Leadership development is among employer’s top priorities and concerns in the workplace today. A 2013 survey conducted by The Conference Board and Right Management concluded that organizations are expected to spend 37% more on leadership development in 2014.
Many employers are concerned over a potential lack of talent to fill future leadership roles, and are putting practices in place such as succession planning and leadership development programs targeted toward young people, high-potentials, and emerging leaders to address those future gaps.
Below is a quick summary of two key areas in which the approach to creating leadership development programs is evolving.
Leadership Learning Initiatives
The methods of delivering training are expanding well beyond traditional classroom instructor-led activities. More resources are intended to be allocated to a full spectrum of leadership learning initiatives, including coaching/mentoring, action learning initiatives such as business challenges and simulations, and focused skill development.
The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) show that leadership learning is changing and includes more:
- Experiences
- Dialogue
- Movement
- Humor
- Reflection
- Challenge
In addition, ongoing coaching following training, regular refreshers, shorter sessions, online learning, and “just-in-time” training and exercise are being used more often to develop leaders.
Identifying Leaders
Another study conducted by Aberdeen points out trends in how organizations are identifying leaders. The most commonly used tactics are:
- Critical thinking and cognitive ability assessments
- Customer or client feedback
- Multi-rater/360 assessments
- Hiring manager and supervisor feedback
- Skill/behavioral or scenario-based assessments
2013’s research showed that leadership development continues to be an extremely important initiative in workplaces. It is constantly evolving in terms of how organizations are identifying leaders and developing them into future leaders.
