From Individual to Collective: Rethinking Vertical Development in Teams

Join Sue Coyne PCC ACTC and Fiona O’Connor in conversation as they explore a question that is increasingly relevant for team coaches working in complexity:

Do teams develop vertically?

Vertical development is well established in leadership development, focusing on how individuals grow their capacity to make sense of complexity, difference, and uncertainty. But what happens when we shift the lens from the individual to the team as a collective system?

In this session, Fiona will host the conversation with Sue, holding the inquiry and drawing out practical insights for team coaches working with teams in complex organisational environments. We will explore:

• How vertical development can be understood at a team level

• What influences or constrains the vertical development of teams

• How leadership, context, and system dynamics shape team consciousness

• What this means for team coaching practice, supervision, and contracting

  
  

Sue will share insights from her research into vertical development in teams, including the development of a team-based vertical development assessment, while Fiona will host the dialogue, drawing out practical implications and reflective inquiry for team coaches.

Speakers:

Sue Coyne | PCC, ACTC, Systemic Team Coaching Faculty Member

Sue Coyne is a leadership and systemic team coach with over 20 years’ experience as a business leader and coach. She trained as a coach in 2003 and, in 2010, completed the first Systemic Team Coaching Diploma run by Peter Hawkins through the AoEC. She has been a practising team coach ever since.

Sue is a member of the Academic Board and Leadership Team of the Systemic Team Coaching Institute, where Peter Hawkins is Dean. She leads the STC Team Development Essentials programme and is Practicum Lead on both the Practitioner and Senior Practitioner programmes.

Passionate about raising consciousness, Sue has undertaken extensive training in vertical development. Since 2022, she has researched vertical development in teams and developed an assessment to explore team-level vertical maturity. This assessment was piloted during the 2023/24 Senior Practitioner programme and is now being jointly developed in partnership with Global Leadership Associates.

Sue is the author of the bestselling book Stop Doing, Start Leading and has contributed to several influential leadership and coaching publications, including Leadership Team Coaching in Practice, Enabling Genius, and Leading Beyond the Ego.

Fiona O’Connor | Executive and Team Coach

Fiona O’Connor is a senior business coach and systemic team coaching practitioner with over 25 years’ experience supporting leaders and teams. She specialises in leadership development, culture change, and team effectiveness, bringing a strong systemic, relational, and reflective approach to her work.