Inner Development for Outer Change

Inner Development Goals framework 2024

The Inner Development Goals (IDG) Summit in Stockholm last week was an inspiring reminder that the path to a sustainable, thriving future lies in the minds and hearts of not only leaders but all of us.

In this era of profound transformation, it is clear that the solutions we need emerge from both inner and outer development.

The outer environment 

To understand what inner qualities we will need to cultivate, let’s first take a look at the outer environment that is challenging us to step up.

Looking ahead to 2035 and beyond, several megatrends are already shaping the future of our societies, economies, and the planet. These trends represent both opportunities and challenges, requiring leaders to be adaptable, systems-thinking, and visionary.

Some of the most significant megatrends include:

Climate Change and Environmental Degradation: Climate change is not just an environmental issue but a systemic challenge that impacts everything from agriculture to public health, economic stability, and migration.

Technological Advancement: The rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, quantum computing, and biotechnology is transforming industries and reshaping the nature of work, relationships, and even ethics.

Global Inequality and Social Justice: While globalization has lifted millions out of poverty, it has also deepened inequalities. Addressing issues of equity, justice, and inclusion will be central to building resilient societies.

Digital and Data-Driven Society: The rise of big data and digital connectivity offers vast potential, but it also raises concerns around privacy, security, and ethical governance of technology.

These megatrends highlight the complex, interconnected nature of the challenges we face as humanity, many of which are framed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Sustainable Development Goals

The SDGs, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, represent a global call to action to solve some of the most pressing issues of our time—what are often also referred to as “wicked problems.”

These problems are inherently complex, often interwoven, and resistant to simple solutions. They require systemic approaches that address the root causes of issues rather than merely treating symptoms.

However, as important as the SDGs are in helping us recognize these wicked problems, they point primarily to the outer world—policies, institutions, systems, and actions we must implement.

The challenges of the 21st century, though, are not merely external.

They are deeply connected to how we, as individuals and collectives, think, feel, and relate to the world around us.

The Inner Development Goals 

The Inner Development Goals (IDGs) offer a parallel and complementary framework to the SDGs, pointing to the critical inner capacities we must cultivate to address these outer challenges.

While the SDGs ask what we need to do, the IDGs ask who we need to be.

The IDGs focus on personal growth and leadership development, highlighting that without inner change, outer change will not be sustainable. They emphasize:

  1. Being – Developing an inner compass, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and presence, which enable us to respond mindfully rather than reactively.
  2. Thinking – Cultivating complex thinking and a systemic worldview to understand interconnections and long-term consequences.
  3. Relating – Building empathy, compassion, and connection with others, supporting collaboration and collective problem-solving.
  4. Collaborating – Strengthening our ability to work together across boundaries, listen deeply, and engage in shared leadership.
  5. Acting – Developing courage, resilience, and the ability to translate our inner values into outer actions that align with the common good.

Inner Development Goals framework 2024

Inner development on these dimensions stands out as a foundational requirement for tackling the challenges we face.

The ability to navigate uncertainty, make decisions that honor the complexity of the issues, and lead with empathy and courage will, in fact, determine our success in solving wicked problems.

Our Growth and Development as Adults

I’m personally very invested in the IDGs as well as in Adult Development and Vertical Leadership Development, which presents some of the theoretical frameworks for the IDGs. I was even one of 1000+ early contributors to the IDG framework before it was launched. Since then, I have participated in all summits and continued working on my own adult development, as well as supporting that of my clients. Now, I’m also humbly stepping into a role as IDG Ambassador.

A highly relevant trailblazer in the field of adult development psychology was, by the way, Clare W. Graves. His foundational work and insights add another layer of insight to this conversation.

Graves theorized that human development progresses through stages, each representing a unique way of coping with existential problems.

According to Graves’s studies of adult behavior and maturity, as the external conditions in our world change, our internal neurological and psychological systems must evolve to keep pace. That is, according to Graves, how we develop as adults.

Hence, this theory of human development highlights that different stages of development are responses to the complexity of the world around us.

I believe Graves’s theory brings hope.

Because we – as individuals and as humanity – are challenged to cope with the new external conditions of our world.

And – we will need to step up our individual and collective abilities to cope with it because the external conditions of our world are already forcing our internal neurological and psychological systems to do just that. That is not comfortable. But necessary.

The IDG framework is an important reminder of the qualities needed.

From Inner Development to Outer Change

The IDGs offer a powerful framework for developing the inner capacities we need to lead in this uncertain and complex world.

These inner qualities will allow us to think systemically, act compassionately, and lead effectively.

They will help us become the kinds of leaders who can address the wicked problems that threaten the future of our planet and humanity.

As we move forward, the question for all of us is not only what we will do but who we will become.

At last, a few inspirational quotes:

”…change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Roy T. Bennett

”Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” — Wayne W. Dyer

”The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs

”Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”  Barack Obama

Learn more

Learn more about the Inner Development Goals here >>>

I also invite you to check out how I work to support this development through Executive Coaching for expanded leadership presence, capacities and impact >>>

 

About the author

Elisabet Lagerstedt

Elisabet Lagerstedt

Elisabet Lagerstedt is the founder and director of Future Navigators. As a trusted advisor, consultant, and Executive Coach, she helps business leaders navigate beyond business as usual to build Better Business and co-create a better future - through insight, strategy, innovation, and transformation. Elisabet is also the author of Better Business, Better Future (2022) and Navigera in i Framtiden (2018).