The Hidden Stages of Leadership Only 5% Reach
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In a world where AI evolves at light speed, are you, as a leader, evolving too?
It’s tempting to think leadership growth is just about learning new tools or attending workshops. But real transformation happens at a deeper level—not in WHAT we know, but in HOW we know it. This is the essence of Vertical Leadership Development: upgrading not your skillset, but your inner operating system.
Read the Basics: Leadership is Evolving, Are You Growing Vertically?
The 9 Action Logics: A Spectrum of Meaning-making
Adults evolve through predictable stages of meaning-making called Action Logics. These aren’t personality types—they’re ways of seeing ourselves, others and the world, interpreting complexity we experience.
Here’s the spectrum of these action logics and how people think:
- Impulsive (2%): “If I don’t get what I want, you’ll suffer.”
- Opportunist (5%): “The one with power calls the shots.”
- Diplomat (11%): “The main thing is everyone to be happy.”
- Expert (37%): “I know exactly how things should be done.”
- Achiever (38%): “I must meet standards and expect others to do the same.”
- Individualist (11%): “I want to learn more about how I’m perceived and work on myself, opening new horizons.”
- Strategist (5%): “What wants to emerge through me? Let’s align systems and purpose.”
- Alchemist (<2%): “Consistency is the absence of consistency.”
- Ironist (0.5%): “Whatever happens, keep smiling, ladies and gentlemen!”
Most corporate leaders plateau at the Achiever stage: effective, results-driven, but often blind to systemic forces. Only 11% evolve to Individualist, and just 5% become true Strategists- visionary leaders who integrate purpose, systems thinking, and inner wisdom.
Why the Climb is So Rare
To grow the depth of seeing, leaders must embrace ambiguity, let go of control, and be willing to question the very frameworks they once relied on. This is uncomfortable. But necessary.
Some awaken, acquire new meanings, transform and move into another action logic through mid-life crisis or near-death experiences. Others through coaching.
Discover the driving forces behind truly effective leadership:
Coaching
It’s the gym for the mind. And like fitness, mindset growth and transformation takes time and practice.
Vertical Growth in Action
Let’s take a few examples:
Steve Jobs operated from a Strategist frame—blending design, business, and intuition to reshape industries.
Nelson Mandela, a Strategist, moved an entire nation through reconciliation and system-level change.
Martin Luther King Jr., by contrast, embodied the Alchemist—a rare figure capable of transforming not just systems, but collective consciousness itself.
Otto Scharmer, through his Theory U, exemplifies Alchemical leadership, channeling societal transformation from future potential.
These leaders weren’t just smarter. They had a deeper logic of action and meaning-making.
From Goals to Systems to See What is Beneath the Surface
Most leaders are trained to focus on outcomes—KPIs, deadlines and deliverables. But Vertical Leadership Development shifts that lens. It invites a deeper kind of seeing: not just what’s happening, but how it's happening, and why.
One practice that supports this growth is asking:
What am I currently noticing in the relationships within the current systems (groups, teams, departments)?
This isn’t just about spotting interpersonal issues. It’s about cultivating systems thinking: noticing patterns, power dynamics, recurring tensions, or silence in the room that speaks volumes. Leaders at the Strategist or Alchemist don’t just manage teams—they sense into the system, identify leverage points, and act with greater intentionality.
When leaders begin to see relationships as feedback loops—not isolated transactions—they shift from reacting to problems to redesigning the conditions that create them.
Where to Begin
You can’t download a new mindset like an app. But you can assess where your leaders stand using tools like the Leadership Development Profile (LDP), used by firms like Google, IKEA, and Microsoft. It maps your current action logic and shows your next edge.
Vertical Leadership Development doesn’t train leaders to DO more—it helps them BECOME more.
Boost your LMS with microlearning that sticks. Try Leaderonomics Content Library today!
Edited by: Anggie Rachmadevi
Leadership
Elena Dolmat is an Executive Coach based in Malaysia, working with leaders and teams across the globe. She specializes in Vertical Leadership Development and integrates neuroscience-based approaches to expand leadership capacity and awareness. Elena is an experienced debriefer for 360° leadership assessments and has coached numerous individuals and organizations, helping them achieve powerful breakthroughs and meaningful, lasting change.
