Part II: The 50 Billion Dollar Leadership Development Questions

Despite Barbara Kellerman's argument regarding the diminishing importance of leadership, the 2008 economic debacle illustrates a point made by Gill R. Hickman. "Leadership can and does make a meaningful difference in every aspect of organizations”. Let me add the words good and/or bad. Outcomes suggest the degree to which leaders have demonstrated contextual, emotional, political, social, and talent intelligence.

As a consumer of research, one also should immediately ask if there is insufficient evidence provided by the industry to show success, then where is the evidence for a claim that there is a correlation between the failure of CEOs and political leaders and the investment made in leadership development? Nonetheless, a lack of evidence of the value of a $50 billion annual investment demands an explanation and answers to some questions from industry experts, organization practitioners, and their executive sponsors/leaders. After all, one hopes there is an informed collaboration between practitioners and executive sponsors/ leadership regarding development investment decisions. 
 

Until one has explored the practitioners', executive leaders', and industry experts' unrestricted viewpoint, the depth of understanding regarding what has and is transpiring with the leadership development investment will continue to elude. Thanks to Dr. Kellerman, here are some of the 50 billion dollar annual investment questions to launch our discussion:

• Who makes the leadership development program investment decisions and on what basis are negotiations and expectations handled with leadership development industry providers?
• How does the organization’s environment and the derivative drivers of the business inform the leadership development program?
• What does a good leader have to know, what do they have to be able to do, and how must they act given the environment? Are these expectations different or the same from one industry to the next or even within industry given market factors?
• In contrast and given the environment, what describes a bad leader in the organization? Are these expectations different or the same from one industry to the next or even within industry given market factors?
• Who is the target audience for development and upon what objective criteria is that audience selected?
• Is the program tailored to the needs of the organization and its individual participants or is it a one-size fits all "peanut butter spread" in which all participants regardless of competence are "dipped"? What is the cost of each approach and what is the value derived?
• In what ways are leadership history, theory, organization environment, and good and bad leader models communicated to learners?
• What is being taught about being a good follower? How are followership lessons being delivered?
• What is the framework that integrates leader and follower development with other people processes (e.g., 360's, individual development plans, performance evaluation, recruiting and selection processes)?
• What is the evidence the program works? What measures of success were implemented as part of the design of the program? Where are these metrics maintained? When and to whom are they reported? How are these metrics used to modify and sustain program success? How is the program benchmarked?
• How has the program addressed pertinent organizational issues? (e.g., retention, engagement, bench strength, etc.)

If the question of value remains unanswered, then the tolling of the bell for the leadership development industry and associated staff will and should continue to get louder. Additionally, the continuing rise in the demonstration of incompetence and questionable ethics of leaders will cause further erosion of the perception of the role and continue to cast shadows on its importance.

As a practitioner and/or scholar, please engage in this dialogue and share thoughts and/or answers to any or all of the questions and content of this blog with those who are searching, reading, and listening. In my next blog, more will be shared about organization environment/context and its importance to effective leadership. Until then, ask and seek answers to the right questions in the right way and be the change you want to see. Let the conversation begin!

Phyllis L. Wright, Ph.D.

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This blog includes an Amy-ism by Amy Tawney..."peanut butter spread"! Thanks Amy for all the fun we had while working together!

References:

Hickman, G. R. (Ed.). (1998). Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era.

       Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Kellerman, B. (2012). The end of leadership. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.