Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................1
Part II: Performance States ............................................................................................................................................................3
States vs. Stages .............................................................................................................................................................3
Performance States ........................................................................................................................................................4
Performance Demands ..................................................................................................................................................4
Part III: The Black Box of Leadership Development.....................................................................................................................5
Part IV: Discovering the Secrets of the Black Box ........................................................................................................................8
Multiple Intelligences As Developmental Lines ...........................................................................................................9
Cognitive......................................................................................................................................................................12
Intrapersonal ................................................................................................................................................................13
Interpersonal ................................................................................................................................................................15
Ethical ..........................................................................................................................................................................17
Physical........................................................................................................................................................................19
Spirituality....................................................................................................................................................................21
Other Important Developmental Considerations ........................................................................................................23
Part V: Integral Practice ..............................................................................................................................................................24
Enhancing Performance States ....................................................................................................................................24
Developing to Progressively Higher Stages.................................................................................................................24
Practice As Its Own Reward ........................................................................................................................................25
Examples of Practices ..................................................................................................................................................25
Integral Practice Design...............................................................................................................................................27
Part VI: Resources.......................................................................................................................................................................28
Part VII: Review Questions .........................................................................................................................................................29
11
L E A D E R S H I P I N S T I T U T E
PART I: INTRODUCTION
pursued goals in business, and one of the most elusive. organizations, these activities occur in the context of culture
Literally hundreds of approaches are currently available, (lower left) and systems (lower right). Other Stagen modules
with new ones showcased on bookshelves each month. explore human capacity in the broader context of organizational
All business schools teach how to encourage high culture, interpersonal interaction, and teamwork (lower left), and
performance as well as various means of measuring its 3
organizational structure and systems (lower right).
results. These methods and means have merit, so why
Peak performance can be defined as the superb
does consistent high performance remain so elusive?
execution of highly developed skills resulting in
Pay-for-performance, pursuit of excellence, consistent high achievement.
balanced scorecard, and good to great efforts are Many people have talent whether they are professional athletes,
well intended and useful. They do not, however, innovative entrepreneurs, driven salespeople, efficient managers,
account for the full intelligence and capability spectrum or inspiring leaders. Talent is necessary, but insufficient; beyond
of any given individual or organization and thus have not natural aptitude, the key to peak performance lies in consistency.
delivered on their promises. Though these approaches Those rare individuals able to execute their skills at elite levels
are limited, once they are reframed within an integral seem to be able to perform at peak, on demand.
Learning Assets: competition, in the boardroom, or in closing the big sale. Human
Into the Zone U.S. News & World Report article performance results from the conscious, coordinated, creative
Tiger Woods video clip (5 minutes)
interplay of dozens of interdependent systems and skill sets. This
Lance Armstrong, the 2002 Sports Illustrated Sportsman module provides a simplified yet comprehensive model of peak
of the Year, won the Tour de France for a sixth performance within an accessible, user-friendly package.
consecutive year after his battle with testicular cancer.
What allowed this man to beat incredible odds, both on
and off the bike, and to demonstrate true peak
performance? The indisputable answer is his mental
toughness.
Golf Skills
in-depth exploration of the factors leading to superb
execution. Stage 1 Low
Examples include any complex and demanding skill, such as performance, it is critical to draw a sharp distinction between
learning a foreign language, playing a musical instrument, or stages and states.
