New Version of My Mindset Assessment Results

left and right arrows

I am excited to announce that I have a new version of my mindset assessment results. If you want to take the mindset assessment to see the new results you can do so here: Personal Mindset Assessment. The changes are small but, I believe, quite significant. In the past, I have used the labels of […]

The Value and Importance of Vertical Development

a mature businessman smiling in an office with his colleagues in the background

What I am going to present in this article is perhaps the clearest way to articulate (1) what vertical development is and (2) the value and importance of vertical development. To lay the foundation for these two points, we need to recognize that people have two sides to themselves. Two Sides of Ourselves We all […]

The Five Best Business/Leadership Books I Read in 2023

The Five Best Business/ Leadership Books I Read in 2023

For the past several years, to close out the year, I have identified the best books that I read throughout the year. And, I always get good feedback from doing so. So, I am back at it again. By the end of 2023, I will have read/listened to 85 books. I want to share the […]

What is Character? And How Do Leaders Develop It?

Last week, I presented an idea that we have two sides of ourselves: a DOING Side and a BEING Side. The DOING Side represents our talent, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The higher we are on the DOING Side, the more capable we will be at performing specific tasks that are aligned with our talents, knowledge, […]

You Have a DOING Side AND a BEING Side

Satya Nadella

What do these people have in common: Bobby Knight, Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, Shia LaBeouf,  Naomi Campbell, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Gordon Ramsay, and Tiger Woods? These are all people that are immensely talented, but have operated in a manner that reveals that they are perceived as having a flawed character. This similarity exposes an […]

The True Quality of Our Mindsets Are Revealed During Times of Stress

After people take my FREE Personal Mindset Assessment, it is common for me to receive an email that says something along the lines of, “The assessment said that I have a fixed mindset, but I DO NOT have a fixed mindset.” Then, they often will give several examples about how they have taken on a […]

The Impact of Vertical Development on Organizations

Ryan Gottfredson Workshops

A few weeks ago, I surveyed my newsletter subscribers and asked them what they would like to see me write about. A common theme from the responses was that they wanted to learn more about my business and the impact that it is having on the leaders and organizations that I work with. So, over […]

The Difference Between Great and Bad Leaders is Smaller than I Thought

business men balance on seesaw

I want to share one of my biggest learnings that I have had over the last several months of doing deep vertical development work with a variety of executive teams. This work has involved doing 360’s and a coaching exercise that facilitates a deep introspective dive designed to help people uncover their subconscious fears, mental […]

Doing The Work of Vertical Development

businesswoman drawing on virtual screen

In this video, The Four Benchmarks to Gauge the Vertical Altitude of Leaders and Executives, I discuss: How I have coached over 200 leaders to help them vertically development, and Roughly 80% of them never “do the work” of vertical development At a high level, my coaching process involves: Helping leaders understand what vertical development […]

To What Degree Do You Know Your Ego Driver?

brick wall under spotlight

In my last article, “We Each Have an Ego Driver,” I suggested: We each have an Ego Driver connected to our quick-thinking brain that is prone to direct our thinking and behaviors For most people, our Ego Driver operates below the level of our consciousness (most people don’t know they have an Ego Driver and […]

Join the Newsletter

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to accelerate your vertical development journey. Includes cutting-edge vertical development articles, tips, and resources.