Thriving in a VUCA World: Why Vertical Leadership Development is Key

In today’s world, we as business leaders face challenges that the best practices of management theory and even the best Ivy League business schools haven’t prepared us for. Is Vertical Leadership Development the answer?

A VUCA world

The rapid pace of technological innovation, societal shifts, political polarities, global interdependencies, and environmental crises have created a landscape defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA)—sometimes called a polycrisis.

By polycrisis, we mean a situation where multiple, interconnected crises occur simultaneously, amplifying one another’s impacts and creating systemic challenges that are more severe than the sum of their parts. Unlike standalone crises, a polycrisis arises when these overlapping issues—such as climate change, geopolitical instability, economic inequality, public health emergencies, and technological disruption—interact in ways that make them harder to predict and address. All of this is potentially inflated by the immediacy of social media—which brings the world’s crises to our smartphones – and into our daily realities. What felt far away when we were children today almost feels like it happens just outside our doorstep.

Both terms (VUCA and polycrisis), in their own right, highlight the complexity, interdependence, and cascading effects of global challenges, demanding holistic and collaborative approaches to problem-solving. It emphasises the need for systems thinking and adaptive leadership to navigate such deeply intertwined problems effectively.

Navigating this unfolding context calls for us as leaders to move beyond business as usual—not only in a strategic context but in our inner development. This call is not just an invitation; it is, in fact, an urgent demand for a new kind of leadership.

The opportunity for growth

The many challenges surrounding us can feel disorienting, but they also hold an extraordinary promise: the opportunity to grow!

In his book In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life, Robert Kegan – already in 1994 – described how many adults struggle to meet the growing complexity of the modern world because their internal capacities haven’t evolved to match external demands. This suggests that leadership isn’t just about acquiring more skills or knowledge but about transforming how we make meaning, perceive the world, and relate to others.

Since 1994, the world has evolved rapidly, and our capacities as both leaders and human beings have been truly challenged.

Looking at the global megatrends of our world, I unfortunately deem it highly likely that the level of volatility, uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity will only continue to increase going forward. Hence, the world of tomorrow will be even more demanding and in even greater need of us as leaders to develop our capacities.

The process of inner growth I’m referring to is called adult development which beautifully captures the human potential of growth into higher levels of complexity and emotional intelligence, meeting the demands of a VUCA world with greater agility and insight.

In terms of leadership development, this developmental journey is called Vertical Leadership Development. This is not about adding additional knowledge to your CV, but about growing your meaning-making, systems-view and perspective-taking capabilities, and more. Let’s check it out!

Vertical Leadership Development: a path to greater capacity

Traditional leadership development often focuses on skills and competencies, emphasising horizontal growth—accumulating knowledge and tools. While valuable, this approach alone is insufficient in the face of VUCA.

What is needed is Vertical Leadership Development (VLD): the transformation of a leader’s mindset, worldview, and capacity to hold complexity.

Susanne Cook-Greuter’s Leadership Maturity Framework and the work of Antoinette Braks’ StageSHIFT approach highlight how leaders at post-conventional stages demonstrate the capacity to:

– Integrate paradox and ambiguity.

– Think systemically, balancing short-term and long-term outcomes.

– Lead with wisdom, compassion, and a deep connection to purpose.

Antoinette Braks’ ideas also align with Maslow’s late work on self-transcendence, suggesting that the most effective leaders are those who transcend ego-driven motivations to serve the collective good. Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory reinforces this by emphasizing the need for leaders to develop across multiple dimensions (cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and relational) to navigate complexity effectively.

Growing through disorienting dilemmas

As you have realised by now, the journey of vertical development is not purely cognitive. Alis Anagnostakis’ doctoral thesis helps underscore the emotional dimension of this process. To grow, leaders must, in fact, face and process difficult emotions that arise in response to disorienting dilemmas—those moments when their current ways of making sense of the world no longer suffice. It is through meeting these difficult emotions with curiosity rather than fear that true growth occurs.

In the words of Dr. Julia DiGangi, a neuropsychologist specialising in emotional resilience and the author of Energy Rising,  “Emotional pain is the path to emotional power.” Facing uncertainty, complexity, and the emotions they evoke—rather than avoiding them—builds resilience, emotional intelligence, and the capacity to lead through ambiguity.

The neuroscience of thriving in complexity

Neuroscience and neuropsychology provide compelling evidence that brain integration and nervous system regulation are foundational to thriving in a VUCA world, and seem to support the theories of Vertical Leadership Development.

Leaders operating at higher stages of vertical development, for instance, inhabit traits and behaviours that indicate greater integration across brain regions and better-regulated nervous systems, enabling them to remain calm, think clearly, and connect authentically even in high-stakes situations.

A well-regulated nervous system is also known to support emotional stability, relational intelligence, and adaptability. Leaders with well-regulated systems are also more likely to inspire trust and create a feeling of psychological safety in others. Practices like mindfulness, breathwork, and somatic awareness are also known to enhance nervous system resilience, enabling leaders to stay grounded in uncertainty.

Answering the call

A VUCA world needs leaders who can expand their capacity to embrace complexity, navigate uncertainty, and lead with emotional and relational intelligence. This growth is not just about acquiring new skills; it is about transforming how we see ourselves and the world. It is about moving beyond self-actualisation to a place of self-transcendence, where leadership becomes a force for collective good.

Vertical Leadership Development provides a path for leaders to answer this call, supported by insights from neuroscience and the profound understanding that our inner dimensions are integral to navigating the challenges of our time. The journey is neither simple nor easy, but it is a journey worth taking—for ourselves, our organisations, and the future we are shaping.

As Maslow once suggested, the farther reaches of human nature are not just possible; they are necessary. The time to go – and grow – beyond business as usual is now.

Learn more

Feeling inspired? Learn more about how I help senior business leaders grow their capacities and impact here >>

I also invite you to learn more about inner development through the Inner Development Goals initiative. If you are curious about my thoughts following the last Inner Development Goals summit (Oct 2025), please check this out >>

You can also find more about the topic in this blog post about inner development and how it can catalyse outer change. And in other blog posts on this website.

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).