peak performers can dazzle one day and disappoint the next. lengthy off-season each year for rest, healing, renewal, and
(See illustration on this page.) Average performance results growth, allowing them to enter the next season (period of high
when either mind or body is in an unresourceful state. Poor performance demands) in an optimal performance state. By
performance results when both mind and body are in contrast, most leaders off season amounts to a few weeks of
unresourceful states. Peak performance results when mind vacation each year. Leaders can draw some useful lessons
and body are simultaneously in resourceful states. from athletic high performers. Once leaders learn to
distinguish between their own increasing stages of
PERFORMANCE DEMANDS
development (levels of proficiency) from their present-moment
Sports psychologists Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz claim that
state of body and mind, they can, through training and
the performance demands faced by leaders in their everyday
practice, employ methods to better manage and leverage those
work environments dwarf those of professional athletes. In
performance states. A state management key, as shown by
The Power of Full Engagement, Loehr and Schwartz show
professional athletes, is to monitor and cultivate optimum
that professional athletes spend 90% of their time training in
states through the intelligent application of renewal and
order to perform 10% of the time. Their lives are organized
conditioning activities. These activities can be incorporated
around practices that enhance, sustain, and renew their body
into weekly routines and can be scheduled each week during
and mind, enabling them to enter into and remain in high 5
the Weekly Focusing Process.
performance states longer and more consistently than their
One of the most important of the six factors that Leadership performance, like other human endeavors, is a mix of
distinguished the good to great companies was that innate capacity combined with progressively complex stages of
development that result from long-term training and practice.
these companies were helmed by highly developed
leaders during their transition period. In a widely read Harvard Business Review article titled Level 5
All fields have their best and brightest. Collins research Leadership, Collins speculates on this question: Of 1,435
is unique in that it directly correlates the growth and companies that appeared on the Fortune 500 since 1965, only 11
profitability of well-known great companies to each made it into our study. In those 11, all of them had Level 5 leaders
organizations individual leadership performance. Collins in key positions, including the CEO role, at the pivotal time of
transition.
identifies these highly proficient leaders as Level 5
leaders. While the good to great companies in the Collins continues, My preliminary hypothesis is that there are two
study had Level 5 leaders during their transition; the categories of people: those who dont have the Level 5 seed within
absence of Level 5 leaders was a consistent pattern them, and those who do. The first category consists of people who
among the not-so-great comparison companies. could never in a million years bring themselves to subjugate their
An ongoing question related to high-performance own needs to the greater ambition of something larger and more
leadership derives from the nature vs. nurture debate: lasting than themselves. For those people, work will always be first
can high performance be taught, or are people born with and foremost about what they get: the fame, fortune, power,
the necessary talent? To rephrase: adulation, and so on, rather than about what they create or
Collins simple model is a good pioneering effort that can Makes productive contributions through talent,
knowledge, skills, and good work habits.
be more powerfully applied and clearly understood with
a sufficient understanding of integral theory
specifically, the four quadrants (which delineate interior
and exterior, individual and collective dimensions),
multiple intelligences, and developmental lines. The
subsequent sections of this module reveal how Level 5
(exterior) behavior is clearly a result of a specific
combination of (interior) capacities that can be
developed to progressively higher proficiency stages
through judicious training and practice.
Most approaches to peak performance are grounded in approaches to human performance and organizational strategy are
one or two quadrants while ignoring or even denigrating inadequate. Businesses can no longer afford these partial
the remaining dimensions, and the application of approaches. Integral leaders understand that achieving success in
Gardners work and an integral framework allows for all the (upper right) behavioral/performance dimension requires
aspects of human development to be recognized and cultivating excellence in relevant human capacities (upper left)
cultivated. that represent the interior origin of excellence.
Gardner and other researchers are convinced that much Most people are familiar with intelligence quotient (IQ) testing,
of the frustration that business in particular and society in developed 60 years ago to measure some aspects of cognitive
general experience today comes from the disjunction of development. IQ analyses predict with limited accuracy ones
these dimensions (typified by the four quadrants). potential to excel in mathematic, logic, and linguistic endeavors.
