Are current leadership development programmes setting organisational leaders up to fail? The case for a new type of leader.
By Declan Noone
INTRODUCTION
Leadership training is a $366 billion global industry with $166 billion spent in the US alone on leadership development.[1] As you would expect, leadership expectations shape the content and delivery of leadership development programmes within organisations. Organisational expectations are the predominant considerations; in fact, these can be categorised as ‘leadership essentials’ and ‘mission critical’.
Organisational leadership expectations
- Provide Vision
- Drive Growth
- Innovation (embracing and integrating technology)
- Talent Management Strategies (positive culture and employee engagement)
- Improved Customer Service
With such significant investment in leadership development worldwide, it is natural to expect a positive impact across each of the expectations listed. However, employee engagement rates have hardly moved over the last two decades, with Gallup’s ‘State of the Global Workplace Report’ stating that ‘Across 142 countries in which Gallup measured employee engagement, 13% of employees are engaged in their jobs, while 63% are not engaged and 24% are actively disengaged’.[2]
These are extraordinary statistics. To place them in context, Gallup states that ‘Active disengagement in the workplace represents an immense drain in terms of productivity and profitability, even for highly developed economies’.[3]
Download the latest issue and read the full article now.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswestfall/2019/06/20/leadership-development-why-most-programs-dont-work/#646513de61de
[2] https://www.gallup.de/183833/state-the-global-workplace.aspx
[3] Ibid.
