Six principles to build an outstanding leadership development program
Leadership development is one of the key ways successful organizations can become more strategic and operate even more effectively. As an executive, I sponsored and was part of a number of really great executive development programs as well as some that were interesting and fun but didn’t yield the long term impact that we hoped for. What I observe as the difference to success was integrating the program into everyday business so that leaders can put ideas and concepts into practice with real activities or experiments to make progress.
When your leaders have the opportunity to work on real topics that matter to the organization and themselves, your leadership program can have lasting impact and reinforce the culture you want.
Here are six principles to consider when building your leadership development program:
Have clear outcomes and goals: consider what needs to be different for the organization and the leaders participating in the program. It can be helpful to sort outcomes into themes like strategic priorities, areas of operational efficiency, team dynamics (trust, accountability, communication, etc…), culture. Development programs are a unique opportunity to reinforce the organization’s story, vision, history and reason for existing. As with all outcomes and goals, mechanisms and metrics in place to measure progress ensure your program creates an impact.
Leaders are people first: give leaders the resources to understand themselves, their own mental well-being and the mindset required to have a more strategic approach. We find ourselves as leaders in our family, community and all the other aspects of our lives – successful people make successful leaders.
Make it stick: one-time events often boost short term enthusiasm but then fade away over time. We suggest the most effective programs are based on a rhythm of short events followed by both practice and reflection. Leaders need to learn, do, and reflect on the impact to see their progress over time and build lasting habits. Build in time for leaders to reflect, clarify their thoughts and initiate change. This is a key difference between leadership training (learning) and leadership development.
Reinforce culture: development programs offer a way to structure continuous learning, establish a supportive environment to take risks, learn from failures and promote collaboration and open communication. This happens when programs span enough time for leaders to engage in activities and learn through their first courageous attempts. Leadership development programs are also a good way to act on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Take care not to unintentionally create exclusion. In one example, I have seen development programs for women leaders where feedback from participants was a desire to be part of a diverse group rather than be part of a select group of women.
Personalized approach: extraordinary leadership requires us to understand ourselves and shift our mindset from reactive to creative to build an incredible new future. Everyone’s leadership journey is unique so its important for leaders to gain self-awareness for not only where they can be more effective but also the tendencies that might be holding them back. Include a way for leaders to build personal development goals that inspire and motivate.
Integrate from the top: while it can be tempting to get started with mid-level or senior leaders in an organization to accelerate more people, we see the most effective programs start from the top. Getting started with your executive gives these leaders a way to model the way forward, reinforce culture, emphasize strategic priorities, and later support the program throughout the organization. This also strengthens sponsorship for the program.
Outstanding leadership development programs can be a significant investment in your people’s time and the organization’s money. One size does not fit all. Every organization has unique needs and its own starting point for leadership development. The most effective programs are built with strong executive sponsorship and rely on expertise and creativity that already exist within the organization and boosted with external resources where it makes sense.
We are super passionate about supporting our clients to build great programs. It’s an opportunity to transform not just how people lead but how people live. We believe that leads to outstanding business outcomes.