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Adult Development Theory is a theory that describes the (potential) development of humans after childhood. Development from newborn to adolescent is widely understood and described, and adult development takes this further. There are several different theorists (Kegan, Wilber, Spiral Dynamics,  Greuter-Cook, and others) that describe the same phenomenon and interestingly, they very much align around what the different stages are, and how they show up in humans. The fundamental belief is that developing to the next stage means that a person is able to comprehend a more complex world, and is able to sense/see things that were unavailable in the previous stage, leading to more wisdom and in the context of leadership, more effectiveness in reaching more inclusive & sustainable outcomes. This development does not happen in the (almost) automatic way that children develop, so an adult has to take an active role in reaching the next stage. The Leadership Circle is based on the foundational Adult Development Theory as described by Kegan. The outcome of the profile is a snapshot of the current stage a person is in terms of his/her leadership, and shows an individualized pathway to the next stage where more joyful and effective leadership is awaiting. The stage theory is also applied to societies, and currently most of our Western societies operate from the 'reactive' stage. This means that in order for a person to develop to the next stage 'creative', the person has to move ahead of the curve, hence it takes more individual effort to reach that stage. 

For a more in-depth exploration of the importance of Adult Development Theory in the work of the Leadership Circle, these whitepapers are an interesting read:

The spirit of Leadership 

The next level of leadership after Creative 

The Leadership Circle 

If you want to read more about the Leadership Circle, click here to visit the website.