Gardner explains, We observe daily that only one kind Gardner separates IQ into two related but different forms of
of talent say, technological creativity is being intelligence. Linguistic intelligence is the ability exhibited in its
rewarded, and only one measure say, profitability in fullest form, perhaps, by poets. Logical-mathematical intelligence
the marketplace is being recognized. These indices are is logical and mathematical ability, as well as scientific ability.11
insufficient; other parts of the human spirit merit
recognition, respect, and veneration.10
Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand It is tempting to assume that not all kinds of intelligence are
other people with regard to their motivations, their relevant to business. This assumption is countered by the fact that
modes of operation, and how to work creatively and companies such as Microsoft and Agilent intentionally recruit
cooperatively with them. Successful salespeople, musicians for the musical intelligence that affords them a unique
politicians, teachers, and leaders all exhibit high degrees capacity for pattern recognition and an ability to compellingly
of interpersonal intelligence. While interpersonal engage groups of people.
intelligence is concerned with understanding, relating to, Learning Asset: Seven Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your
Multiple Intelligences by Thomas Armstrong (book)
and managing others, intrapersonal intelligence concerns
Tool: Multiple Intelligences Inventory (brief self-assessment)
itself with the internal, subjective dimension that
involves, understanding, relating with, and managing
oneself. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
AS DEVELOPMENTAL LINES
Spatial intelligence is the ability to form a mental model Gardner acknowledges that his distinction of seven intelligences is
of a temporal world and to maneuver and operate using simply one of many valid ways to frame the various human
its contours. Gardner points to sailors, engineers, capacities. Gardners and others work in multiple intelligences
sculptors, and painters as examples of people with highly form the basis for a broader conception of human performance
developed spatial intelligence. Bodily-kinesthetic capability referred to as developmental lines. Developmental
intelligence is the ability to solve problems or fashion lines is a widely used convention that describes the many ways in
products using part or all of ones body. Surgeons, which humans develop progressively higher stages of proficiency
athletes, dancers, and craftspeople all exhibit highly along predictable pathways correlated with distinct human
developed bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Musical capacities. These capacities encompass Gardners multiple
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Physical
Ethical
Spiritual
relationship management skills.
Ethical The ability to make decisions with consideration for
the needs and interests of others with the intention of
achieving the highest good.
Physical Awareness of and proficiency with the kinesthetic
dimensions of the self.
Spiritual The ability to access and employ wisdom in the
exploration of things of ultimate concern. Possible Integral Psychograph for
Someone Like Tiger Woods
Integral Psychographs
Different people have various levels of competency in High
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Physical
Ethical
Spiritual
High
Medium
Low
Cognitive
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Physical
Ethical
Spiritual
Cognitive
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Physical
Ethical
Spiritual
High
Medium
Low
Cognitive
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Physical
Ethical
Spiritual
Cognitive
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Physical
Ethical
Spiritual
COGNITIVE
Cognitive development refers to the discrete set of
abilities to learn, analyze, interpret, and make decisions
using ideas, concepts, and mental constructs. It includes
both Gardners essential linguistic and logical-
mathematical intelligences and other cognitive skills such
as problem solving, grammar, and perception.
Development along this line involves increasing levels of
14
proficiency in the following skills:
Perspective-taking
Strategic thinking
Ability to perceive complex situations accurately
Ability to learn and understand more complex concepts
primarily think in concrete, rather than abstract terms. observable facts. Pattern recognition is more complex and abstract
They exhibit less facility with abstract thinking tasks such at this level; the person is more aware of direct causal
as comparing strategic options. Regarding strategic relationships and consequences. Such individuals can develop
thinking, people with low-level cognitive proficiency strategic, long-term perspectives, which they convert into tenable
may create a simple tactical plan of action, but likely plans containing fairly innovative strategies.
