I finished my last blog post with a reference to vertical development and its role in the growth of leaders, both new and experienced, as they move away from the more technical roles in which they started their working lives. In it, I made the point that vertical development plays a central role in building a leader’s emotional health.
We’ve previously discussed vertical development, and its distinction from horizontal development, so I won’t redefine those terms here. What I do want to revisit in more depth is what vertical development can look like in practice. What are some of the specific areas that any leader can work on to build their emotional health?
The central building block of increased emotional health is self-awareness. Without the ability to examine our own thoughts, feelings and behaviours, our vertical development stagnates. Leaders without self-awareness are those most likely to fall back on their technical expertise as a substitute for leadership.
The inner observer
In our work, we introduce the concept of the ‘inner observer’ at an early stage. When we consciously ‘switch on’ our inner observer, we are able to both be ‘in’ an experience or situation while ‘watching’ our impact on others at the same time. In other words, we hold an external perspective, and with that our inner observer can guide us towards more conscious, above-the-line decision making.
Closely associated with the inner observer is the inner critic. Our inner critic is the ‘little’ (if sometimes loud) voice that brings self-criticism, self-doubt and increased levels of self-analysis when we are being controlled or feeling unsafe or disconnected. The inner critic can also be used more constructively if we can recognise that it may be offering us some insight into what we might be experiencing. We can use this information to change the impact we have.
The three centres
Another contribution to greater self-awareness comes from understanding the three ‘centres of intelligence’ and how our level of engagement with each of the body, heart and head centres affects our responses to the world around us.
The ability to engage all three centres – not just our ‘preferred’ centre – is a powerful way of expanding self-awareness. An easy way to start doing this is through asking questions of yourself. The three simplest, but most powerful, of these are: ‘What is my body/gut telling me right now?’, ‘What is my heart telling me?’ and ‘What is my head telling me?’ Asking all three of these questions regularly can be an effective way of ‘balancing’ the centres, that is, reducing your reliance on just your preferred centre.
Somatic development
At a deeper level of vertical development, we move into what we call ‘somatic development’. Somatic practices offer another pathway to actively balance the three centres and, in doing so, increase your emotional health. In particular, somatic practices offer a way to embed new ways of thinking, feeling and acting, ‘hard-wiring’ them into our minds and bodies.
The word ‘somatic’ relates to the body, in contrast to the psychological. In this sense, somatic practices often involve some form of movement. For instance, we would take the three questions asked above, about body, heart and head, and carry them with us as we do some form of exercise. Eastern practices such as meditation, yoga and martial arts have applied this approach for thousands of years. However, a walk on the beach (preferably in bare feet), lying on the grass and noticing the smell of the earth or playing in the sun with your children or pet can all have a similar effect.
In our book, Working with Emotional Health and the Enneagram, we offer detailed development guides – both psychological and somatic – for different Enneagram types. There is no ‘one size fits all’ to this work as each of us is different; the Enneagram can provide personalised insights more closely aligned with a person’s unique personality.
A leadership apprenticeship
Vertical development along the lines of what I’ve described so far in this post can help an individual leader build their emotional health and become a more effective leader.
However, there is no doubt that the real strength of vertical development is revealed when the work is done alongside others, ideally at an organisational level, and ideally not just with existing leaders but also with the ‘next wave’ of up-and-coming leadership.
One organisation we have worked with identified their potential next generation of leaders and started them on the vertical development path. They provided on-the-job support and feedback to this group, in ways similar to what a trade apprentice might experience. In addition, the group was exposed to workshops and other structured learning opportunities that had the added benefit of building a peer group around these new leaders. This was an organisation that truly understood the value of vertical development and was willing to make a long-term investment in this cohort.
While it is possible for an individual to pursue a path of vertical development, just as they can develop their skills horizontally, there is no doubt that more significant and sustainable results come from an organisation-wide approach.
Gayle