This is an awesome introductory video explaining the basics of vertical development by Ryan Gottfredson (which I believe I may have shared before, as it looks familiar).
Main Points
In reflecting upon the video, did you catch the following?
The difference between horizontal and vertical development is the difference between doing and being.
Vertical development helps us to embrace the challenges of life by elevating our mental maturity so that we can make meaning of our world in much more complex ways.
Vertical development is a part of developmental psychology which has been around since the 1880s.
Whereas developmental psychology often focuses on child development through predictable stages of development, vertical development focuses on adult development through more mature stages of development.
However most adults do not develop in adulthood. That’s because adult development is not based upon age but rather effort.
Mind 1.0 embodies safety, comfort, and belonging and encompasses 64% of adults and 7% of executives.
Mind 2.0 embodies standing out, advancing, and getting ahead and encompasses 36% of adults and 85% of executives.
Mind 3.0 embodies contributing, adding value, and lifting others and encompasses 1% of adults and 8% of executives.
Since people can operate at different levels at different times, your center of gravity is where you spend most of your time operating from.
Robert Kegan’s Minds
Now for those who might be aware of Robert Kegan’s work, here’s how it aligns.
Mind 1.0 = Socialized Mind
Mind 2.0 = Self-Authoring Mind
Mind 3.0 = Self-Transforming Mind
Richard Barrett’s Stages of Development & Levels of Consciousness
For those aware of Richard Barrett’s values-based work and how it fleshes out and provides greater detail of Robert Kegan’s minds, here’s how it aligns.
Mind 1.0 = Socialized Mind = Stages / Levels 1, 2, 3
Mind 2.0 = Self-Authoring Mind = Stages / Levels 4, 5
Mind 3.0 = Self-Transforming Mind = Stages / Levels 6, 7
What Richard Barrett does is differentiate stages from levels. While you can achieve stages, your level is what you are currently or primarily operating at. For example, you may have achieve stage 4 and thus level 4. But if you lose your job, you will immediately drop down to level 1 temporarily until you can gain employment once again, even though you’ve still achieved stage 4.
In terms of myself, I’m transitioning between Mind 2.0 and Mind 3.0, as per the video, or between a Self-Authoring Mind and Self-Transforming Mind as per Robert Kegan’s work. From Richard Barrett’s work, I’m transitioning between stage 5 and stage 6 but I have not achieve stage 5 yet. In terms of my level, I have brief moments at level 6 but I mainly operate at level 5 and occasionally drop to level 3 or 4 when I’m feeling down temporarily.
What you will notice is that the more mature your stage of development, the less time you will spend at lower levels of consciousness when you drop down to them. For example, a decade ago, I would drop to lower levels and could spend days, weeks, or even months completely dejected about my life. Nowadays, this time span is just reduced to hours within a day or a few days at worst.
Different Perspectives, Greater Understanding
To state the obvious here, all of these different ways of perceiving growth and development as an adult can feel confusing at first because so many different people have been working on it over the years.
But one thing I’ve realized above all is that looking at something from multiple perspective is the best way to understand it, as this embodies a Mind 3.0 perspective naturally. In effect, it’s like walking virtually around something unknown and understanding it from different angles, so as to make it known.
From a creativity perspective, it is shifting from looking at life as this OR that (i.e. black or white) and looking at life as this AND that (i.e. a spectrum of colours).