CERTIFICATION

Vertical Development Practices for Coaches and Leaders

A science-based, self-paced, online program for coaches and leaders seeking to bring cutting-edge vertical development research and tools into their coaching practice.

INCLUDED: 200-page handbook, 8 live mentoring sessions, ICF accreditation (40CCE)

Turning the science of Vertical Development into the practice of Coaching.

This course has been created with the needs of coaches, leaders and L&D professionals in mind. While based on rigorous research, its focus is on the practical applications of vertical development theories to coaching. Self-reflection and active experimentation lie at the core of this immersive learning journey.

This program is also available in Romanian. Click below to navigate to the Romanian version. 

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Program overview 

INCLUDED: 200-page coach handbook, Shifting Horizons Developmental Self-Assessment and optional SH debriefer certification, life-time access to all course materials and coaching activities and eight live group mentoring sessions. 

ACCREDITED: The program offers 40 continuing coaching credits (CCEs) from the International Coaching Federation - enough for a full 3-year re-accreditation cycle for ICF coaches.

our participants' words

Valuable | Worthwhile | Challenging | Inspiring | Great course | Transformational

The combination of uncovering the nearly limitless possibilities of VD, clear explanations of scientific literature, an invitation to sustained reflective practice, Alis' enthusiasm and expertise, engaging group mentoring sessions, and relevant and easy-to-implement tools makes this developmental journey an unforgettable and transformative experience.

I can only encourage you to embark on this inspiring path of development from which I emerged changed and eager to discover more


DR. MARTINE GEORGE
EXECUTIVE COACH AND SUPERVISOR, PROFESSOR, RESEARCHER IN COACHING

Before this course, I viewed vertical development as a linear journey. The program revealed its complexity, enriching my coaching with immediate, applicable insights and visibly impacting my clients' growth.

Unique in its approach, it masterfully integrates vertical development into coaching practices, marking a significant leap in my professional evolution. 

BRANDON JENKINS
EXECUTIVE COACH

I have found this course invaluable on both a professional and a personal level. It has introduced me to a unique framework with practical activities to include when developing a coaching relationship and fostering a coachee's growth and evolution.

On a personal level it has offered me the opportunity to reflect and grow as a human being that has chosen to do executive coaching.


For a self paced online course there are regular and very personal interactions with Alis. You are not left wondering 'how am I going?' and you are encouraged to engage with Alis with questions and points of clarification. The mentor sessions have been great. It was great connecting with colleagues from around the world with diverse backgrounds and enormous wealth of experience.


MARIA ELIADIS
PROFESSIONAL COACH AND MENTOR

This course is by far one of the best courses I've completed over the decades. Module after module, one is guided inside the Self, simultaneously illuminating the outside world and years-long relationships with family, friends, and clients.

The course has also consolidated many other previous learnings into one new whole. Although I have completed the course, I feel that my curiosity has been stimulated to keep learning more about myself and others—the never-ending process of unpacking humans.


DINA ZAVRSKI-MAKARIC
EXECUTIVE COACH

I love the way the Vertical Development course really positions each module in reflection and experience.

It makes the learning personalised and stretches your own view of yourself and that of your clients in a very powerful way, while also giving you the space to come up with your own practical experiments to test the learning.


BELINDA FORMAN
PEOPLE AND CULTURE LEADER, CERTIFIED COACH

The course is both self-paced and offers the opportunity to join invaluable mentoring sessions which bring the resources and methods to life. 

Alis is not only rigorous and professional in her delivery, she is also extremely enthusiastic and passionate about her subject. Her deep generosity in how she offers her knowledge, expertise and time and the care she has taken to develop such a comprehensive, useable and instantly' ready to apply' course is very much appreciated.


If you enjoy science, practice and the ability to apply this learning to your own self-development and reflection and then to feel the benefit of this strong foundation when taking these capabilities into your professional life, then look no further.  


SARAH MAYHEW
EXECUTIVE COACH

This is more than a course, it has been a full on developmental journey. I cannot be grateful enough for the effort and love that Alis put into creating the learning materials and the reflection assignments. All that I learned, not only helped me understand myself better, but also enabled me to create a better space for my clients to grow.


The personalized feedback received on each assignment is priceless. If you're looking for research-backed content together with a space to explore complex dilemmas and learn from a vibrant community - look no further, this is it!


