Ken Wilber on Stages of Development and How They Show Up in The Business World – Episode #69

“Stages of development” is a term you hear more in the philosophical and psychological realms than you do in the business realm. But Anthony has come to believe that a better understanding of human development and these “stages” we go through in our growth is very beneficial for sales and business leaders. This episode is a deep dive into psychological and philosophical theories surrounding this idea of “stages of development.” Anthony’s aim is to help you better understand yourself as a business or sales leader and to better know your team members and clients, so that you can better help your customers and work with your team, for greater success.

Ken Wilber on Stages of Development and How They Show Up in The Business World - Episode #69Click To Tweet

What IS consciousness?

Anthony starts this conversation with Ken Wilber by asking perhaps the deepest question of all: “What IS consciousness?” On one hand, Ken says that defining consciousness is not all that difficult. In his thinking, anytime you are aware of something, conscious of something, you’re experiencing consciousness. For most of us, it is primarily associated with the “I” dimension of how we think about the world; the things we think about in relationship to ourselves. But there are others that think of consciousness in terms of “it.” It’s an objective structure of thinking that is strictly related to brain function and physiological process. On this episode Anthony chats with Ken about the reality of consciousness and how our thinking about it impacts the way we approach relationships with others – which can dramatically impact sales.

Understanding the stages of growth can help you discern your customer’s motives and goals.

Philosophers and psychologists categorize human development into stages of growth and try to label them in ways that describe what’s going on in the human psyche during that stage. For example, there are stages of growth that are entirely focused on the self, others that expand to include a concern about immediate community, and then even further during another stage to think about the broader world. As a sales or business leader, if you’re able to discern how your customer is thinking (which of those stages of growth they are operating out of), you’ll be better able to address the concerns they are likely to have as you interact about your sales solution.

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Do you understand where your team members are at in their developmental growth?

If you can make that leap and begin to grasp their motivations and desires (based on their stage of growth) you’ll be able to lead them, motivate them, and energize them more effectively through the messaging, encouragement, and coaching you provide. That’s because you’ll have the ability to tailor your approach to each person to best fit into their view of the world at that time. You can hear this deep dive conversation about personal and cultural development as Anthony chats with Ken Wilber, on this episode.

How we see the stages of development showing up in the business world.

The importance of understanding the stages of development that people go through not only has to do with how to lead better, but also how to BE a better leader. For example, If a leader is stuck in an egocentric stage of growth they’ll clearly be leveraging things to their own advantage, which could impact the health and success of the company and clients. It’s an incredibly in depth conversation on this episode but is also filled with practical insights into the way people grow and interact with others. If you’ll take this one seriously it will put you way ahead of the competition on a number of different levels.

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