Most organizations are transitioning from event-oriented leadership development (LD) to a system of continuous learning, according to the latest Brandon Hall Group leadership development research. Only 10 percent of organizations have a fully developed leadership-development strategy yielding strong business results. These organizations’ leadership development efforts are fueled by a culture of continuous learning, including coaching and mentoring, action-learning projects, and other opportunities for leaders to apply new skills in practical settings. Only in this kind of environment, wherein leaders are empowered to take ownership of their development, can LD programs have a real business impact.
High-Level Leader Values
One of the top reasons leadership-development programs are not more successful, according to our research, is that leaders believe they don’t have enough time to learn. The real reason is that the culture in many organizations — which top leadership is responsible for — does not give leaders time to learn.
Continuous development of leader competencies is not part of the fabric of most organizations. Leadership training, most of it still centered in the classroom, takes leaders/managers away from their responsibilities, so the organizations and leaders believe this training diverts them from their work. In fact, self-development should be an important be part of it.
Most organizations surveyed believe their leaders’ behaviors need improvement. The majority also think development is most urgently needed for front-line and mid-level leaders — the ones with the most direct day-to-day impact on employee performance.