In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life by Robert Kegan
Written by the most important developmental psychologists of this era, In Over Our Heads argues that the current level of sense-making and problem-solving in adults is not complex enough to match the challenges and problems we face. This text offers an understanding of the stages of adult development and the conditions in which adults can grow their sense-making and problem-solving capacities. Kegan’s presentation of later stages of development, not often achieved by most adults, offers us a description and practices aimed toward raising the overall level of social consciousness so that we might be better equipped to face our most pressing problems together. Bonus: His other book, The Evolving Self is a great read if you want to go deeper, and Changing on the Job, by Jennifer Garvey-Berger is a more reader-friendly version of this thinking. But Kegan’s research and work is the central source of developmental theory and practice, why not start there? Don’t answer that. Bob’s been at Harvard for decades and is also one of my colleagues and mentors; full disclosure continues.
