving the Riddle of Leadership Ineffectiveness: Focus on Expanding Leaders’ Window of Tolerance
I see an intriguing riddle with leadership. Let me give you two observations from my consulting and research: I have yet to meet a leader or boss who does not want to have a positive influence on the people they lead Past research points to the conclusion that the majority of leaders or bosses are […]
