Applying Vertical Leadership as an Emerging CEO

🎯 Lesson Objective

To teach Emerging CEOs how to use the concept of vertical leadership development to evolve their thinking, decision-making, and business design capacity as they move through the Six-Figure Consultant Academy.

You’re not just learning business tactics — you’re learning how to think and lead at a higher level. That’s vertical knowledge.

This is the bridge between theory and execution — guiding emerging CEOs to actually use vertical development principles while building their consulting firms.

📖 What Is Vertical Leadership Development?

Vertical leadership development focuses not on what you know (skills, tools, tactics), but how you think — your capacity to solve complex problems, make meaning, and lead yourself and others through ambiguity and growth.

Vertical knowledge is the development of the mind that holds the knowledge.
It’s not just learning new information — it’s about changing how you:

• See the world
• Solve problems
• Make meaning
• Lead through uncertainty

It’s not learning what to do. It’s learning how to think differently about what you do.

📊 Key Insight from Research:

“Leaders don't rise in effectiveness by collecting more knowledge. They evolve by increasing the complexity of their thinking — shifting from dependent, to independent, to interdependent mental models.”
— Lott et al., 2025, Leadership in Health Systems Emerald Publishin

🧭 Three Stages of Vertical Growth

Dependent: follow other people’s strategies, can't make decisions without validation

Independent:nbuild and lead based on what I know, still bound by “lone wolf” leadership

Interdependent: holds complexity and leads systems, navigates nuance, scales with others, creates structure

🛠️ How Emerging CEOs Apply Vertical Leadership

Here’s how you can practice vertical leadership while navigating the program:

🔍 1. Insight

Ask: “What is this module helping me see differently about myself, the market, or the way I lead?”

This is where you begin to see your own thinking — and realize what assumptions you may need to let go of.

🔁 2. Integration

Ask: “How do I need to restructure the way I work, decide, or build based on this insight?”

This could mean changing your delivery model, simplifying a system, or setting a new leadership boundary.

🚀 3. Implementation

Ask: “What aligned action can I take this week that reflects my higher-level thinking?”

This is not about volume of activity — but clarity of action.

✍️ Reflective Practice: Weekly Integration Prompt

“If I were thinking and leading at the next level, how would I approach this differently?”

Encourage Emerging CEOs to write a weekly journal response to this in the CEO Thinking Time section of their planner.

🛠️ How You Apply Vertical Knowledge as a CEO

Here are 5 ways you can begin applying vertical thinking as you move through this program:

1. 🧠 Hold Opposing Ideas Without Overreacting

Sometimes, both things are true: You want to scale, and you need rest. You want to charge more, and you feel afraid to do so.

Instead of forcing a fast decision, ask:
“What am I being invited to sit with, not solve right away?”

This is where higher-level thinking begins.

2. 🛠️ Design Your Systems Based on Thinking, Not Hustle

Before you ask “Which tool should I use?” ask yourself:
“What do I want my business to feel like?”
“What values do I want this system to reflect?”

You’re not here to copy anyone’s tech stack — you’re here to lead with intention.

3. 🧍‍♀️ Lead Yourself First

When you hit resistance or feel stuck, ask:
“What needs to change in me before the strategy can work?”
You’re becoming a CEO who leads from the inside out — not someone who chases more templates.

4. 🧠 Create Models Instead of Consuming Them

You don’t need to borrow someone else’s method.
You have a process, a framework, or a way of working with clients that’s uniquely yours.

Ask yourself:
“What’s the invisible process I’m guiding clients through — and how can I make it visible?”

That’s intellectual property. That’s CEO-level thinking.

5. 🧭 Make Decisions from Internal Authority, Not External Urgency

You’ll feel pressure to hurry, fix, or keep up. But a CEO leads from alignment, not anxiety.

Ask yourself:
“What feels clear, true, and necessary — even if it’s not popular?”
That’s vertical leadership.

✍️ Try This Reflection Prompt:

In your CEO Thinking Time journal, write:

“If I were thinking and leading at a higher level right now, how would I approach this challenge differently?”

Use this whenever you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain.

🧠 Final Reminder:

Vertical leadership is not about being perfect.
It’s about choosing clarity over reaction — and strategy over noise.

You don’t need more tips.
You need to trust your ability to think deeply, lead courageously, and build intentionally.

You are not just building a business.
You are becoming someone who can lead it.

