Although the debate still rages on whether leadership is learned or innate, there is no doubt that the subject is being taught.
When BusinessWeek published its annual survey of executive education in its Oct. 20, 2003 issue, 134 companies from 20 nations reported enrolling more than 21,000 employees in leadership programs, at a cost of $210 million. That’s a significant investment in an activity that may or may not produce authentic leaders, or even better managers.
A survey of 3,000 leaders and associates in 117 organizations reports that 63% plan to increase spending on leadership development programs that 75% of HR executives surveyed don't give a high quality rating to.
The paradox of spending more on what's not working is due to leadership development being seen as a classroom event. Yet, you don't fix people by sending them off to training. Managers need ongoing coaching to get in the habit of being good leaders.
The survey reported that two-thirds of the respondents said leaders at their company exhibited at least one potentially fatal flaw or "derailer"--a personality attribute that interferes with leadership effectiveness. Derailers are more personality-oriented than skill-based and are more difficult to change than teaching someone a new skill.
For all the money spent on them, we still don’t know if leadership programs work. Nor do we know which ones are successful. Leadership development is still in its infancy. We are only beginning to look in a truly scientific way at how leaders develop—we have virtually no longitudinal studies on leadership comparable to long-term healthcare studies. Still, there is no question about the importance of educating leaders. For the most part, leadership education programs receive positive reviews from the people who participate in them, and companies seem to feel the investment is worthwhile.
Bottom Line: Leadership development is self-development. Learning how to not micromanage, not be overly concrete, not fail to explicitly state expectations and other unproductive inter-personal behavior only happens through the increased self-awareness gained in a personal coaching or mentoring relationship.
For information on Leadership 401, go to: www.Leadership401.com
Sources:
-Leadership Paradox by Warren Bennis in October 1,
2004, CIO/Insight
-Assessment of the state of corporate leadership by
Bridgeville, PA-based Development Dimensions International