Fundamental to our work with leaders is an understanding of Stages of Adult Development. While we generally recognize that children undergo very clear and recognizable stages of development, the understanding that adults also move through clear developmental levels is a recent phenomenon. Each stage of development evidences distinct leadership competencies. The more complex the role, the more crucial it is that the leader be at a “later” stage on the developmental continuum.
Reachers in the field of Stages of Adult Development include: Bill Torbert, Suzanne Cook-Greuter, Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs, Robert Kegan, Ken Wilber, and Bob Anderson and Bill Adams.
Their findings substantiate the concept that a normal, healthy individual will inherently strive to develop and mature within the course of his or her lifetime.
This growth manifests primarily in terms of an individual’s ever-expanding level of self-awareness – along with the corresponding ways of thinking, perceiving and behaving that occur at each stage. Consciousness development is the stepping-stone for leadership development. In other words, the more conscious a leader is, the more effective he or she is.
“…research strongly suggests that developing leaders for the future has as much to do with consciousness as competence. …The main thing that is developing when leadership becomes extraordinary is the internal operating system of the leader. It is not merely the development of skill, but the consciousness required to skillfully deploy one’s leadership in ways that are well matched to the complexity of the organizational challenges. In short, great leadership requires higher order consciousness.”
— Bob Anderson & William Adams
Mastering Leadership
Our transformational leadership coaching uses The Leadership Circle Profile to provide a clear picture – for both the coach and the client – of where the client is on the continuum. The coaching is then designed to shift the client along the spectrum to a more advanced stage.
A development plan is co-created by the coach and client outlining the direction of the coaching.