📚 Scholarly Resources for Your Academy

Here are some top picks from the research results to back this lesson:

Boysen-Rotelli, S. M. (2025).

Leadership Development for a Transformational Future: The Vertical Edge

Joiner, B., & Josephs, S. (2007).

Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change

Torbert, B., et al. (2004).

Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership

 CEO PLANNER OVERVIEW

What is the Emerging CEO Planner?

The Emerging CEO Planner is your strategic thinking partner for navigating the Six-Figure Consultant Academy like a true CEO — not a student.

This planner is built around the three core capacities of vertical leadership development:

🔍 Insight → 🔁 Integration → 🚀 Implementation

As you move through each module, you’ll use this planner to:

• Extract meaningful insight from what you're learning
• Integrate that insight into the design of your business
• Implement strategic, intentional action as a CEO

This is how you shift from “learning mode” to leading mode — and begin architecting a six-figure firm with clarity, structure, and alignment.

🔑 Best Practices for Using the Planner

• 📅 Use it Weekly
  Set aside time each week to move through the three sections:
  • Insight (early week) — after watching or completing new content
  • Integration (midweek) — to align your learning with your business
  • Implementation (end of week) — to take strategic action
• ✍️ Don’t skip reflection.
  This is where the transformation happens — vertical leadership isn’t about more tasks, but deeper awareness.
• 🧭 Make it your own.
  Use the open journal pages, revisit your earlier answers, and let this be a thinking tool, not a grading system.
• 💡 Use it even if you’re behind.
  If you fall behind in the program, the planner is your way back in — no shame, no guilt. Start wherever you are.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS PROGRAM LIKE A CEO

Your 6-Month Launch Roadmap

Introduction: The Strategic Path to Launch

The Six-Figure Consulting Academy contains 8 core modules, 3 bonus modules, and dozens of lessons.

That's a lot of content.

And if you're looking at this curriculum thinking "how am I supposed to get through all of this while working full-time, managing my life, AND building a business?"—you're asking the right question.

Here's the answer: You're not supposed to complete this linearly.

This isn't a traditional course where you go Module 1, Module 2, Module 3, straight through before launching.

This is a CEO's implementation system.

You learn what you need, when you need it, to get to clients as fast as possible. Then you return to advanced modules as you scale.

The goal isn't to consume everything. The goal is to launch a revenue-generating consulting business in 6 months.

And we've designed a specific path to make that happen.

Meet Veronica Simmons: A Graduate's Success Story

In the video below, you'll hear from Veronica Simmons, founder of Simmons Consulting—a leadership development firm specializing in Fortune 500 companies.

Veronica is a graduate of the Next Level Executive Mentorship Program and the Six-Figure Consulting Academy.

She's going to walk you through exactly how she used this program to go from idea to first client in 60 days, and how she structured her learning to launch fast without overwhelm.

She'll show you:

• The strategic sequencing that gets you to revenue quickly
• Which modules to focus on in your first 6 months
• Which modules to save for later (when you're scaling)
• How the mentorship support accelerates your timeline
• Real results: Her revenue, her clients, her timeline

This isn't theory. This is how a real graduate actually used this program to build a thriving consulting business.

How to Use These Materials

STEP 1: Watch Veronica's Video

She'll explain the 6-month launch path in clear, practical terms. You'll understand exactly what to focus on and when.

STEP 2: Download the PDF Below

The "6-Month Launch Path Implementation Guide" breaks down the entire framework in detail:

• Week-by-week roadmap
• Which lessons to complete in each phase
• Which lessons to skip for now (and when to return to them)
• Time investment per week
• Milestones to hit each month

STEP 3: Bookmark This Lesson

You'll want to return to this roadmap throughout the program. When you feel overwhelmed or unsure what to focus on next, come back here.

STEP 4: Trust the Process

You don't need to do everything to launch. You need to do the RIGHT things at the right time.

Follow the path Veronica followed. Follow the path other Consulting Moguls are following.

Launch first. Sophisticate later.

Ready? Let's Map Your Path to Launch

Watch the video. Download the PDF. Then begin your journey with confidence.

You're not just learning. You're building a business.

Let's go.

DOWNLOAD: 6-Month Launch Path Implementation Guide (PDF)
[PDF DOWNLOAD BUTTON/LINK]

Next Step: The Six-Figure Identity — Expert, Consultant, and CEO

Welcome & Orientation Module

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