lack the abstract thought and innovative thinking needed High: A high cognitive level provides for a complex combination
to develop comprehensive long-term strategies. Accurate of reason, context, and intuition that integrates and synthesizes
self-reflection may be difficult, and introspection is thought operations and easily accommodates opposing
uncommon except after major setbacks from a heavy viewpoints. Those at this level assume complexity and ambiguity,
disappointment, failure, or loss. They may be unable to enjoy hearing alternative viewpoints, and welcome seemingly
reflect upon their own thought patterns and belief incompatible perspectives as an opportunity to gain deeper
systems and tend to perceive the world unambiguously in understanding. The increased complexity of their pattern
terms that match known rules. They are typically resistant recognition skills allows them to discern subtle relationships
to and have difficulty integrating information beyond simple cause and effect, and to intuit far-reaching
incompatible with their held views. Their thinking is consequences. Those at this level tend to exhibit great complexity
strongly affected by the opinions of authority figures. of thought and are able to design sophisticated yet elegant
INTRAPERSONAL
The heart of intrapersonal intelligence is the human self-
reflective abilities that enable people to step outside
themselves and consider their lives objectively. It
involves the uniquely human propensity to want to know
the meaning, purpose, and significance of things. It
involves the awareness of the inner world of the self,
emotions, values, and beliefs. It includes the ability to
attune to immediate experiences, and to consciously
recognize perceptions, associations, and impressions.
skills are poorly developed. They meet adversity, threat, responses. They know their own strengths without becoming
or failure with instinctual, unconscious emotional arrogant, and recognize their limits without becoming defensive.
responses. They make decisions or act impulsively with They self-regulate their internal experience, remaining optimistic
insufficient thought about consequences. They often and resilient when facing difficulty. Their accurate self-assessments
overstate or understate their abilities, and tend to reject allow for both emotional versatility under pressure and flexibility
negative feedback. in the face of change. Failures or setbacks are viewed as feedback
and do not adversely effect their sense of self-efficacy. They take
Medium: People with medium intrapersonal
full responsibility for their performance without blame or shame.
development are generally more accurate in assessing
Such people handle frustrations, disappointments, and changing
their capabilities. They tend to have a good grasp of their
circumstances by innovating new approaches and creative tactics.
emotions and many of their emotional triggers. They
can recognize varying degrees of emotions and their Learning Asset: EQ Supplement
INTERPERSONAL
These abilities involve understanding and engaging the
responses of emotional systems and using relational skills
to interact effectively with others. They include the ability
to understand what motivates other people, how they
work, and how to work cooperatively with them. This
developmental line encompasses the EQ dimensions of
social awareness and relationship management.
Empathy
Ability to develop others
Organizational awareness
Communication
Persuasiveness
trust and may not be effective team players. They perceive most
Conflict management
interpersonal interactions as a chess game: What is he really up
Teamwork
to? How do I win? They are often unaware of others feelings,
In Working With Emotional Intelligence, Goleman makes
perceptions, and needs and tend to miss subtle verbal and
the persuasive business case for increasing emotional
nonverbal cues. Their inability to understand others leads to
intelligence capabilities. He aggregated competency
miscommunications, which add to their difficulty in influencing
models for 181 different positions drawn from 121
others. They can be strong individual contributors if working
companies and organizations worldwide, having
independently, but in a team scenario tend to have difficulty
combined workforces numbering in the millions. The
bonding outside a small circle.
results were astonishing: 67 percent two thirds of the
abilities deemed essential for effective performance were Medium: People with medium-level interpersonal development
emotional intelligence competencies. are usually able to receive and make use of feedback,
acknowledge their own mistakes, and repair relationships.
The surprising bottom line of extensive
Similarly, though they may miss subtle emotional cues from
research is that emotional competencies
mattered twice as much as either IQ or job- others, they nonetheless encourage open communication and
specific expertise. This held true across all freely share ideas while listening openly to others, especially those
categories of jobs and in all kinds of within their circle of acquaintances and colleagues. Individuals at
organizations.
this level have a greater ability to recognize emotional currents,
Levels of Interpersonal Development power relationships, and other group dynamics. They respect
Low: People with low interpersonal capacity either diverse worldviews and can relate with people from varied
studiously avoid conflict or needlessly engage it. They backgrounds and lifestyles. They rarely seek out conflict but can
may be perceived as either overly aggressive or unable to manage it as it arises.
appropriately confront conflict. They inspire a lack of
Learning Assets:
EQ Supplement
Working With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
(book)
The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace by Daniel Goleman
(book)
ETHICAL
This developmental line defines ones ability to make
decisions while considering the needs and interests of
others with an intention for the highest good. It bears
special emphasis in the current business environment.
