Vertical team development

Demands on leadership teams are undoubtably growing in line with the increasing complexity of the environment in which they operate. VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) has become normalised, we recognise its impact and, we ask, how has team development evolved to support executives navigate their way through the storm which shows no sign of abating?

Vertical development is about growing through successive stages to broaden and expand your capacity to see the world and shift your mindset to take in more complexity. It has been described as upgrading the operating system on your phone enabling the running of more and more complex apps as opposed to simply adding more apps (knowledge) without being able to process it (1). Understanding a team’s capacity to navigate and process complexity and create a strategic response can deliver competitive advantage in these turbulent times.

We are big fans of psychometrics which can be helpful for individuals to understand their traits and preferences as well as develop healthy and productive team dynamics. In our view, the current context calls for a deeper exploration of a team’s capacity to navigate their dynamic circumstances, challenge their perceptions and respond for both the short and long term.

An important element of leading in complexity is meaning-making, which influences problem solving, self-management, relationships, perspective taking, conflict and systems thinking. The Leadership Development Profile (LDP) provides a way to understand the focus of an individual’s meaning-making, how they are likely to interpret situations and act (2). We have found this awareness to be transformative for individuals.

Within the context of a team, understanding profiles as a collective enables them to interrogate how their behaviour and decisions might be shaped by the spread of meaning-making, where the centre of gravity lies and what might be their blind spots. This can enable the collective shift required to reenergise purpose, strategy and performance.

How this happens

Each member of the team is introduced to the LDP and completes their profile – a unique experience which requires the completion of sentence stems. A de-brief with a qualified coach enables them to explore the resulting profile fully and reflect on what it means for their personal development. A consolidated team profile is then produced which then forms the basis of the team session.

During these sessions, individuals are asked to reflect in pairs on their profile and how it informs their leadership and ask for feedback.
The team profile is then shared, discussed and overlaid on the current business context. This approach enables the team to explore key questions in relation to strategy, relationships, benefits and risks of the team profile, and what they might want to do differently. A series of interactive exercises that offer insight and immersion into perspective taking really bring the concept of meaning making to life both for individuals and for the team.

Our style

In facilitating both the individual coaching sessions and the team exploration we balance deep reflection and pragmatism to create a profound and productive experience.