Chapter 8: The Aware Leader: Supporting Post-Autonomous Leadership Development

In this chapter we share research and learning from Pacific Integral (PI)’s 15 years of designing and facilitating the Generating Transformative Change (GTC) program; a developmentally informed and research-based leadership development program. We address our approach to working developmentally with leaders, the application of the STAGES developmental model, and the research that informs and guides the program’s curriculum. In greater detail we examine the developmental transition between Strategist and Construct Aware (Cook-Greuter, 2013; O’Fallon, 2016) and the implications for leadership practice and development. We explore the unique challenges and opportunities of this developmental transition and the practices and processes that support it. We conclude by sharing principles and practices for working developmentally with leaders, including pitfalls and challenges, and the ethical perspectives that guide the work.