Effective immediately, Laske’s research on developmental and dialectical thinking, found in two titles of ‘Measuring Hidden Dimensions’ called “volume 1” and “volume 2”, is available in updated pdf form at . These titles can be purchased via Paypal, upon which they will be sent out by the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM) within 48 hrs. of receiving notice of purchase.
All English volumes were edited by Alan Snow, Sydney, Australia, for easier reading. Laske’s ‘social-emotional’ research reported in volume 1 is available in several languages; his ‘cognitive’ research comprises volumes 6 and 7 below, where the Manual of Dialectical Thinking (no. 7) is now a stand-alone volume independent of volume 2 (no. 6), as seen below:
- MHD, Measuring Hidden Dimensions: The art and science of fully engaging adults, vol. 1, 3rd edition (English), US$50
- MHD vol. 1, 2nd edition (French), US$95
- MDH vol. 1, 1st edition (German), US$55
- MHD vol. 1, 2nd edition (Spanish), US$75
- MHD vol. 1, 2nd edition (Japanese), US$75
- MHD vol. 2, Measuring Hidden Dimensions: Foundations of Requisite Organization, 2nd edition (English), US$75
- DTFM (stand-alone Manual of Dialectical Thought Forms, formerly included in MHD vol. 2), 2nd edition, US$85.
In the author’s view, these 7 volumes present the most comprehensive outline of social-emotional assessment, developmental listening, dialectical thinking, and cognitive coaching available in the literature today. These volumes formulate a synthesis of developmental research between 1975 and 2000 nowhere else found, and most recently incorporated into the book by Jan De Visch and Otto Laske entitled ‘Dynamic Collaboration: Strengthening Self-Organization and Collaborative Intelligence in Teams’ (2018).
In particular, publications nos. 6-7 provide the backbone of cognitive coaching which has become indispensable in organizations under distributed leadership, especially for self-organizing teams which can be “self-organizing” only when they achieve meta-thinking beyond mere expertise, and thus can deliver quality dialog.
Laske’s work is unique because of a single fundamental distinction carried through all of it: a strict distinction between Kegan’s ‘social-emotional’ dimension and Basseches’, Jaques’, and Bhaskar’s ‘cognitive’, dimension of adult development. Making this distinction is the crucial precondition of being moved, and able, to inquire into the intrinsic relationship between the two dimensions (in CDF referred to as ED and CD) that are the crux of work delivery. Not making this distinction creates a bottleneck both in research and practice. For instance, team failures cannot be accurately diagnosed without a grasp of a team’s cognitive maturity relative to its assigned task, nor can it be determined whether a team’s composition in terms of majority and minority leads to an upward- or downward tendency in its dialog and work process.
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CDF, the Constructive Developmental Framework, is increasingly important for companies and institutions transitioning to distributed leadership. These companies discover that it is a mistake in designing work environments, to separate work assigned or volunteered for (‘Job 1′) from the contributor’s own developmental agenda and psychological needs. All CDF tools are tools for integrating Job 2 into Job 1 and avoiding a situation where Job 2 — contributors’ developmental profile — is insufficient for carrying out Job 1, the work to be done. For this reason, CDF is becoming a preferred methodology for strengthening ‘deliberately developmental’ work in organizations, especially since it centrally positions the overriding importance of cognitively deep dialog in team work. Gradually, companies discover the lop-sided nature of Kegan’s work in which cognitive development plays a subordinate role and therefore remains merely ‘therapeutic’.
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Beyond mere research, Laske’s work has produced a large number of practical tools, not only of assessment but of effective intervention with individuals and teams. These tools have been taught to an international student body since 2000. They are embedded in what is called CDF, the Constructive Developmental Framework.
There are presently few teachers mastering CDF in all of its three dimensions. However, Otto Laske himself continues to teach these dimensions — social-emotional, cognitive, and psychological — in English, German, and Spanish. Parties interested in this teaching are consultants, coaches, senior managers, and team-leads. They are welcome to connect by writing to ‘[email protected]‘.
