Why Is Leadership Development Important?

Three things stand out. (1) Organizations that pay for leadership development don't always benefit as well as individuals. (2) Providers fail to develop the soft skills that organizations require. (3) Lessons learned in class are often difficult to apply to real life.

There has never been a more urgent need for leadership development. Organizations of all types realize they need leadership skills and organizational capabilities that differ from those that helped them succeed in the past if they want to keep their competitive advantage in today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. Leaders are also beginning to recognize that leadership development shouldn't be limited to chief executives. Increasingly, employees are expected to make meaningful decisions that align corporate strategy with their personal goals as collaborative problem-solving platforms spread across the organization and digital "adhocracy" emerges that elicits individual initiative. The importance of equipping them with relevant communication, relationship, and technical skills cannot be overstated.

Traditional training programs do not adequately prepare executive leaders for the environment they will be working in tomorrow. For companies to lead cohesive, proactive collaborations, they are looking for the skills in communication, interpretation, affect, and perception. However, the majority of executive education programs-engineered as extensions to or replacements for MBAs-seriously undervalue relational, communication, and affective skills while concentrating on discipline-based skills.

Programs that provide executive education do not meet their stated objectives. "Lifelong learning" has been used as a buzzword for decades by corporations and universities, but it still does not exist in reality. In traditional executive education, this goal cannot be achieved because it is episodic, exclusive, and expensive. It's not surprising that top business schools, such as Rotman and HBS, have seen a significant increase in demand for customisable, cohort-based programs that help companies meet their specific talent-development goals. As a result, corporate universities and the personal learning cloud-the growing mix of online courses, social and interactive platforms, and online learning tools from both traditional institutions and upstarts-are filling the gap.

With our leadership training experiences, we provide profound and lasting benefits for individuals and their careers.

Organizations that value leadership development have proven to be more effective at developing leaders and launching the right people into the right roles - which, in turn, leads to greater innovation and greater financial performance.

For a leadership development plan to be successful, key leadership competencies need to be identified for current and future success of the organization. In the developmental plan, these competencies serve as the foundation. Developing them means ensuring their readiness to meet the present challenges and to face the unknown crises of tomorrow.

It is also important that senior leadership, the manager or supervisor of the targeted employee(s), and the employee all buy into the leadership development plan. It is essential for senior management, management/supervisors, and employees to have a mutual understanding of the goal, how it will be achieved, by when, and who will participate in the plan.

Doing is the most effective way for people to learn.

You'll want to make sure you're investing in your team's leadership development now that you understand the importance of it. Get to know our leadership solutions to help your organization engage and strengthen the talent that will propel it forward.

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