This document summarizes 7 reasons why leadership development programs often fail. They include: 1) Lack of focus on business impact and quantifiable results. 2) Too much focus on "training" specific skills instead of shifting mindsets. 3) Programs are not well integrated with company strategy and culture. 4) Neglecting the importance of social capital and team dynamics. 5) Lack of support from senior leaders. 6) Failure to incorporate effective learning techniques. 7) One-size-fits-all uniform programs that do not account for company uniqueness. The document advocates avoiding these pitfalls to create more effective leadership development.

1. 7 Reasons
Why Leadership
Development Fails
May 11, 2015
By: Nicolas Bardoukas

2. Copyright © 2014 by The Columbia Leadership Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved!
Fast Facts
$164.2 billion spent each year on leadership development (2013)
Only 7% of businesses actually believe their programs are successful
Top CEOs stated that it is a top-three human capital priority for organizations

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So…Why is such an important priority for
businesses so ineffective?

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1) Lack of Business Impact
§ Failure to consider the reason they
exist—business impact
§ What good are ‘soft’ skills if their
implementation results cannot be
related to the company’s bottom-
line?
§ Quantifiable business results
allow organizations to track the
real-world effectiveness of their
leadership interventions

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2) Just Another Training Program
Many programs are too focused on 'training' a very specific skill, instead of
shifting the leaders’ mindsets.
Think about this… is it more powerful to teach someone a script for
how to give feedback OR is it more powerful to have someone shift their
mindset from ‘I'm a good feedback giver’ to ‘I know I can be a better feedback
giver, and I will consciously work on it’?
“We train dogs, but we educate
people”
!

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3) Integration is Absent
§ Organizations still use an isolated
approach
§ Rarely consider the strategy or
culture of the business
§ All initiatives need to be rowing the
boat in the same direction
§ Failure to do so creates confusion
and frustration for the participants
and talent professionals

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4) Neglecting Social Capital
§ Too many programs focus on building human capital alone
§ BUT…the best individual players, don’t make the best team
§ They might be skilled and motivated but without the necessary social
capital, they won’t be enabled to fully leverage those

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5) Zero Support
§ Senior leaders need to play a pivotal
role in developing their future leaders
§ Senior level support for desired
leadership behaviors is directly
proportional to the level of assimilation
of these behaviors into the company
culture

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6) Learning is Missing
§ Research shows adult learners memorize an average of 10% of what they
hear in lectures
§ Leaders struggle to learn because they often don’t know how to
learn effectively and aren’t taught how to learn better.
§ Successful programs need to have learning stick by situating it in their
work context

10. 7) Uniformity
• Most programs are off-the-shelf or
minimally tailored
• One-size-fits-all approach ignores an
organization's unique language, style
and culture
• Participants often feel the program is
foreign and aren’t motivated to
improve

11. So…avoid wasting time and money
by steering clear of these
seven pitfalls!!

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What pitfalls do you see in leadership development programs?
Feel free to share in the comments on our blog page at:
http://www.columbia-leadership.com/blog/2015/5/7/7-reasons-why-leadership-
development-fails
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processes presented in this document are the intellectual property of The Columbia Leadership Group, Inc. and are
subject to copyright protection.
The Columbia Leadership Group, Inc. protects its intellectual property to the fullest extent of the law.
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