Leadership development expands individuals' capacity to perform leadership roles through building alignment, winning mindshare, and growing others' capabilities. Leadership roles can be formal or informal. Leadership development traditionally focuses on developing individuals' abilities and attitudes, but is more effective when integrated over time and involves goal-setting, assessment, and support from supervisors. Leadership can also be developed collectively by strengthening connections between leaders and aligning efforts with systems. Succession planning develops high-potential individuals for future leadership roles through international experience and alignment with organizational vision.

1. Leadership development expands the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within
organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of a company’s strategy through: building
alignment, winning mindshare and growing the capabilities of others. Leadership roles may be formal, with the
corresponding authority to make decisions and take responsibility, or they may be informal roles with little
official authority (e.g., a member of a team who influences team engagement, purpose and direction; a lateral
peer who must listen and negotiate through influence).
Developing individual leaders
Traditionally, leadership development has focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of
individuals. Different personal traits and characteristics can help or hinder a person's leadership effectiveness
and require formalized programs for developing leadership competencies.
Classroom-style training and associated reading is effective in helping leaders to know more about what is
involved in leading well. However, knowing what to do and doing what one knows are two very different
outcomes; management expert Henry Mintzberg is one person to highlight this dilemma. It is estimated that as
little as 15% of learning from traditional classroom-style training results in sustained behavioral change within
workplaces.
The success of leadership development efforts has been linked to three variables.
1. individual learner characteristics
2. the quality and nature of the leadership development program
3. genuine support for behavioral change from the leader's supervisor
Military officer-training academies, such as the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, go to great lengths to
accept only candidates who show the highest potential to lead well. Personal characteristics that are associated
with successful leadership development include leader motivation to learn, a high achievement drive and
personality traits such as openness to experience, an internal focus of control, and self-monitoring. In order to
develop individual leaders, supervisors or superiors must conduct an individual assessment.
Development is also more likely to occur when the design of the development program:
 integrates a range of developmental experiences over a set period of time (e.g. 6–12 months). These
experiences may include 360 degree feedback, experiential classroom style programs, business school style
coursework, executive coaching, reflective journaling, mentoring and more.
 involves goal-setting, following an assessment of key developmental needs and then an evaluation of the
achievement of goals after a given time period
Among key concepts in leadership development one may find:
 Experiential learning: positioning the individual in the focus of the learning process, going through the four
stages of experiential learning as formulated by David A. Kolb: 1. concrete experience 2. observation and
reflection 3. forming abstract concept 4. testing in new situations.

2.  Self efficacy: the right training and coaching should bring about 'Self efficacy' in the trainee, as Albert
Bandura formulated: a person's belief about his capabilities to produce effects
 Visioning: Developing the ability to formulate a clear image of the aspired future of an organization unit.
 Attitude: attitude plays a major role in being a leader.
Developing leadership at a collective level
Leadership can also be developed by strengthening the connection between, and alignment of, the efforts of
individual leaders and the systems through which they influence organizational operations. This has led to a
differentiation between leader development and leadership development. Leadership development can build on
the development of individuals (including followers) to become leaders. In addition, it also needs to focus on
the interpersonal linkages between the individuals in the team.
In the belief that the most important resource that an organization possesses is the people that comprise the
organization, some organizations address the development of these resources (even including the leadership).
In contrast, the concept of "employeeship" recognizes that what it takes to be a good leader is not too dissimilar
to what it takes to be a good employee. Therefore, bringing the notional leader together with the team to explore
these similarities (rather than focusing on the differences) brings positive results. This approach has been
particularly successful in Sweden where the power distance between manager and team is small.
Succession planning
The development of "high potentials" to effectively take over the current leadership when their time comes to
exit their positions is known as succession planning. This type of leadership development usually requires the
extensive transfer of an individual between departments. In many multinationals, it usually requires
international transfer and experience to build a future leader.
Succession planning requires a sharp focus on organization's future and vision, in order to align leadership
development with the future the firm aspires to create. Thus successive leadership development is based not
only on knowledge and history but also on a dream. For such a plan to be successful, a screening of future
leadership should be based not only on "what we know and have" but also on "what we aspire to become".
Persons involved in succession planning should be current leadership representing the vision and HR executives
having to translate it all into a program. According to Meir Jacob and Amit Cohen (1995) three critical
dimensions should be considered: 1. Skills and knowledge 2. Role perception and degree of acceptance of
leading role 3. Self-efficacy (Albert Bandura). These three dimensions should be a basis of any leadership
succession programme.
Tips for Becoming a Successful Leader
Sometimes we choose to lead and sometimes we’re pushed into leadership. Whatever your situation, your
leadership skills will determine how successful you are. Successful leadership is leading by example. If you

