Leadership development may be the most important thing any company does. That’s why, every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover leadership development to find the very best leadership development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to posts about strategic leadership development, what it takes to learn to be a leader, why companies should train workers, and what makes leaders successful.
From Korn Ferry: Leadership development: CEOs’ strategic powerhouse
“Developing leaders from within the organization is a priority for driving change. As Korn Ferry has found through its work with clients across all industries, leadership development can and should be a powerful tool at the CEO’s disposal to advance strategic growth and change. CEOs have relatively few strategic levers to drive real strategic change. The predictable levers include compensation, budgeting, process improvement, increased measurement and accountability, new technologies, reorganization, and revitalized communications. That should make leadership development even more alluring. But to be effective, leadership development needs to be more than aligned with the business strategy—it needs to be part of the strategy.”
From HBS Working Knowledge: What It Takes to Learn to Be a Leader
“After a decade of teaching leadership courses at Harvard Business School, Robert Steven Kaplan has fielded the question of whether leadership can be taught more often than he can count. Kaplan addresses the question again in his new book, What You Really Need to Lead. His answer: an emphatic yes. Leadership is a skill, not some genetic trait inherited by a lucky few, Kaplan says. In the book he provides practical suggestions, exercises, and anecdotes of executives facing different challenges to illustrate what makes a good leader and how to become one.”
From Nichola J. Lowe: The Future of Work: Encouraging Employers to Train Workers
“Employers increasingly face a ‘make or buy’ calculation when it comes to skill. With increased training opportunities outside the firm, the balance tips in favor of buying (and also evaluating) skill on the open marketplace. This fits well with our current economic narrative, where lifetime employment with a single firm is viewed as a relic and more workers need portable credentials.”
Thanks to Smartbrief on Workforce for pointing me to this story
From Michelle M. Smith: What Makes Leaders Successful? They Keep on Growing and Learning
“Successful leaders continue to grow and develop on the job. The willingness and ability to learn throughout one’s career is increasingly important as changing technology, markets and methods require new skills and behaviors. Learning ability influences the extent to which you grow as an individual, as well as how you’re perceived by others.”
