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Issues & Observat ions

Adult Development TheoryMay Boost Global Leadership

Michael H. Hoppe

nyone in a global leader-ship role has been given a tall order.The nature of the global leadershipenvironment—increasingly volatile,uncertain, complex, ambiguous, cul-turally diverse, intricately inter-twined, and advancing technologi-cally at breakneck speed—causesmany individuals in global leadershiproles to ask: “Am I in over my head?Do I have the mental, emotional, andbehavioral wherewithal to ever get afirm grip on this work? And if so,how can I best get to that point?”

What is often behind these ques-tions is the acute sense that, to para-phrase Albert Einstein, we cannothope to tackle the problems andopportunities of this new work envi-ronment with the same competenciesand mind-sets used to create it—thatwe need to develop and apply ways ofthinking and acting that at a minimumare at the same level of complexityand interconnectedness as the chal-lenges and opportunities before us.

An example from the realm oftechnology illustrates this idea: aneffective computer software engineerpossesses one set of skills and mentalcapacities; an expert computer net-work manager has acquired a broadermind-set, additional competencies,and more inclusive frames of refer-ence in order to be effective when

integrating multiple networks acrossdistances, countries, and cultures.

We need to find ways to help indi-viduals in global leadership roles havethe necessary experiences and acquirethe requisite skills to succeed. Thisprocess will naturally include chal-lenging job assignments, such asworking on international projects andworking outside of one’s own culture.Moreover, global leaders need to beprovided with opportunities to reachlevels of individual growth that dojustice to the levels of job complexityand human diversity that are hall-marks of their work. That task in itselfrequires a framework for leadershipdevelopment that is conceptually andempirically sound and that can guidethe development of individuals whoare likely to succeed as global leaders.

The literature reporting on recentresearch in the field of adult develop-ment points to the potential for deriv-ing such a framework for global lead-ership development from this field.There is clearly promise in applyingan adult development perspective tothe development of global leaders.

The main finding of this adultdevelopment research is the existenceof predictable stages of developmentor distinctly identifiable levels ofconsciousness or internal action log-ics, the various principles that we useto construct our understandings ofself and that noticeably shape how weinterpret our surroundings and reactwhen our power or safety is chal-lenged. These principles, by exten-sion, guide the ways in which we

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understand others and our relation-ships to them. Moreover, they areconceptually and empirically differentfrom common notions of intelligencein that they are concerned with thevarious ways in which we make senseof the world around us. In general,then, an adult development perspec-tive postulates that we have thepotential to develop increasinglycomplex levels of understanding ofourselves and the world in which welive, to broaden our behavioral reper-toire, and to widen our inclusivenessof those who are different from us.

THREE STAGESAn overview of the literature on adultdevelopment by Cynthia McCauley, asenior enterprise associate and seniorfellow at CCL, and colleagues identi-fies three stages of adult development,moving from dependent to independentto inter-independent, with the lattertwo levels including and integrating butalso surpassing the previous level(s).

In the context of a global workenvironment, individuals who use thedependent sense-making lens aredeeply embedded in their own, theirsociety’s, and their organization’sneeds, traditions, values, and practicesand tend to apply them as the measur-ing sticks for everything and everyoneelse. These individuals struggle to rec-ognize that their thoughts and actionsare learned, tend to think in terms ofeither-or, and perceive difference as athreat to themselves. They see changeas a necessary evil.

Editor’s note: Issues & Observations isa venue for CCL staff members andassociates to express their personalviews about leadership.

Global leaders who think and actfrom the independent stance seethemselves as the product of theirpast experiences, education, and cul-ture. As they seek to grow towardtheir unique selves, they are curiousabout other individuals and cultures.They feel comfortable enlarging theirown and their organization’s bound-aries to create mutually satisfyingand productive relationships. Theyexperience change as natural.

