Vertical Development Assessment

Appraise the quality of your internal operating system

Do you possess the cognitive and emotional sophistication to operate and lead at a high level?

There are 2 Forms of Development

  • Horizontal development – Adding knowledge, skills, and capabilities
  • Vertical development – Elevating our internal operating system such that we make meaning of our world in cognitively and emotionally sophisticated ways

The Assessment Assesses Your Vertical Altitude

There are 3 Vertical Development Levels

There are three vertical development levels we can operate from.
Take the assessment to find out what level you tend to gravitate toward.


Take the
Vertical Development
Assessment


The purposes of this assessment are to help you:

  • Learn about the three stages of vertical development
  • Identify what stage of vertical development you primarily operate from
  • Level up in your vertical altitude

What is Vertical Development?

I purposely do not describe the three stages of adult development prior to you taking the vertical development assessment to try to keep you as unbiased as possible. But, here is some more information about vertical development that you should find helpful:

People can develop in two ways:

Three Vertical Development Stages

Developmental psychologists have identified three stages of adult development.

I call the three vertical development stages Mind 1.0, Mind 2.0, and Mind 3.0. This is because:

  • Vertical development occurs in the mind
  • Each level is representative of a different internal operating system

At each stage, the people in that stage possess an internal operating system that differs in cognitive and emotional sophistication relative to the other stages.

Thus, vertical development is all about upgrading or leveling up one’s internal operating system.

As people vertically develop they widen their window of tolerance and become more:

  • Mentally mature
  • Mindful
  • Emotionally Intelligent
  • Psychologically flexible
  • Intellectually humble
  • Infinite-minded

Because those at higher levels possess these characteristics to a greater degree, they:

  • More effectively navigate change, pressure, uncertainty, and complexity
  • Have a positive influence on the world around them
  • Create transformational and sustainable change in their sphere of influence

Unfortunately, developmental psychologists have found that relatively few people ever reach the peak level of vertical development. Specifically, they have found the following:

We are learning that if people can awaken to their current vertical altitude and learn about higher-level programming, they become motivated to vertically develop, upgrade their internal operating system, and elevate in their cognitive and emotional sophistication.

This assessment is designed to help facilitate this awakening. Specifically, it is designed to help you understand:

  • The vertical altitude that you predominantly operate at
  • How your current internal operating system is currently wired
  • How you can level up to become the best version of yourself

Take the
Vertical Development
Assessment


About Ryan


Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D. is a cutting-edge leadership development author, researcher, and consultant. He helps organizations vertically develop their leaders primarily through a focus on mindsets. Ryan is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of “Success Mindsets: The Key to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership” (Morgan James Publishers)
and
"The Elevated Leader: Level Up Your Leadership Through Vertical Development"

He is also a leadership professor at the College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources from Indiana University, and a B.A. from Brigham Young University. As a consultant, he works with organizations to develop their leaders and improve their culture (collective mindsets).

He has worked with top leadership teams at CVS Health (top 130 leaders), Deutsche Telekom (500+ of their top 2,000 leaders), and dozens of other organizations. As a respected authority and researcher on topics related to leadership, management, and organizational behavior, Ryan has published over 20 articles across a variety of journals including: Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Business Horizons, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, and Journal of Leadership Studies. His research has been cited over 2,500 times since 2015.