Leadership development

Leadership development expands the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of a company’s strategy through building alignment, winning mindshare and growing the capabilities of others. Leadership roles may be formal, with the corresponding authority to make decisions and take responsibility, or they may be informal roles with little official authority (e.g., a member of a team who influences team engagement, purpose and direction; a lateral peer who must listen and negotiate through influence). Leadership development expands the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of a company’s strategy through building alignment, winning mindshare and growing the capabilities of others. Leadership roles may be formal, with the corresponding authority to make decisions and take responsibility, or they may be informal roles with little official authority (e.g., a member of a team who influences team engagement, purpose and direction; a lateral peer who must listen and negotiate through influence). Leadership development is thought to be key to business success. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership holds that 65 percent of companies with mature leadership development programs drove improved business results as compared to 6 percent of companies without such a program. Similarly, 86% of companies with leadership development programs responded rapidly to changing market conditions whereas only 52% of companies with immature programs were able to do so. Traditionally, leadership development has focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of individuals. Different personal trait and characteristics can help or hinder a person's leadership effectiveness and require formalized programs for developing leadership competencies. Classroom-style training and associated reading for leadership development may ail from the possible divergence between knowing what to do and doing what one knows; management expert Henry Mintzberg is one person to highlight this dilemma. It is estimated that as little as 15% of learning from traditional classroom-style training results in sustained behavioral change within workplaces. The success of leadership development efforts has been linked to three variables: Military officer-training academies, such as the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, go to great lengths to accept only candidates who show the highest potential to lead well. Personal characteristics that are associated with successful leadership development include leader motivation to learn, a high achievement drive and personality traits such as openness to experience, an internal focus of control, and self-monitoring. In order to develop individual leaders, supervisors or superiors must conduct an individual assessment.