Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of leadership training an organization`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) Traditionally, leadership development has focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of individuals.[citation needed]
Different personal trait and characteristics can help or hinder a person’s leadership effectiveness and require formalized programs for developing leadership competencies.
Classroomstyle 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[by whom? that as little as 15% of learning from traditional classroomstyle training results in sustained behavioral change within workplaces.
The success of leadership development efforts has been linked[by whom?] to three variables:
Individual learner characteristics
Quality and nature of the leadership development program Support for behavioral change from the leader’s supervisor. Military officertraining 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[by whom?] 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 selfmonitoring. In order to develop individual leaders, supervisors or superiors must conduct an individual assessment.
Development is also more likely to occur when the design of the development program:
Integrates a range of developmental experiences over a set period of time (e.g., 6–12 months). These experiences may include 360 degree feedback, experiential classroom style programs, business school style coursework, executive coaching, reflective journaling, mentoring and more.
Involves goalsetting, following an assessment of key developmental needs and then an evaluation of the achievement of goals after a given time period. Among key concepts in leadership development one may find:
Experiential learning: Positioning the individual in the focus of the learning process, going through the four stages of experiential learning as formulated by David A. Kolb:
Specific experience. Observation and reflection. Form an abstract concept. Testing in new situations. Self-efficacy:
As Albert Bandura stated, proper training and coaching should instill “self-efficacy” in trainees. It is a person’s belief in the ability to influence. Visioning: Develop the ability to develop a clear picture of the desired future of an organizational unit. Attitude: Attitude plays a big role when it comes to becoming a leader. Read more..
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