𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗽, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗽 ?

There's a moment in every emerging leader's development that nobody warns you about.

You've gone from expert to project leader to team leader. You've delivered.  You've grown. You feel ready for the next step.

And then you get there — and realise the rules have changed.

Up until now, you've been executing someone else's strategy. Someone else's playbook. The next step puts you in the room where you're setting the strategy.  Defining the playbook. And suddenly, the mindset that got you here — achievement, execution, expertise — isn't enough.

This is the gap most development plans never address.

When I work with emerging leaders, I find there are two development questions that matter. Most people are only asking one.

The first is horizontal: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨?

The second is vertical: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰?

Both matter. But vertical development is where most plans fall short — and where the real breakthroughs happen.

Here's a simple way to think about it. Your potential is a cup.

𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗽 — skills, competencies, knowledge. The cup stays the same size.

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗽 — expanding your mindset, your perspective, your emotional range. You access potential that was always there but couldn't get out.

The reason leaders struggle with vertical development goals is straightforward: you don't know what you don't know.

Your development goals up to this point have been about getting better at a known thing. The next step asks you to become capable of something you haven't done yet. That's a different problem — and it needs a different approach.

Vertical development means setting goals that stretch and disrupt your thinking. That expose you to perspectives you wouldn't naturally seek. That build your awareness of how you're showing up — and the impact you're having on others.

It's not about doing more. It's about becoming more.

𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵: 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗽 — 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿?

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱 — 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵?