What is Vertical Development?
Vertical development is the transformative process that widens our mindset — allowing us to better handle complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity.
Unlike horizontal development, which focuses on acquiring new skills and knowledge, vertical development is about evolving our thinking — to elevate the way in which we make meaning in cognitively and emotionally sophisticated ways. This process helps individuals to become more adaptable, reflective, and capable of understanding and managing more complex issues and situations.
Imagine the mind as a container …
Traditional training programs focus on adding more information into the container.
shiftspace grows the size of the container itself, so that it can hold more information.Much of our professional training is focused on horizontal development. The biggest leadership unlock is to upgrade our vertical development. Leaders with higher levels of vertical development outperform their competition threefold.
The Vertical Skillset
There are that help us navigate the world and upgrading them leads to developmental growth.
Self Relating
Develop a deeper understanding of ourselves — becoming aware of any blindspots, weaknesses and unhealthy habits that affect our interactions and our performance. Step up into a place where we can manage ourselves in a way that allows us to operate effectively in any context.
Outcome: self-awareness, self-leadership, adaptability
Perspective Shifting
Take different points of view, ‘zooming out’, understand and integrate the perspectives of different people. See problems from multiple angles so that we get a multi-faceted picture of what is going on in any given situation and make an informed decision that takes every aspect into consideration.
Outcome: empathy, collaboration, communication
Opposable Thinking
Building our cognitive complexity so that we can diagnose issues and think through conflicting ideas to find creative solutions. Instead of choosing either this or that and losing the benefits of one approach, we come up with a new and innovative solution that combines the best of both worlds.
Outcome: decision-making, innovation, problem-solving
Our Mission
True change starts from within
We are firm on the belief that true change starts from within. While external circumstances and influences do play a role in our lives, it is our internal responses and choices that ultimately shape our experiences. When we take the responsibility for our own growth and development we can not only initiate changes on an individual level, but we become a catalyst for broader transformation.
A developmental community
Our mission is to create a communal space for inner growth as this builds the base for creativity, innovation and true transformation. We know ourselves that development is a continuous process and that is why we want to build a community of likeminded people who have a shared language and understanding of development so that we can support each other and continue our growth journey together. We have found that individual work, communal exchange and professional coaching are the pillars that support our development to reach our fullest potential.
The Team
Founder
Strategy & Tech
Founder
Content & Coaching
Meaning Making Advisor
Partnerships