The leadership gap isn’t about skills—it’s about thinking
In nearly every coaching conversation I’ve had over the past year, there’s been a common theme: leaders are overwhelmed, not just by the volume of work, but by the complexity of the world they are navigating. They’re expected to lead through disruption, manage competing stakeholder demands, and build cultures of trust and inclusion—all while staying personally grounded and resilient.
Traditional leadership development—what we might call “horizontal development”—offers tools and techniques. It might help a leader delegate better, manage performance, or run more effective meetings. These are useful, but no longer enough. What is missing is the deeper growth: not only what a leader knows, but how they think, relate, and make meaning. That’s where vertical leadership development comes in.
Why vertical development is critical for leaders today
Vertical development is the process of expanding a leader’s capacity to see and respond to the world in more complex, adaptive ways. It is based on the idea that adults, like children, can grow in stages of psychological development—moving from more reactive, self-centric mindsets to more integrated and systemic ones.
Whereas horizontal development is about adding knowledge or skills (like learning how to use a new tool), vertical development is about fundamentally shifting the way a leader makes sense of the world. It’s not learning more—it’s learning to see differently.
As an executive coach, I have seen this shift happen in moments of real stretch. One senior leader I worked with was grappling with a team restructure and found herself pulled between loyalty to long-standing team members and the strategic needs of the business. Initially, she was caught in binary thinking—either be compassionate or be decisive. But through reflection and coaching, she began to hold both truths at once. She grew into a mindset where paradox could be managed, not resolved. That’s vertical growth in action.
What is vertical leadership development?
The environment leaders are operating in is vastly more complex than it was even five years ago. We are in an era of compounded disruption: geopolitical instability, AI and technological acceleration, social fragmentation, climate urgency, and shifting employee expectations. The challenges leaders face are no longer technical—they are adaptive. There are no obvious right answers, and leadership cannot be outsourced to expertise or authority alone.
In this context, leaders must be able to pause, reflect, and make sense of ambiguity. They need to navigate nuance, integrate competing perspectives, and stay grounded in uncertainty. These are not just intellectual tasks—they are developmental ones.
I think of a client who had just stepped into a national executive role. He was technically brilliant and had led large teams before. But the scope of his new role exposed a different kind of challenge: leading without having all the answers. He needed to shift from being the go-to problem solver to the kind of leader who builds capability in others, sets strategic direction, and manages long-range trade-offs. It wasn’t a skills gap—it was a mindset gap. Through coaching and structured reflection, he began to expand his tolerance for ambiguity and let go of the need to control every detail. His team noticed the change—more empowerment, more trust, more resilience. His development became the catalyst for theirs.
Why now?
The old ways of working aren’t sustainable. Post-pandemic, we’ve seen a recalibration of what leadership means. The call is for more human, more conscious, more adaptive leadership. Generational shifts are demanding authenticity and purpose. Our systems are calling for leaders who can think long-term, act ethically, and hold complexity with grace.
I have coached leaders who are technically succeeding but feel emotionally and mentally maxed out. They are not failing because they don’t know what to do. They are failing because the context they’re in requires a different way of being. Vertical development is not just a way to lead better—it’s a way to avoid burnout, stay effective, and remain deeply connected to purpose.
How does vertical development happen?
Unlike traditional leadership programs that focus on content delivery, vertical development requires immersion, challenge, and reflection. It happens when leaders are invited to stretch—to sit in discomfort, confront assumptions, and examine the stories they live by.
At Career Pivots, we support this through facilitated programs that integrate diagnostics, psychometric tools, and 360-degree feedback. But tools alone don’t do the work. It’s the conversations that matter. The debriefs. The space to pause, reflect, and ask: “What’s the mindset that’s driving my behaviour right now?” or “What am I not seeing?”
Vertical development is often catalysed in moments of tension: when a team hits a wall, when a project fails, when feedback stings. With the right support, these moments become doorways. One senior executive I worked with received confronting feedback that she was perceived as intimidating. Her first instinct was to dismiss it— “That’s just what strong leadership looks like.” But over time, she began to see the deeper pattern. She realised that behind the force was fear—fear of being seen as weak, fear of losing control. As she unpacked that story, she began to lead with more openness, and her influence increased exponentially.
What this means for organisations
If you’re an organisation committed to transformation, innovation, or culture change, vertical development should be a core strategy. It’s the missing lever in many leadership programs. We often focus on changing structures or strategies without evolving the mindsets that shape them.
Invest in your leaders’ growth—not just by teaching them new things, but by supporting who they are becoming. Foster cultures where feedback is welcomed, reflection is expected, and psychological safety is the norm. Create stretch experiences but wrap them in support. The ROI isn’t just in better leadership—it’s in more adaptable, human, and wise organisations.
From competent to conscious leadership
We are at an inflection point in how we think about leadership. The question is no longer just “are you capable?” It’s “are you conscious?” Are you aware of the filters you see the world through? Are you willing to evolve?
At Career Pivots, we believe that small, intentional shifts in thinking, attitude, and behaviour—small pivots—can lead to profound changes in performance and impact. Vertical leadership development is the edge that helps leaders rise, not by doing more, but by becoming more.