Consider these headlines:
Learning Assets:
Lives of Moral Leadership by Robert Coles (book)
Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama (book)
PHYSICAL
Physical development is the ability to solve problems or
achieve desired outcomes using ones body. Dancers,
athletes, surgeons, and craftspeople often exhibit high
physical development. The ability to monitor and
manage physical energy characterizes a crucial aspect of
this capability.
Body awareness
Stress management
Rest, recovery, and renewal
SPIRITUALITY
This developmental line deals with the increasing
capacity to learn from and explore the sources of
meaning, purpose, and wisdom. Like other
intelligences, this capacity can be cultivated by
practices that foster a relationship with the inspiration
that speaks to ones highest purpose and deepest values
for the sake of obtaining human good and avoiding harm.
Howard Lutnick, Cantors chairman, announced that 25 sense of purpose in life (beyond survival and comfort). The person
percent of the firms profits earned during the next five at this level tends to take on the stories, beliefs, and observances
years would go to the surviving families of the employees that symbolize belonging to his or her immediate community. The
killed. This mobilized the remaining employees to fight imaginative processes underlying their mental constructs are
for a purpose beyond them. The survivors became a unrestrained and uninhibited by rational or logical thought, and
band of brothers, drawn together by the shared tragedy the associated symbols of their mythologies are taken literally. The
and the challenge ahead, resulting in an unprecedented circle of those deemed worthy of love and compassion is restricted
level of dedication. Since the founding of the Cantor to a small identifiable group, ranging from family to church (or
Fitzgerald Relief Fund three days after the attack, Cantor synagogue) to some collective of friends. While the person at this
Fitzgerald has provided more than $120 million in level may have a strong sense of service, the wish to serve is
financial support for the families and loved ones of the limited only to members of their limited circle. This stage is
658 victims. This assistance goes to more than 800 sometimes called egocentric.
ENHANCING PERFORMANCE STATES skill sets can be intentionally cultivated and developed.
Professional athletes cultivate optimum states through Recent research in the leading-edge field of integral practice has
intelligently applying conditioning and renewal activities. developed remarkable insights into the nature of human growth
Leaders can incorporate these kinds of activities into and development, including discovering specific methods that can
weekly routines using the Weekly Focusing Process and increase development by 300 percent or more over traditional
Peak Performance Practices Log. The Performance States skill-building approaches.
Worksheet can be used to determine which resourceful
A most remarkable research finding is that peak states can
states to increase and which unresourceful states to
accelerate ones development through progressively higher stages.
decrease. Next, leaders can select and employ practices
By intentionally cultivating high performance states, an individual
from the Integral Practice List (or work with a coach to
can operate with increasing success in a given skill area.
come up with others) to enhance desirable states on an
ongoing basis.
By repeatedly accessing peak performance states
through ongoing practice, the states can transform
Tools: into permanent traits; states becoming traits yields a
Performance States Worksheet
Peak Performance Practices Log
permanent vertical move to a higher stage.
Cross-Training Synergy
DEVELOPING TO PROGRESSIVELY HIGHER
STAGES World-class athletes cross-train. In The Training Of A Corporate
Developmental psychology and athletic sciences show Athlete, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz write: In training athletes,
that training and practice help participants move through we have never focused on their primary skills how to hit a serve,
progressively higher competency stages in numerous skill swing a golf club or shoot a basketball. Likewise, in business, we
sets on various developmental lines. Daniel Goleman dont address primary competencies such as public speaking,
and dozens of emotional intelligence researchers supply negotiating or analyzing a balance sheet. Our efforts aim instead
in as a means to an end. The practice has inherent value Introspection/reflective contemplation: exploration of questions,
feelings, and intuitions.
beyond any expected future payoff. Self-motivation: reinforcing internal drives by connecting with
personal vision and goals on a daily or weekly basis.
EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES Interpersonal
All capacities and skill sets become stronger through Social radar practice: practice identifying others states of mind (and
name them to oneself). Solicit feedback from those interacted with
regular practice. A few examples of practices in which about thinking/feeling states to check and fine-tune accuracy
readings over time.
leaders engage along the various developmental lines are
Practice empathy through active listening and a conscious attempt
covered below. See the Stagen Comprehensive List of to take the role of another.
Integral Practices for more examples (listed at end of this Communication skills: Practice communicating with body language,
voice intonations, and speech context.
section).
Ethical
Consider what lies in the wake of your organizations
actions. Are you leaving the world a better place than you
found it?
Review policies toward employee privacy, workplace
rules, and the right to be treated with respect and life
balance beyond the office.
Physical
Weight/strength training: progressively strengthen the
skeletal muscular system.
Cardio training: increase the bodys capacity to use
oxygen and produce energy through jogging, cycling, or
interval training.
Stretching or power yoga: extend and push the flexibility
and resiliency of the body. Synchronize body and mind
while increasing active relaxation and mental focus.
Spiritual
Connect with a personal source of inspiration. This could
be anything from painting to playing music, reading
inspirational literature, writing, meditation, prayer,
spending time in nature, or with loved ones.
Solitude: stepping away from all activities, people, and
routines to gain a greater perspective of life.
Meditation: sustained observation of thoughts and mental
images. Try to keep the mind calm and clear for 10 to 15
consecutive minutes.
Learning Asset: Comprehensive List of Integral Practices
(200 practices)
Scope
Identify key attribute aspirations and specific role models
possessing these key attributes.
Create a regular practice schedule and commit to Monitor your practice the same way you monitor your exercise
fulfilling certain daily and weekly segments. Core programs. A checklist recording each weeks practices is very
practices are those done daily or weekly, and optional helpful.
practices are those done less frequently or occasionally. Tools:
Commitment
Use a written self-affirmation formalizing your practice
commitment. Share it with your coach or a friend who
also has a dedicated practice.
Learning Assets:
Comprehensive List of Practices list of 200 practices
EQ Supplement Stagen Emotional Intelligence Learning Supplement
The Making of a Corporate Athlete by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (Harvard Business Review article)
Into the Zone U.S. News & World Report article
The Power of Full Engagement book by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
Lives of Moral Leadership by Robert Coles (book)
Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama (book)
Peak Performers book by Charles Garfield
Working With Emotional Intelligence book by Daniel Goleman
The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace book by Daniel Goleman
Practices of Essential Spirituality article by Roger Walsh
Living in Balance book by Joel and Michelle Levey
Essential Spirituality book by Roger Walsh
Mindfulness book by Ellen Langer
The Future of the Body book by Michael Murphy
Golf in the Kingdom book by Michael Murphy
The Life We Are Given book by George Leonard and Michael Murphy
Tools:
Multiple Intelligences Inventory brief self-assessment
Performance States Worksheet Evaluation of current performance states and identification of state-related goals
Integral Practice Blueprint This worksheet can be used to help leaders design a custom set of practices.
Peak Performances Practice Log This tracking tool helps leaders measure and evaluate their weekly practices.
1. Describe the difference between states and stages. 9. Why is ethical development important in business? Give
2. What value do high-performance leaders (Collins Level specific examples using real life or current events to
in your answer. 10. What level would you rate yourself on the physical line?
3. What does Jim Collins recommend for people who wish 11. What makes integral practice different from other forms
to develop themselves to Level 5? Please explain. of training and conditioning?
