Key Questions about Leadership Development

Topics: Leadership, LATI Exec Council

Overview

Over the past decade, several key studies have noted that organizations that invest in leadership development perform better than those that don’t. Yet, despite the correlation between investing in leadership development and improving financial performance, the theory and practice of what works to develop leaders and leadership is hotly contested by academics and practitioners alike. This in-brief research report distills seventy-five years of theory and practice in order to offer learning professionals broad perspective and some insight into the relationship between effective leadership development and its impact on attracting and retaining talent as well as improving organizational performance and agility.

The article is organized around a series of questions:

• What is “Leadership”?
• Where are the Leaders in an Organization?
• What is Leadership Development?
• Why is Leadership Development Important to Strategic Learning Functions?
• Why is Leadership Development Hard?
• How Do We Build, Measure and Sustain Effective Leadership Development?
• Is Leader and Leadership Development Different in a Global Context?
• How has Leadership Development Changed Over the Years?
• Why Do So Many Leadership Development Programs Underperform?

The article includes a three-page bibliography for further reading as well.