The Aware Leader: Supporting Post-Autonomous Leadership Development (original) (raw)

In this chapter we share research and learning from Pacific Integral (PI)’s 16 years of designing and facilitating the Generating Transformative Change (GTC) program; a developmentally informed and research-based leadership development program. We address our approach to working developmentally with leaders, the application of the STAGES developmental model, and the research that informs and guides the program’s curriculum. In greater detail we examine the developmental transition between Strategist and Construct Aware (Cook-Greuter, 2013; O’Fallon, 2016) and the implications for leadership practice and development. We explore the unique challenges and opportunities of this developmental transition and the practices and processes that support it. We conclude by sharing principles and practices for working developmentally with leaders, including pitfalls and challenges, and the ethical perspectives that guide the work.

Sign up for access to the world's latest research.

checkGet notified about relevant papers

checkSave papers to use in your research

checkJoin the discussion with peers

checkTrack your impact

1 Making Leadership Development Developmental

2016

Abstract: For leadership development to be effective, it must also address the development of structures of consciousness. Practices aimed at the transformation of consciousness and used in a leadership course are described. Research using Q-methodology is presented. Preliminary interpretation of research results indicates one factor as having the most capacity in areas indicated by the literature as important. It also points to the effectiveness of the course processes of dialogue and reflection in developing consciousness.

Making Leadership Development Developmental

For leadership development to be effective, it must also address the development of structures of consciousness. Practices aimed at the transformation of consciousness and used in a leadership course are described. Research using Qmethodology is presented. Preliminary interpretation of research results indicates one factor as having the most capacity in areas indicated by the literature as important. It also points to the effectiveness of the course processes of dialogue and reflection in developing consciousness.

Redefining Leader Development

Organizational executives are becoming keenly aware of the importance of encouraging self-directed leader development and lifelong learning. It is also evident that a great deal of confusion abounds regarding what is meant by the practice of leader development. This paper explores the nature and source of this confusion and provides clarification regarding terminology and shifting paradigms in methodology and organizational culture. Furthermore, we propose a focus on personal transformation, moral development, and sustainable behavioral change as critical aspects of leader development.

Torrez & Rocco (2015) Building Critical Capacities for Leadership Learning.pdf

2 Cognitive elements of transformational learning, particularly metacognition and critical self-reflection, are discussed as essential considerations for leadership development in the 21st century. The importance of developmentally sequencing leadership-learning experiences and addressing evolving complexities of leadership identity are also explored.

Fostering Conscious Leadership. Exploring Leaders' Lived Experience of Vertical Development in the Context of an Executive Leadership Program

PhD Thesis, 2022

In a world rife with disruption and exponentially more complex challenges, the support of future-fit leadership capabilities requires an evolution of leadership programs: from knowledge transfer (horizontal development) to transforming mindsets and worldviews (vertical development). This study explored the mechanisms of vertical development and their implications for leadership learning and program design. The core research question was: How do leaders experience vertical development during an executive leadership program? A dual conceptual framework informed the research: transformative learning (Mälkki, 2019; Mezirow, 2008) and constructive developmentalism (Cook-Greuter, 2011; Kegan & Lahey, 2009; Torbert & Taylor, 2008) – both applied to leadership development. The first was chosen for its practical applications for leadership program design, and the latter for its perspectives on the continuum of adult development, its stages, and mechanisms for growth. The study aimed to link transformative learning and constructive developmentalism to better understand leaders’ vertical development and how to best support it through leadership programs.

The use of constructive-developmental theory to advance the understanding of leadership

Leadership Quarterly, 2006

Constructive-developmental theory is a stage theory of adult development that focuses on the growth and elaboration of a person's ways of understanding the self and the world. In this article we review how the constructive-developmental frameworks of Kegan . The evolving self: Problem and process in human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press], Torbert [Torbert, W. R. (1987). Managing the corporate dream: Restructuring for long-term success. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin.], and Kohlberg [Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stage and sequence: The cognitive developmental approach to socialization. In D. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research. New York: Rand McNally] have been applied in the theoretical and empirical literature on leadership and management.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.