Evolving As A Leader Doesn’t Stop When You’re The Boss

Says new book on Adult Development Theory from Jennifer Garvey Berger.

Leading management consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger (EdD, Harvard), the author of four acclaimed books on leadership, shares more about Adult Development Theory in her newest book, a second edition of CHANGING ON THE JOB: How Leaders Become Courageous, Wise, and Steady in an Anxious World (Stanford Business Books, November 12, 2024). Berger lays out the principles of ADT—an emerging school of thought which explains how adults learn, evolve, and gain wisdom through four steps: self-sovereignty, socialization, self-authorship, and self-transformation—and shows how she uses this powerful psychological framework to provide leaders with the tools for the personal evolution they need to face the world and the workplace of tomorrow. Berger is cofounder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, a consultancy that serves executives and teams in the private, nonprofit, and government sectors around the world. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, Novartis, Wikipedia, and Oxfam International. She is also Senior Scientific Advisor to the Inner Development Goals, an international personal growth initiative based in Sweden.

In this updated and expanded edition of the book, Berger addresses the recent and rapid advances in technology, new findings in psychology, and the growing emphasis on workplace diversity.

The first edition of CHANGING ON THE JOB became popular for executive coaches and leadership trainers because it made the concepts of Adult Development Theory accessible to managers and business owners. What insights from that field resonate most in the workplace?

We are all aware that children develop over time and build new capacities to deal with the world in which they live. It is much less understood that adults can also continue to develop, becoming better able to handle their lives. This is a fundamentally hopeful idea, and often rather surprising because so many adults believe, “that’s just the way I am,” without understanding how much more they could become. Adult Development Theory emphasizes that as adults evolve, they gain greater complexity in their thinking, understanding, and ability to relate to others. In the workplace, this translates to leaders becoming more adaptable, empathetic, and capable of handling ambiguity and rapid change.

What inspired you to update this book and create a new second edition?

In the decade since I wrote the first edition, I’ve changed a lot myself, gaining new insights from my experiences working with leaders around the globe. I was a professor when I wrote the first edition, and I didn’t know as much about the real lives of leaders as I thought I did at the time. At the same time, the world has become almost dizzyingly complex, increasing our need to intentionally evolve and support the growth of those around us. I wanted to be able to facilitate that intentional evolution, to help people transform and overcome difficulties. This edition of CHANGING ON THE JOB updates the first edition’s theories to fit into our very new environment. I also was able to respond to the reactions from readers of the first edition. This edition is more accessible, with more practical tools and strategies for personal and organizational growth. Ultimately, my goal was to offer a pragmatic and enjoyable guide for all who are committed to growing themselves and others.

In your consulting practice, you work with leaders at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Wikipedia. How do you help them implement the thinking you lay out in the book?

There are too many leaders in the world who make the people around them less capable, less creative, less connected and thus slowly strangle the life-blood of the organization. It’s not that those leaders enjoy ruining companies, it’s just that they have cemented unhelpful habits (of interrupting, for example, or angling to be seen as the smartest person in the room) that they either aren’t aware of or don’t know how to change. Using the principles of Adult Development Theory, we can help these leaders understand how those unhelpful habits arise, and then help them shift their mindset so that new and better habits arise. It’s like tending the soil and the roots of a tree rather than urging the leaves to be different. Adult Development Theory helps leaders grow into the humans they would most like to be and develop organizational systems and supports that grow all the people in the organization.

With the explosive growth of AI, the workplace as we know it today may very well be unrecognizable in 10 or 20 years. What elements of leadership do you expect to remain constant, and what will change?

In my most hopeful musing, I can imagine a world where at last humans at work are no longer encouraged to show up as machines, prized more for their analytical capacity than for their interpersonal and creative understanding. Instead of rewarding humans for acting like robots (which has, in a way, been the goal of many organizations since the industrial revolution), we will have machines and humans acting together, each with their own skills. The most highly prized capacities of leaders will be the most human: their ability to connect with and develop others, to bring out the best of collectives, to encourage the creativity, courage, and wisdom of people that machines simply cannot match. It’s my guess that the pace of change will continue to accelerate, and winning organizations will learn how to navigate change with grace and humanity rather than seeking the (impossible) task of controlling or managing it.

What is ‘complexity fitness’ and how does it affect one’s ability to lead?

‘Complexity fitness’ refers to a leader’s capacity to understand, navigate, and thrive in complex and uncertain environments. It involves the ability to hold multiple perspectives, tolerate ambiguity, and adapt one’s thinking and behavior in response to changing circumstances. Using this “fitness” metaphor continually reminds us that our own growth and development are in our hands and that wisdom doesn’t happen by random chance. Leaders with high complexity fitness can integrate diverse viewpoints, anticipate unintended consequences, and make more informed decisions.

What makes some leaders thrive and others falter? How can those who fail do better?

In my experience, the leaders who can thrive in the chaos of today’s organizational circus are open to learning and growing. Leaders who believe they are always right and always need to stay in control are likely to miss vital data and perspectives, therefore missing the ability to harness the wind because they’re trying to fight it instead. Leaders who learn and grow—and support their people to learn and grow—are better able to keep up with all that is changing around them. No one was born capable of leading others through today’s world, but with an open mind, listening ears, and a capacity to learn from experimentation, leaders can develop the agility they need.