3. aren’t demonstrating the virtues or techniques you propose, those following your leadership will fail, leaving
you to wonder why?
1. Leaders Learn:
They understand that when they lose interest in learning, they lose their edge in the world. Good leaders know
they must continue to find opportunities to learn. They crave every chance to do so, says Brian Tracey, an
internationally recognized guru on leadership.
Tracey encourages anyone seeking leadership success to read at least an hour every day. That hour a day will
make you a recognized leader within three years, he says. So commit to learning for the rest of your life and
embrace opportunities to do so.
2. Leaders Listen
They understand the difference between passively hearing and actively listening to what people are telling
them. They also have the wisdom to know who is worth listening to and who is not, Tracey says.
Some people just like to hear themselves talk, but they never actually say anything of any import.
3. Leaders DevelopDiscipline
Discipline is the cornerstone of an effective leader’s life. Not just in business, but in everything he or she
does. Good leaders develop discipline by curbing (controlling) the impulse for instant gratification. Learning to
say “no” when you might say “yes” is the road to becoming more disciplined.
In other words, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Curbing your desires makes you stronger in
every aspect of your life. That’s why leaders discipline themselves to do necessary tasks even when they don’t
feel like doing them.
4. Leaders Take Time to be Quiet
Successful leaders are usually very busy, with very little extra time in their schedules. But the most successful
ones take 15 to 30 minutes every day to be absolutely silent. They remove all distractions and noise to sit within
the calm of quiet surroundings.
In this silence, they’re able to hear themselves think and feel. This helps develop their intuition, which guides
them in making decisions.
5. Leaders are Compassionate (truthful, sympathetic)
Effective leaders know that kindness trumps bad behavior; they care about others’ feelings. They know that
softly spoken words are more easily heard and understood, while yelling at peak volume typically just makes
for a battle of wills.
6. Leaders Understand When to Delegate
Nothing stands in the way of accomplishing their goals, and certainly not excuses. Successful leaders are people
of action, but they also understand when to be patient and when they cannot do everything themselves.
7. Leaders Manage Time Well

4. Successful leaders know that time is the only commodity they cannot get more of, no matter how successful
they become. So they treat it with great respect. Good leaders manage their time by planning their days with
precision.
8. Leaders are Persistent
They work doggedly to accomplish their goal no matter how long it takes. Persistence is key. The refusal to
give up separates a good leader from those who would have success but give up too soon.
9. Leaders Focus on the Positive
A successful leader keeps his eye on the end result. She/he maintains a positive outlook, regardless of current
circumstances. Good leaders see problems as opportunities to find a solution. And they never blame others for
what they’ve failed to accomplish. Leaders understand that they are in command of their own thinking.
10. Leaders Value Failure
The average leader will fail many times before he or she succeeds. They are undaunted by failures and view
them as golden opportunities to get closer to their goal. And they know that failure is not an end, but a chance to
learn to do it better next time.
11. Leaders are Authentic
It is their actions in the world and their intentions that make someone a leader worth following.
So a good leader is authentic in his or her approach to life, which includes day-to-day living. Their spoken
principles reflect their actions.
12. Leaders Want to Share What They’ve Learned
Successful leaders are generous with sincere praise to others. If praise is given too often or too generally, it can
lose its meaning. And if it’s not given enough, people can become discouraged.
Remember, too, that everyone learns at a different pace. Some get new techniques and ideas with ease, while
others may initially struggle to understand or incorporate them. A great leader is able to work well with both
types of learners.
13. Leaders Help Others
Students and employees feel more comfortable asking questions when they know that the process of asking
questions is valued. So never dismiss a question as unworthy.
LEADERSHIP IS A SKILL you will work on and develop throughout your life. There is no effortless path to
excellence and accomplishment in this domain.
Leadership Thinking and Practice
Through coursework, hands-on experience, and practice giving and receiving feedback, the (Leadership
Development Programs) develops skills on four levels:

5. 1. Individual Level
examples: Values and leadership commitments, knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses
2. Interpersonal/Team Level
examples: Giving/receiving feedback, emotional intelligence, communication, diversity
3. Organizational Level
examples: Developing and implementing vision and strategy, organizational design and organizational
culture
4. Global Level
examples: Building and sustaining community, ethics, social responsibility and accountability, cultural
awareness.
The Program is Designed to be:
 Personalized. The LDP helps you advance your leadership goals. You build up your own leadership
plan, which could include a leadership role at the school, starting your own venture, or working with a
community organization, and then act on it. You make use of a unique assessment tool that is designed
just for you to measure your progress.
 Highly global. Leadership demands and practices vary across cultures. A formulaic approach to
leadership will fail those interested in working in varied regions or in highly global organizations. The
highly customized nature of LDP enable you to prepare to lead across boundaries.
 Integrated with your studies. The LDP advances in step with the academic curriculum, providing you
with opportunities to reflect on the leadership questions and lessons encountered in the classroom.
The action-reflection model
There is a clear link between action, reflection and change within this style of learning. In the activity-reflection
model there are four stages to the cycle of reflection:
a) The initial or new experience b) Reflection and observation c) Development of a new concept
b) Experimentation.