4. What are the seven types of multiple intelligences that 12. What specific practices do you currently engage in to
Harvards Howard Gardner discovered? renew, condition, or strengthen specific developmental
Endnotes
1
In Peak Performers: The New Heroes of American Business, Garfield points to six elements of peak performance, aspects of which
are covered in depth over the course of the program: (1) a mission that motivates, (2) getting real results in real time, (3) self-
management through self-mastery, (4) team-building and membership, (5) course correction (referred to as strategic thinking), and (6)
change management.
2
A groundbreaking Four Quadrant Modeladdressing interiors (subjective/intangible) and exteriors (objective/intangible) correlated
with individual and collective dimensionswas developed by Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute, and is adapted here with
permission.
3
See Stagen learning modules on Tapping Potential, High-Performance Teamwork, and Integral Innovation.
4
The states vs. stages distinction is a concept derived from integral theory and methodology developed by Ken Wilber and Integral
University, and is used and adapted for our purposes here with permission. Outside of integral theorists and practitioners, few
psychologists or organizational consultants make this crucial distinction. For more information about stages, see the work of
developmental theorists such as Robert Kegan, Susanne Cook-Greuter, or Jane Loevinger. Business readers are encouraged to review
Seven Transformations of Leadership, by David Rooke and Bill Torbert (with Susanne Cook-Greuter), in the April 2005 issue of
Harvard Business Review.
5
See Stagen learning modules Strategic Thinking and Attention Management for more information about weekly routines, the Weekly
Focusing Process, and creating weekly Time Blocks to ensure that renewal and conditioning practices are engaged consistently.
6
From many interviews conducted with Level 5 leaders, Collins recognized that those at the highest stages of proficiency had all
experienced unique life influences, specifically noting several factors that have been empirically demonstrated to accelerate
development. Collins lists self-reflection as among these influences (also known as introspection or meditation), which, according
to developmental psychology, is one of the most powerful methods known to accelerate growth to higher stages of self-awareness
and intrapersonal, ethical, and spiritual development all capacities that contribute to Level 5 leadership performance. Among other
important influences, Collins also recognizes Level 5 leaders as having a mentor (or coach), another life factor that has been shown
to accelerate development. Collins remarks that many of the Level 5 leaders interviewed reported healthy and positive childhood
experiences, which his interviewees cited by referring to loving parents. Finally, he points to the fact that many of the Level 5
leaders had compelling life experiences or crises that transformed them in ways that accelerated their growth. As an example, he cites
Darwin Smith, the former CEO of industry-leading paper-products maker Kimberly-Clark, as having fully blossomed to Level 5 after
his near-death experience with cancer.
7
Technically, integral theory, which contains developmental psychology, is the best-suited tool for exploring the interior dimension
of humans. Integral theory transcends and includes developmental psychology; integral theory contains within it all the insights
afforded by developmental psychology but also integrates the understanding provided by other relevant fields including biology,
physiology, sociology, and systems theory.
8
Robert Kegans work is not covered in this learning module but is featured in other Stagen modules, including Integral Change.
9
Gardners work is based on years of evidence-based research that has been corroborated and expanded by dozens of other
researchers and thinkers from numerous disciplines.
10
Howard Gardner, The Disciplined Mind.
11
Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences.
12
Ibid. In later works, Gardner added a naturalist intelligence, or an attunement to the natural world, and a spiritual or
existential intelligence. These are reflected in the leadership tool we have provided for this module.
13
Ken Wilber has correlated all major developmental theorists models (hundreds in all) and summarized his findings in the seminal
text Integral Psychology.
14
For a more detailed discussion of attention management and strategic thinking, see the Stagen learning modules Strategic Thinking
and Attention Management.
15
See Jim Collins book Good to Great and Harvard Business Review article Level 5 Leaders.
16
For more detail on developing people, see the Stagen module Tapping Potential.