Vertical.dev

"Extraordinary . . . full of creativity and re-thinking" William R. Torbert 50-year researcher and consultant in vertical OD, author of Action Inquiry, Leadership Professor Emeritus Boston College This doctoral research is about a new way to measure transformation of organizational culture based on a type of complexity called vertical complexity. I evaluated all the ways it had been measured over the past 50 years, invented a new method to assess organizations, and tested my assessment with a formal validation study. This approach integrated the wisdom two related disciplines--vertical adult development and organizational development--in a field I call vertical OD. Largest vertical OD study to date - 500,000-person organization, n=2,536 Most comprehensive review of vertical OD assessments conducted so far New typology to organize vertical OD assessments by their relative strengths & weaknesses New definition of vertical OD - based on vertical complexity New model of verti...

Abstract: Organizational development (OD) is increasingly being applied well beyond organizations to solve more complex, global-scale problems. But it is at a disadvantage, since mainstream OD has rejected a type of complexity these challenges contain called vertical complexity. Vertically complex problems, especially intractable ones, tend to remain unsolved by scaling existing solutions. They require new, transformative approaches that depart qualitatively from what has worked elsewhere. The adult development (AD) field specializes in helping people solve more vertically complex problems, but not how to solve them together to tackle challenges at scale. The field of vertical OD integrates AD and OD sensibilities to address complex, global-scale problems, but it is hamstrung by a major measurement problem. Despite 50 years of theorizing, there is still no suitable method to assess the vertical development of a team, organization, or collective of any size. This dissertation was an at...