“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.” — Joseph Campbell
Leadership growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Leaders evolve when faced with challenges that demand transformation—whether to survive or thrive (see Innolect’s T.H.R.I.V.E. Model). Using principles from vertical leadership development, we recognize that true growth begins when leaders encounter situations that require expansive thinking and push them beyond their comfort zones.
What Triggers Leadership Growth? You may wonder what accelerates a leader’s growth. Often, it begins with a powerful catalyst, such as:
- External events that shake their worldview and demand shifts in perspectives (e.g., economic shifts, societal disruptions)
- Personal upheavals like divorce, illness, or job loss
- Dissatisfaction with their current role or performance
- Aspirations to acquire traits or capabilities that are seen in others or that are the opposite of those seen in others
When we ask leaders to pinpoint their most accelerated growth periods, many will describe peak experiences—often uncomfortable, challenging and unexpected. In leadership development, others have described them as “heat experiences”—intense, high-pressure situations that accelerate learning and transformation. (https://www.ccl.org/ – Petrie)
The Power of Growth Experiences
Growth experiences propel leaders forward by immersing them in unfamiliar, high-stakes environments where adaptability and critical thinking are essential. Moments of controlled pressure can forge resilience, agility, and deep learning. In today’s complex business landscape, organizations strategically prepare leaders for greater responsibilities by assigning them to stretch roles or simulated high-stress situations.
The key to leveraging new experiences is balancing challenge with support:
- Too much pressure can lead to burnout.
- Too little challenge may result in stagnation.
- The ideal environment provides discomfort with structured guidance—coaching, mentorship and reflection—to help leaders navigate challenges and growth effectively.
We help organizations create experiences to fast-track growth—safe-to-fail environments where leaders practice handling uncertainty before applying their skills in real-world scenarios. For example, Innolect’s Sustainable Legacies® practices pair leaders with nonprofits to learn and experiment with new experiences.
By fostering resilience and adaptability, growth experiences allow leaders to emerge stronger, more strategic, and better equipped to drive innovation in uncertain times. We find that accelerated growth happens most often with new experiences and by embracing challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.
Innolect helps organizations cultivate leadership growth experiences that wisely transform high potentials into bold, adaptive decision-makers ready to lead into the future. Contact us for a FREE 20-minute consultation.