Inside Leadership Development

Leadership development may, itself, need some development, if the results of a recent survey are any indication. According to an executive summary of “Leadership Forecast 2005-2006,” released this fall by Bridgeville, Pa.,-based workforce management consultancy Development Dimensions International, trainers have room for improvement when it comes to nurturing their organization’s top performers.

Based on survey results that included 4,559 leaders and 944 human resources representatives from 42 countries, the sample involved both public and private organizations from 36 industries. Sixty-three percent of these organizations employ more than 1,000 people. Information was collected from December 2004 to April 2005.

From this respondent pool, it appears that up-and-comers may not be absorbing the skills and attitudes your organization says are important. For instance, when leaders were asked to select the one action that garnered them the most respect in their organization, the ability to make money clearly outweighed ethics. The “ability to bring in the numbers” ranked No. 1 on respondents’ list of priorities, followed second and third by “ability to take a stand and make tough decisions” and “ability to create a strategy or vision for success.”

This emphasis on the bottom line might not be paying off in the long run. The study found that about one-third of internally sourced leaders fail, usually because of poor interpersonal skills. The human resources reps queried reported that 65 percent of leaders selected internally stay in their positions and are successful, but of the 35 percent who are not successful, most fail because they have poor people skills or exhibit inappropriate personal qualities.

The efforts and funding behind leadership development programming often are misdirected, according to the study. While formal training is the most common leader development practice, special projects or assignments prove the most effective, the study revealed. When the HR professionals surveyed were asked to indicate the degree to which they made use of a variety of leadership development programs, the most widely used development activity, formal training, was not rated the most useful. Special projects within and outside normal job responsibilities were perceived as most valuable.

Both human resources reps and the leaders they are charged with developing seem to know something’s missing. Only 39 percent of HR and 53 percent of leader respondents reported they have high confidence in their organization’s leadership, and only 53 percent of leaders say they are satisfied with the development opportunities provided by their employer. Less than half of all leaders surveyed, or 47 percent, believe their organization provides them with all they need to develop.

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