How effective are your leadership development programs?

Leadership Development needs follow up and follow through by the leaders of the organization. One and done never works. Take bite sized pieces and work on them daily to improve the Leadership Culture.

When organizations conduct leadership development programs the goal should be to transform the behaviors of leaders in such a way that the results organizations are looking for are enhanced and improved. After all, good leadership behaviors should enhance things like speed to market, decreased costs, and higher quality. I have found that when senior leaders attend leadership development programs and actively participate and provide their perspectives, the leadership attributes being discussed have a much better chance to root themselves into the organization's culture. This increases the probability of reaching the intended results of improving organizational effectiveness.

leadership development is critical...AND...without ensuring inclusivity when selecting the leaders building these programs, we can miss out on some of the very best benefits of leadership development opportunities, like: - collaborative problem-solving methods that center community voices; - consensus building techniques in alternative fashion to top-down governance structures; - facilitation strategies that engage teams and leaders in new and innovative ways; - successful methods for engaging diverse audiences that are often systemically excluded; - creative solutioning with real-world case studies when we choose the same providers with long legacies of leading, we get the same strategies that established our current state.

Leadership development programs can be very effective in helping organizations to develop their leaders and their overall leadership capacity. These programs can help to improve the performance, productivity, and engagement of leaders and their teams. They can also help to develop a pipeline of talent and succession planning for key roles. Additionally, leadership development programs can foster a culture of learning, innovation, and collaboration, while strengthening the alignment of vision, mission, and strategy. Moreover, these programs can improve the retention, motivation, and satisfaction of employees, while building the reputation and credibility of the organization as a leader in its field.

Leadership development programs are crucial for cultivating adaptive leaders who can navigate the complexities of modern organizations. By investing in these programs, organizations not only enhance individual capabilities but also create a cohesive leadership culture that aligns with strategic objectives. Furthermore, effective leadership development fosters emotional intelligence and resilience, equipping leaders to inspire their teams through change and uncertainty.

leadership development is critical...AND...it's important to consider WHO is designing, providing, and leading the development? whose perspectives, experiences, and insights are being centered? oftentimes leaders are no better at the end of the development program because they are: - being taught principles that have existed since long before they were even born (literally); - being taught how to lead by theorists and not practitioners; - being taught how to lead by senior leaders who are disconnected from the challenges and impacts of their approaches; - being taught methods that have no aspect of community input or perspective it's important to start strong, and this means we MUST challenge the paradigms at the foundation.

Leadership development programs can be effective if they are well designed and implemented. However, several challenges can limit their effectiveness, such as a lack of clarity about the purpose and objectives of the programs, insufficient commitment from senior management, and poor quality content.

Leaders often have squishy measures of success. This makes the effectiveness of programs hard to evaluate if you don't define measures and design data collection systems early in the process.

Evaluating the effectiveness of leadership development programs is like performing a quality control check. Establish clear criteria for effective leadership development by assessing various aspects of the program. Just as QA examines product features, evaluate the program's content, relevance, and alignment with organizational goals. Just as quality control checks for defects, look for potential weaknesses or gaps in the program and address them proactively. Continuously monitor and measure the program's impact, similar to quality control tracking performance over time. By maintaining rigorous criteria for effective leadership development, you can ensure that the program consistently meets your organization's needs and standards.

In "SICKO MODE," Travis Scott seamlessly transitions through different musical styles and beats, demonstrating adaptability and versatility. Similarly, assessing leadership development requires a multi-faceted approach, where you should be open to different assessment methods. The song's dynamic nature reflects the need to be flexible and willing to explore various evaluation techniques to ensure the effectiveness of leadership development programs. Just like the song's shifting modes, leadership development assessment should be adaptable and embrace multiple methods to provide a comprehensive evaluation. Don't rely on quantitative methods alone, feel the pulse of leaders attending the development program. Leadership is more than a KPI.

Leadership development programs can be evaluated using a variety of methods, including surveys, interviews, tests, observations, portfolios, and case studies. These methods can help to assess the effectiveness of the programs in terms of participant satisfaction, learning outcomes, and behavioral change.

where measuring leadership development effectiveness, before you design another rubric, consider going straight to the source... and no, i don't mean feedback forms from trainees. consider who would be most impacted by the training being effective (or ineffective), and find out what THEY need from a leader. check existing research for a wide variety of demographics and contexts, AND do some qualitative information gathering, too. ex: if you're doing leadership development for teachers, beyond what the districts want, what do students and their families need to see? have these be the metrics for whether or not your development program is successful. otherwise, you will be measuring effectiveness from an incredibly biased perspective.

Leadership development programs can be effective if they are well-designed and implemented. There are a number of tips that can be used to improve leadership development programs, such as communicating and collaborating with stakeholders, reviewing and updating programs regularly, and using a blended and flexible approach. It is also important to incorporate experiential, social, and informal learning opportunities, provide ongoing feedback and support, and encourage participants to create personal development plans. Finally, it is important to celebrate the achievements of participants and stakeholders.

Leadership development programs are most effective when they are part of broader talent/learning eco-systems (holistic programs where coaching , management and leadership training, SLT development, 360s,mentoring, onboarding etc. is all aligned and aligned to key corporate initiatives and strategy.) Training organizations I’ve run in federal government had access to all those talent/ organizational development levers and were able to continuously modify them all at the same time to ensure they were changing and morphing to meet the needs of the organizations. For example, our training units also had organizational development/facilitation specialists who helped design senior leadership team retreat/strategy sessions/team building events

I have had experience at both ends of the spectrum of good and poor. The LD program should do two things. 1)) reinforce organizational values expected of all employees - tangible and obvious reinforcement. 2) it should prepare the training audience for challenges in current or future roles. With these two training objectives, leaders can act more decentralized through trust and add value and speed to the organization.

how many people have been harmed by your legacy of leadership, and how have you adjusted your approach since reflecting on that?! we can't speak to the impact of leadership if we are always coming from a place of expertise and knowledge. the reality is the best leaders i know have WISDOM...and that only comes from life-tested EXPERIENCE, which should have some community-based impact examples.