Governance and orders of consciousness: a different leadership lens

Many of us in governance have moved into these positions of leadership as a result of showing our job-based competencies – technical expertise, IQ, EQ, experience and people management skills.

However, that evaluation lens needs scrutiny when we get to the next level of leadership that governance provides.  No longer is ‘what got us here’ going to provide the same fuel that will help us make the leap to the next level.     

What we need to consider at a very high level is what type of leader we are, and this involves understanding our own stage of developmental order of consciousness.  This is the perceptual framework in which we construct and make meaning of the world.

Robert Kegan, a Harvard developmental psychologist, discusses developmental orders of consciousness in his book first published 30 years ago, but still relevant today – “In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life”.  He argues we often find ourselves in positions in which our own level of consciousness is inadequate to meet the demands of our personal and professional lives. 

In our joint experience (working as a consultant to lawyers and law firms, and as a law firm partner), we have seen that organisations can only function at the highest level of consciousness of their leader or leaders.  Conversely, the leader’s level of consciousness caps the level of organisational development (for better or worse).  

This is particularly important when we consider governance because it means the capability of the board to understand this principle might actually be the factor holding the company back.  

Each of us is becoming someone – who will that person be?  As we can each grow and mature, it is worth considering the five orders of consciousness and where we might sit, which Kegan describes as moving on this scale:

• • Order 1 - Socially egocentric, impulsive, illogical and unable to take responsibility for oneself and one’s emotions
  • Order 2 - Individual identity but needing external structure, rules and directions to operate, concrete thinking
  • Order 3 - Capable of cross-categorical, comparative, abstract thinking, perceiving how one is viewed by others, engaging in mutually rewarding relationships
  • Order 4 - The minimum order of consciousness needed for an adult to function well in post-modern life. Able to coordinate multiple roles and expectations, generalise across abstractions, take responsibility/ownership of authority, establish individual values/ideologies, manage multiple and complex professional relationships
  • Order 5 - A relatively rare level of consciousness. Able to perceive/understand multiple complex interconnected systems and relationships based on commonalities and interdependence, including contradictions and paradoxes

Most of us can quickly assume that after childhood we would expect adults to be from Order 3 and up although not all might get above Order 2.  In fact, Kegan estimated approximately 35 per cent of a given adult population operates at consciousness Order 3, about 30-40 per cent at consciousness Order 4 and about five per cent at consciousness Order 5.  

These percentages have clear implications for governance and organisational leadership. To what extent is a board member inadvertently stunting organisational development because they are operating at a relatively low order of consciousness?  What are your responsibilities as a board member to ensure you are growing. And what are your responsibilities in this regard in relation to another board member?

Fortunately, one can enhance one’s own level of consciousness (though not necessarily the order of consciousness of another).  Educate yourself about orders of consciousness and consider where you might sit.  If you know people at a higher Order, particularly that five per cent who operate at Order 5, then what can you learn from them?  

It might also be helpful to read Kegan‘s book and consider these concepts in the context of your other settings – your family, workplace, school and leadership roles. Where are you in the process? It’s not a race to be won. It’s a process of growth and development spurred on by curiosity and a quest for self-development.  

If we can do this well then ultimately this lens of leadership and understanding our consciousness will also help us to improve our governance so that we can get to the next level and really contribute to our boards well.  

Welcome to the journey.

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Emily Morrow was a senior partner with a large law firm. She now provides bespoke consulting services for lawyers including coaching, training and facilitating by combining her skills as a former lawyer and trained counsellor at emilymorrow.com.

Steven Moe MInstD is a Partner at Parry Field Lawyers focussing on “for purpose” companies and charities.  He is on the XRB Advisory Panel, is a facilitator for the IoD and hosts the IoD podcast Board Matters, as well as Seeds podcast.