ABSTRACT
The leader development process is thought to unfold over time and could conceivably traverse the entire lifespan. At a minimum, leader development encompasses the development of leadership knowledge, skills, abilities, and mental models in adolescence, young adulthood, and into adulthood and even old age. For this reason, it is surprising how little integration there has been between the fi elds of leader development and adult development. Very little has changed since it was noted almost 20 years ago that there have been few direct applications reported of adult developmental theory to work settings (Cytrynbaum & Crites, 1989). We are aware of only a few applications of social-constructivist development theory to the topic of leadership (Kegan & Lahey, 1984; McCauley, Drath, Palus, O’Connor, & Baker, 2006) and more recently to the topic of leadership development (Torbert & Associates, 2004), as well as a chapter that examines the implications of the adult development literature for the theory and practice of leadership development (Mumford & Manley, 2003). But these works are exceptions and provide, at best, very preliminary insights into how one could actively intervene in adult development processes in order to promote leader development.
