Walking the Talk of Maturity: Competition and Collaboration in the Vertical Development Space (and beyond)
To walk the talk is hard at the best of times. But how does that play out for people who research and teach adult development and whose whole work is about fostering maturity and wisdom?
Those of you who have been reading my musings on adult development for a while will know I am a bit obsessed with the idea of ‘walking the talk’. I believe that being able to do what you preach is essential in every aspect of our lives - as we lead our teams, raise our children or strive to simply be decent human beings in the world. But when your whole working life revolves around supporting others to grow into more maturity and wisdom, 'walking the talk’ takes on a whole new meaning.
I do want to write about this now, as I’ve just had something happen that touched me deeply: I received a pledge right here, on Substack, from someone working in another vertical development consultancy, who shared this message (I do believe she won’t mind me making it public, in gratitude for her sparking the reflection that follows):
“Because we are colleagues, the more we support each other, the easier the road. Thank you!”
Receiving this message and this gesture of generosity and support - a ‘competitor’ keen to sponsor my work - made me reflect on how crucial it is to challenge our mindsets when it comes to what it takes to build a profitable business AND do good in the world. It made me reflect on all the instances of needless competition I’ve witnessed and how that often undermines the higher purpose of our work. And it also made me reflect on what it takes to be willing to collaborate, to honour each-other’s work, to lift each-other up instead of tearing each-other down, even when every capitalist message coming our way tells us that we should protect your turf and chase that ‘competitive advantage’ (I really dislike that term!).
For many businesses, the object of their work and the way they go about existing in the market are somehow separate. A company selling yogurt might (and does) compete fiercely with other yogurt-selling companies. And that seems to be the norm in what many like to call the “free market”. The idea that direct competitors might collaborate is counter-intuitive. And yet, at times, it does happen.
I still remember my delight and fascination at an event a couple of years ago as I listened to the CEO of Burrtzorg, a company featured in Frederic Laloux’s book - “Reinventing Organisations” - talk about how his company purposefully supported competitors, freely giving away their know-how to lift up similar businesses, all in the service of Netherland’s and other countries’ healthcare systems. I remember some people in the audience being profoundly baffled:
“But what if everyone copies your business model?”. “Then more people will get amazing healthcare, and that’s why we exist” - I remember him replying. “Humanity over bureaucracy” is their motto. And as far as I could see, they were walking the talk.
“Lets talk about how we should co-operate together instead of competing; with other professionals, with informal carers and other organisations. How we make younger people enthusiastic for the profession and much more."
Jos de Blok, Buurtzorg founder
Collaboration is amazingly powerful, impactful, and so needed in this disrupted, polarised world. Yet it is still a rare occurrence in the business space (and in the academic space too, but that is a tale for another time).
But what if the very object of your business is helping people be more self-aware, foster maturity and wisdom? What if the very thing you teach every day is collaboration, curiosity, listening, co-creation? What if you are in the business of human transformation? Does that compel you to be that wise person/organisation in relation to others in your eco-system?
Interestingly, in adult development research, the capacity to collaborate is considered a feature of development. In my own work I consider it a distinct line of development - a thread running through someone’s developmental journey. Experts who measure vertical development can look for evidence of this capacity when they assess someone’s developmental stage. We know that people operating from later stages of maturity are generally more capable to notice their own competitive impulses and transcend them. They are more inclined to collaborate for the greater good and more aware that through community the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
So how does that play out in the very field that researches maturity and strives to design interventions that foster it at scale? Are developmentalists better at collaborating than the average person?
As a relative new-comer in the field, looking up to researchers and pracitioners who have been doing this work for decades, I would say the evidence is encouraging. From the very first moment I started my research I had help from others in the field. People like Prof. William Torbert and Elaine Herdman Barker, two pioneers adult development science and practice, have generously given me their time and wise advice - my PhD journey would not have been the same (or might not have been at all) without them. People like Heidi Gutekunst have trusted me with helping test-drive some of their own ideas and innovations, even before they were ready to put them out into the world, not once worrying that I might misuse the information. People like Nial O’Reilly and Anastasia Nekrasova have shared insights about the way they do this work in one of the most respected developmental consultancies in the world, keen to support me in carving my own path in this space.