At the inter-independent level offunctioning, global leaders look forthe greater good, whether it’s definedas that of their company, their cus-tomers, or humanity as a whole. Theytend to think and act beyond prede-fined categories of culture, gender,religion, or social class and attemptto create systemic conditions thatenable them and others to constantlytransform. They embrace change anddifference.

One of the implicit propositions inapplying this theory to leadershipdevelopment is that individuals willbecome more effective in their globalleadership roles as they grow beyondthe dependent stage. The descriptorsof the dependent stage suggest that itis difficult to succeed in a globalwork environment unless one hasreached (or at least is in transitiontoward) the independent level.

In an article in the April 2005issue of Harvard Business Review,“Seven Transformations ofLeadership,” David Rooke andWilliam R. Torbert describe how theyfound in their studies of thousands ofmanagers and professionals that thoseat the dependent level were notice-ably less successful in implementingorganization-wide strategies thanthose at the independent stage were.

McCauley and her colleagues con-cluded that a growing body of evi-dence supports the view that leadersoperating at the independent level aremore likely than those operating atthe dependent level to enact leader-ship in ways deemed effective inmost modern organizations.

According to Rooke and Torbert,leaders at the inter-independent levelshow the most consistent capacity toinnovate and successfully transformtheir organizations. However, at pres-ent it’s hard to tell whether leaders atthe inter-independent stage of devel-opment are the ones best suited andprepared to deal most effectively withthe complexities, exceedingly fastchanges, and cultural diversity of theworkforce, clients, and constituenciesin today’s global work environment.So far the literature has identifiedonly a small percentage of respon-dents who have reached the inter-independent level.

There is another reason for notautomatically elevating the inter-independent stage to a prerequisitefor effective global leadership: effec-tive leadership requires what could becalled effective followership. Whathappens when leaders’ and followers’meaning-making structures are so farapart that they can’t connect?

HOW TO HELPHow can we apply an adult develop-ment framework to help the majorityof global leaders get their arms (andminds) around their work? A first stepis to recognize the promise of thisperspective. As Rooke and Torbertstate, most developmental psycholo-gists agree that what differentiatesleaders is not so much their philoso-phies of leadership, their personali-ties, or their styles of management asit is their internal action logics.

A second step is to develop betterand more efficient and user-friendlyassessment instruments to gauge themeaning-making structures of individ-uals who are currently in or are ontrack for global leadership roles. Thiswill, in turn, help us better understandwhich developmental activities bestmove individuals to the next develop-mental level. We know how some ofthese movements—for instance, fromthe dependent to the independentlevel—can be set in motion: a promo-

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tion and the resulting greater respon-sibilities, a realization that the oldways of doing things just don’t workanymore, an expatriate assignment, orparticipation in formal developmentprograms. However, we need tobecome more deliberate and struc-tured in leader development work.

A third step is, seemingly para-doxically, to go beyond the preoccu-pation with individual leader devel-opment. We need to develop in equalmeasure the capacity and the devel-opmental level of groups, organiza-tions, communities, and societies as awhole to deal with the increasedvolatility, uncertainty, complexity,ambiguity, and diversity in the envi-ronment and the speed of technologi-cal change. It would be beyond theabilities and stamina of most of us asindividuals to succeed in an environ-ment that uses action logics that arenot reasonably well aligned with ourown or with the problems or opportu-nities at hand. Another part of thisthird step is to broaden our thinkingregarding the source of leadership.What if leadership could be seen tobe as much a property of the collec-tive as of the individual?

An adult development perspectiveon global leadership may make usrealize that the majority of leadersfunction at a developmental level thatrarely does justice to the complexi-ties, diversity, and changes aroundthem. Could it be, then, that we mustlet go of the image of the individualleader who has it all and can do itall? Might we be better off if weincreasingly think of leadership assomething that we do together andshare and for which we acquire themental, emotional, and behavioralcompetencies that enable us to leadtogether to bring about a better team,organization, or community for thebenefit of society worldwide?

Michael H. Hoppe is an enterpriseassociate at CCL. He holds a Ph.D.degree from the University of NorthCarolina.

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