The Four Practices Necessary for Vertical Development

What is Vertical Development? Vertical development is the process of upgrading our own internal operating system so that we operate in more cognitively and emotionally sophisticated ways. It is the process by which we become better. Vertical development is necessary for the improvement of the following characteristics, which I believe we should all aspire to: […]
Heat Experience: A Necessary Prerequisite to Vertical Development

Heat experiences are events or situations that cause one to question their current mental models and ways of thinking.
Want to Develop Vertically? You Must Focus on Upgrading Your Body’s Nervous System

And, the reality is that the better we can effectively regulate our physical and emotional needs, the more effectively we operate.
Elevating Your Center of Gravity – How to Widen Your Window of Tolerance and Re-Center Yourself

Vertical development is a form of development that is focused on improving our internal operating such that we make meaning of our world in more cognitively and emotionally sophisticated ways.
How to Create Candor

Candor is a willingness in an organization to communicate in an unreserved, honest, sincere, and forthright way.
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.
What Context Struggles to Create Space for Learning? The Workplace

I want to share with you an excerpt from Decoding Greatness by Ron Friedman that I found incredibly powerful. He writes: Growth requires strain. A moderate degree of difficulty is essential to both mental and physical development. Teachers know it. Bodybuilders know it. Athletes know it. Yet what’s the one place where stretching our limits […]
Leader, How Wide is Your Window of Tolerance?

I have been doing a number of 360-degree feedback-type assessments and follow-up coaching with leaders over the last year, and I have learned several things that have been surprising. Let me share a couple of these surprises with you. For context, in these assessments, the leaders’ subordinates, peers, and superiors evaluate the leader across a […]
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 […]