ANDRA OLARU
BUSINESS LEADER AND CERTIFIED COACH

Participant
benefits

Balance the freedom of self-led learning with the value of personalised feedback and the connection with a vibrant community of peers!
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Lifetime access

Take the course at your own pace and have all your resources accessible whenever you need them for your coaching: 5h of videos, 200-page handbook, 250 slides, coaching activities & worksheets, guided audio practices and additional readings.

Shifting Horizons Assessment

All participants who purchase the full course (with mentoring) receive complimentary access to the Shifting Horizons Developmental Assessment.

8 live mentoring sessions

Every 6 weeks we will come together in live group mentoring sessions to practice, give and receive feedback. These ongoing sessions will be open to all course participants. Attend in your own time, even after completing the rest of the course.

40 CCEs from ICF

By completing the full program (the online part, with its reflective assessments, as well as attending eight live mentoring sessions) you receive 40 CCEs - enough continuing coaching credits to fulfil the requirements for a full three-year re-accreditation cycle with ICF.

Instructor

Alis Anagnostakis (PhD, PCC)

Alis is the founder of the Vertical Development Institute and a Research Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She is a leadership development facilitator, executive coach, and researcher with over 15 years of experience working with senior leaders and top teams across multiple industries, sectors and countries. 

She has dedicated her professional pursuits to supporting the development of leaders towards later stages of vertical development. Such mature leaders have been shown to thrive in midst of disruption, operate with more wisdom, build adaptive cultures and better balance the inherent polarities of profit, people, and sustainability within their businesses and beyond. 

Alis is certified by the International Coaching Federation at the PCC level, with over 3500 hours of coaching practice. She has trained leaders as professional coaches for over 7 years, with over 250 alumni graduating from her ICF accredited programs. These leaders went on to create communities of practice inside their own organisations and beyond, bridging across industries and sectors and creating ripple effects of positive change.

Alis has a Master's degree in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE University Spain and a PhD from USC Australia, where she studied leaders’ transformation and the developmental impact of leadership programs in one of the most prestigious executive programs in Australia and NZ. 

As a researcher-practitioner, her main interest is in studying leaders at later (post-conventional) stages of development, given the global need for mental complexity at the highest levels of leadership and the dearth of existing research focusing on these mature (and still relatively rare) stages of adult development. 

Alis’ highest hope is to continue to walk the fine line between rigorous research and the practice of leadership development. She aspires to creatively cross-pollinate between these two spheres of knowledge and help bring vertical development into the mainstream of organisational learning. 
words FROM OUR RESEARCH PARTNERS

Clarity | Wisdom | Comprehensive | Rigorous

"Alis' PhD dissertation studying a flagship Executive Leadership Program in Australia and NZ is quite simply the most sophisticated and comprehensive study in the world at present — in theoretical, methodological, and practical terms — about how to support ‘vertical’ leadership development and organisational transformation.” 

WILLIAM TORBERT

Professor Emeritus at Boston College

"I have been a long-time researcher, writer, teacher, and practitioner of adult development. Yet, the VDI  Program has offered me an opportunity to revisit what I (think I) “know” through the lens of coaching, providing new tools and approaches for putting the theories (in both inquiry and action) in the service of supporting another in their meaning-making.

Alis’ wisdom, experience, and facility in the fields of adult development and coaching are apparent; her skill and embodied knowing, masterful."

Valerie Livesay (PhD)

Adult Development Researcher, Author of Fallback Theory and writer of "Leaving the Ghost Light Burning: Illuminating Fallback in Embrace of the Fullness of You"

“Alis' work has brought clarity to how we support leaders in developing their inner capacities to exercise more wisdom. Her work is generating rare and valuable evidence-based approaches to constructing leadership education programs with measurable impacts in accelerating psychological maturity. We need more peer-reviewed contributions such as hers in this field - without which practitioners would be left to continue guesswork.”

MIKE VIEROW

Former Dean of McKinsey Academy Australia & NZ

Frequently asked questions

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Scholarships

At VDI we are committed to democratising personal and professional growth by making learning accessible to participants in the government, education and NFP sectors - the people who often give so much (and so selflessly) to communities and are often locked out of learning because of prohibitive costs.

For this audience we offer scholarships on an ‘energy-exchange’ basis. Here's how that works:

You share with what your work in the above-mentioned sectors is and how you plan to use the program. Then you tell us, in good faith, what you can contribute to the cost of the program you would like to attend. Choose a contribution significant enough to help you value the learning (and motivate you to put in the work) and affordable enough to not be a burden on your finances. We commit to covering the rest.

When you apply for scholarships, we kindly as you use your work email address. 

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