What is a Leadership Development Program: A Guide for Your Organization

You might have been invited to participate in a leadership development program or you may be responsible for developing leaders within your company. The transition from a team member or individual contributor to a leader is difficult.

Leadership development helps organizations transform the talent they have today into the leaders of tomorrow. Companies can’t remain the same. This is even more true as businesses change at a faster pace. Leaders are essential for organizations. They must have the ability to manage people and change, no matter what the business landscape changes, they can still find new opportunities and implement the strategy.

What is a leadership development program?

Leader development programs are a way for companies to invest in their internal growth and prepare high-potential employees for senior positions within the company in the short term. But what we consider to be good leadership qualities and the related skills have evolved. As companies recognize the importance of agility leadership development for a greater range of managers is becoming more important.

What should you expect from the program?

Although each company may have a different program, there are some elements that can be used to build leadership skills. These elements include access to and exposure to current management, an individual group for peer support, shared learning, mentorship, and formalized mentorship. Employees can grow and still have to balance their responsibilities in the current business by having a clear structure.

However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that leadership development and growth are personal and require a customized approach. Good leadership development programs should be flexible enough to meet people where they are at the moment and offer the support they need to overcome the unpredictable challenges they face.

Context is critical

Leader development must focus on the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the organization’s immediate future. This is what smart organizations understand. The challenges of today will be different from tomorrow due to changing business goals and a constantly evolving competitive landscape.

An McKinsey article that examines why some leadership programs fail reminds us of the importance of understanding context to understand what kind of leadership we need.

What are the most likely challenges that the company will face? What are the most important skills that the company’s leaders need to succeed? The program should be expanded to include negotiation and sales skills if the company is looking to acquire new clients or partners. Increasingly, evidence suggests that “soft” skills such as communication and relationship-building or abilities such as empathy and compassion are most relevant to the challenges of moving through uncertainty and unpredictability.

Originally published on The Tech Trend