As someone who provides leadership development programs and advice, I sometimes experience resistance to the time, cost or effort associated with building leadership capability. I was once asked by a senior executive who was considering a training proposal I had provided “What happens if I train them and they leave?” I replied “What happens if you don’t train them, and they stay!”
The largest study into leadership in Australia has just concluded and one of the key findings is that leadership development pays. The study found that investing in leadership development increases the leader’s self-confidence in their ability to lead and their leadership capabilities. It also found that organisations that have more confident, capable leaders perform at a higher level and are more innovative.
A summary of leadership return on investment by business publisher Wiley shows that organisations that excel at leadership development perform better financially, attract and retain better people, are more agile when responding to change and are more productive.
I have just finished delivering a customised, in-house leadership development for a national, ASX listed company and the evaluation showed some very positive results. 86% of participants reported that they had become better leaders as a result of the program. 78% said they felt better about working at the organisation. So, in addition to the business benefits of leadership development, there are significant engagement and cultural reasons to grow your leaders.
In summary, leadership development pays. Let us know if we can help.
