New research from Training magazine and Wilson Learning examines what high-performing learning & development (L&D) organizations are doing differently—and better—to prepare their newest group of leaders to successfully navigate a shifting and increasingly sophisticated business environment.
Their research underscores what L&D professionals already know: Creating a capable talent pool able to transition into the leadership roles being vacated by retiring Baby Boomers is vital to the success of any company. The study reinforces the belief that instructor-led training and on-the-job training have a higher rate of effectiveness over virtual and mobile training methods.
“For this study, we delved into what separates leadership development within high-performing companies from others when preparing their own generation of new leaders,” said Training editor–in-chief Lorri Friefeld, in a news release.
Impact of leadership development:
Using data from interviews with more than 500 L&D professionals and an in-depth review of current industry literature, the authors outline four distinct facets of leadership development that are paramount to the success (or failure) of an organization’s leadership training efforts.
“The research confirms the critical relationship between active executive involvement in the training process and the success of the company’s leadership development initiatives,” said Michael Leimbach, vice president of Wilson Learning Worldwide Global R&D, in the release. “It also provides us with new insights into the value of broadening the learning methods we use to reinforce highly effective instructor-led development efforts, especially in ways that can increase the speed of development in today’s more complex work environment.”
Executive involvement in leadership development:
The survey offers new evidence of the struggles these new leaders are experiencing now, as well as the leadership skills they believe will best support their transition into more visible and dynamic roles within the organization. The authors also compare leadership training budgets across high-, moderate-, and low-performing companies, and they consolidate industry-standard measures of leadership-development ROI. Their extensive polling emphasizes in detail what organizations must do to effectively develop the leaders of tomorrow.
“This research demonstrates Wilson Learning’s commitment to keeping a pulse on the marketplace: a commitment that continually drives us to provide timely, relevant thought leadership to organizations wanting to measure and fuel the strength of their leadership development programs,” said COO of Wilson Learning Worldwide, Tom Roth, in the release.
Effectiveness of leadership development methods:
