Change vertically
We can’t escape it: Growth and transformation often come as a result of struggle.
Though we’d like to have everything under control, our personal and professional growth often comes from running up against our limits.
When that happens, it is tempting to make surface-level adjustments. These opportunities to pivot relieve the pressure just enough so our challenges don’t seem like an emergency. We feel like we’ve fixed the problem until it inevitably pops up again.
Why? Because the core challenges have not been fully addressed.
One of my clients recently came up against a significant challenge. As we conversed about what it would take to tackle that challenge, she remarked: “It almost sounds like I need to have an identity crisis to solve this!”
She was right.
The draw of simple solutions
Most of the advertisements we see every day are selling simple solutions. Buy this. Eat that. Subscribe to this. These are quick fixes that may have potential but rely on a false promise of solving a problem quickly and completely with an external change.
Unfortunately, you’ll find similar promises in the leadership sphere. Consultants offer '”5 secrets to leadership,” an elite course, or a business operating system that is supposed to make everything fall in line.
It is no wonder, then, why organizations go through so many of these quick fixes in a row, spending time reinventing their processes with minimal gain, only to be uprooted again by the next fad.
What is horizontal change?
These quick fixes are often examples of horizontal change. With minimal commitment, horizontal change introduces us to new products, new jobs, new software, and new buildings—all external things—without creating change within ourselves and our identity.
It is a path that offers visible changes, but no guarantee of effective or long-lasting impact—and certainly no impetus for lasting change or altered perspectives.
The vertical alternative
The alternative to horizontal change is, well, vertical. Vertical change, as Open Circle notes, “starts with a shift in understanding—one that doesn’t just alter the circumstances but transforms the way people relate to them.”
This is something that we at Awaken Leadership Solutions often refer to as deep learning because it requires a deep knowledge of oneself and the learning tools to grow and transform through and beyond the challenge. The learning is deep because it gets close to our core. But it is also vertical in that we “go up” to get a new, more complex view of ourselves and how we relate to the world.
Imagine a situation where you are feeling underappreciated at work. Though it may be true that the work environment is not supportive and you aren’t fully seen by those around you, there is likely a need for deep learning within.
In this case, re-examining your relationship to other people's opinions can be extremely fruitful. Consider how much of your own identity is shaped by the opinion or perceived value of others. Consider what it would take to be the kind of person who appreciates their own work first and does not rely on others for their sense of worth.
Regardless of whether you end up leaving a workplace that doesn't acknowledge your contributions, deep change is the path to being more secure and whole. In this way, you can shed your people-pleasing tendencies and the need to have your identity affirmed by others.
This can be equally liberating for you if you remain in an unaffirming environment, or if you leave in search of one that will affirm your work. After deep change, you can make the decision clearly from a place of wholeness, not trying to fill what is lacking with external change.
Courage starts the journey
If it’s that effective, why aren’t we as a society investing in vertical change? Simply put, it is costly. Vertical change requires a personal investment. And it is predicated on courage.
Perhaps the hardest part of growing as a leader is facing one's own insecurities and limitations. Throughout my years in leadership coaching, I've noticed that many high-achieving leaders adopt unhealthy habits and mindsets on their path to professional success. At some point, those habits and mindsets start to catch up with them.
When a leader inadvertently limits their personal and professional lives, it is often because the very strategies that led to their success are things that need to be let go of or adjusted.
The problem is that people get very attached to these habits because they have produced results—to a short-term degree. Through the repetition of these habits, they become a part of someone's identity or self-concept. That is why setting better work boundaries or changing one’s understanding of oneself will feel like an identity crisis.
Let that be a sign that you’re on the right track.
The cost of vertical change
There will be a period of grief and loss, and possibly fear, about losing a piece of what you saw as your essence. But deep change happens when someone can actually transcend those limiting assumptions and behaviors in order to get to the next level of success or fulfillment. In the end, the deeper cost will bring truer, lasting solutions.
Next time you see a horizontal move on the horizon, dare to go deeper. Deep learning—or vertical change—can bring real and lasting transformation, if only you have the courage to see it through.
Ready for a change?
Our professional coaching provides structured support to help you achieve the kind of vertical change that can unlock your potential. Let’s schedule a conversation.