Tag: Socio-emotional Dimension

This article introduces to the Constructive Developmental Framework (CDF), addressing those readers who want to learn to use the methodology. CDF is seen as a comprehensive framework for consulting and coaching, much like NLP, but on a higher level of consciousness. Its main intellectual strength lies in establishing a methodology for the deconstruction, through dialog, of less developed thinking and meaning making, for the sake of client benefit. Viewed more broadly, CDF is a framework for “coaching for society” that can lift individuals’ and teams’ developmental level. What is CDF -- An Introduction for Beginners Read More...

Teams are usually viewed as "flat", disregarding that each of their members is active on a specific level of accountability associated with a specific universe of discourse. What team members are thinking and saying is thus not determined not only by their developmental size of person, but also by the size of their organizational role, and their understanding of the relationship between the two. A team coach or team leader who is disregarding this fact is going to be less effective that s(he) could be. In this webinar, Otto Laske outlines a typology of teams in which both team members' size of person and size of role receive due attention. Read More...

For a long time, there was only coaching focused on client's behavior, not mnd-set, but this is changing. The International Coaching Community (ICC), in collaboration with the Interdevelopmental Institutee (IDM) is starting an introductory course on evidence based coaching based on research in adult development. This gives experienced coaches the opportunity to build a niche for themselves as developmental coaches in the professional sense of the term. To get a feel for this kind of coaching work, go to the course information found at: A link to the September 16 free webinar for this course is found at: To register for the course on developmental coaching for individuals go to: http://www.internationalcoachingcommunity.com/academy/academy-calendar?category_id=1&lang=enregister   Read More...

In this new book (to appear in 2016), addressed to CEO's, board members, and members of executive teams, Otto Laske takes an in-depth look at his Constructive Developmental Framework as a culture transformation instrument. The book focuses on organizational discourse culture as the lever by which fundamental changes come about when engaging with new forms of one-on-one and peer-listening once these are grounded in systemic dialectical thinking and an ability to "read" social-emotional meaning making in company discourse. In the tradition of consulting work based on CDF, culture transformation effects transpire in all areas of crucial important for company flourishing and breakthroughs: level of innovation, strategy design, talent management, peer-to-peer interactions in groups and teams, and the definition of new business models. The book delivers insight into the human operating system supporting holocracy. While "active listening" has been much emphasized in coaching, hosting, and DoJo4Life work, structured listening in terms of CDF is not only active but DEEP. It is deep because it is focused on joining two aspects implicit in every communication: the level of speakers' social-emotional meaning making, and the level of making cognitive sense of the world and handling its complexity. As shown in the book, both... Read More...

This text highlights the main benefits of integrating research in adult development into executive coaching practice. Reading the text from a coaching point of view will be a first step to the practice of developmental coaching, with a focus on working withhigher level executives. The text refers to  CDF, the Constructive Development Framework. Introduction to Developmental Coaching for Executives   Read More...

This short article describes what makes CDF-based coaching unique and makes it different from other coaching approaches. The CDF-based coach training method enriches approaches based on theories of adult learning by insights and practices derived from theories of adult development over the lifespan (1975-1995). CDF further enriches theories of adult development by insights derived from Critical Theory elaborated at the Frankfurt School between 1945 and 1975. Researchers of adult learning and development have only just begun to talk to each other, so that a synthesis of the two lies in the more or less distant future. The main result of including in coaching techniques of Critical Theory (Adorno) is that the emphasis of CDF-training is on the coach, not the client, in particular the coach as a “critical, deep thinker” who can guide the client’s adult development, fully aware of the client’s present developmental profile. Learning and development are seen in CDF as entirely different. “Learning” is accumulation of knowledge and experience over time (measured by horizontal snapshots at a particular time point), while “development” is a discontinuous deepening of meaning making and thinking across individuals’ entire lifespan (measured longitudinally, across time, through structured interview). Whereas adult learning approaches are... Read More...