More recently Nick Petrie, an exceptional developmental researcher and practitioner whose work I had learnt immensely from, but whom I had not met, sat down with me on The Developmental Podcast, sharing his own growth journey and talking, among many other things, about the crucial importance of generosity and sharing in our field of work. Also on the podcast came Dr. Valerie Livesay one of my research heroes and the person who helped us all understand that vertical development doesn’t always go ‘forward’, but in fact some of our biggest growth happens when we ‘fallback’ - going backwards and breaking down to break through. Valerie gifted me so much of her wisdom and has become a dear friend in the process.
I’ve shared these names and links to all these people’s work here because, if you are curious about vertical development, they are all people whose work you should know about. There are many more giants on whose shoulders we are all standing and, to honour them all, I’ve created a special page on the Vertical Development Institute’s website, where you can find an overview of the research and practice, with many important names who have innovated and brought gifts of wisdom we have all learnt and grown from.
Is it all rosy and collaborative in the vertical development space? To say so would be a lie. Developmentalists are human after all and subject to all manner of human foibles.
I’ve had people talk at me, instead of to me. I’ve had people ghost me online or ignore me in live settings. I’ve had people put me down. I’ve seen people do that to each-other in various contexts. I’ve witnessed toxic criticism online (and offline). I’ve heard people talk badly about other people when those others were not present.
I’ve used every one of those moments as a mirror, to turn back towards myself and check in - am I walking my talk? Am I really embodying the work I do every day with those who trust me with their development? The honest answer is: imperfectly. I’m good at catching myself falling back into my judgemental, self-centred, competitive, ego-driven self. I’ve grown better at bringing myself back into a place of awareness, openness, and generosity. I’ve got tons of work in not falling back in the first place.
I hear the judgements and comparisons in my head, and I sometimes wonder aloud at how deeply ingrained these self-preserving instincts can be. But then I look around and see people like those I mentioned before modelling for me what a wise human can be. And I feel hope that growth is possible - for me and others. I also feel a sense of responsibility.
To mess up is human. To not accept you’re messing up, all while teaching others to be their best, that is hubris.
Many of you subscribing to this newsletter are either researchers with an interest in adult development, or coaches, consultants, facilitators providing developmental services to individuals, teams, and organisations. You might be working in the HR space, at the receiving end of the work those of us from the ‘consulting’ side of the seesaw. Or you might be in a completely different field, just here because adult development is something that interests you. Whichever role or field you might be in, I hope this little incursion into the adult development business space, its people and its collaborative or competitive currents will help you reflect on what it takes to actually live for yourself the principles you might hold dear and and inviting others to follow. This story is about a niche, but the reflections are likely applicable way beyond that, to other fields, other sectors and other spaces.
Where in your work or life do you find yourself competing out of a self-protective drive? Where and when is there room for collaboration and what might come of it? Who have been the people who have gifted you their attention, time and help, even when there was no immediate gain in it for them? Have you taken the time to thank them, or share what their gift has meant?
What opportunities do you have to give in turn - your presence, your ideas, your wisdom - even as you might be worried that you’ll make yourself vulnerable, give something precious away or lose a competitive advantage?
As a wise and dear friend of mine keeps reminding me - we are more together! So beautifully said and oh, so hard to live by those words! Where do you see “the whole” possibly being more impactful than the sum of its parts and how might you bring your own contribution to that wholeness?
Who have you lifted up today? Who are you going to help lift up tomorrow?
Photo by Ruslan Zh on Unsplash
So many threads to pick up in this Alis!
I’ll pick just one.
Every business needs to take care of three key things: Commercial Responsibility, Customer Value and Culture. I call these the 3Cs.
If you don’t know that the three work in synergy and you don’t make any effort to leverage that synergy you end up with conflict, silos and waste. That is not an environment where development can occur.
If, however, you understand that synergy and you make an effort to leverage it you can increase collaboration, psychological and operational flow as well as throughput. This is a space for developmental growth.
Finding and leveraging the synergy between the 3Cs works in business. It can work here as well. You are intuitively doing it already.
Thank you for your leadership and the opportunity to participate🙏.
P.s. It’s not about a balanced scorecard. That was a good step but we need to transcend that level of complexity and seek synergy - aka Laloux 😉.
Of course, that might take a bit of vulnerability and effort 😳😅😃
Beautifully shared, thank you Alis!