Why is leadership and management development important?

This is a key question for any organization: “why is leadership and management development important?” The benefits are not always clear to those wishing to implement or participate in leadership development and related programmes.

For many participants who are already in a management or leadership role, the motivation for engaging in such a programme may often be primarily about furthering their career – potentially away from the organization that has developed them.

For those aspiring to future leadership it may primarily be about showing themselves to be ready and seeking to mark themselves out as ‘talent’.  Some who have been ‘encouraged’ to participate may even see it as a bad thing, indicating that they aren’t yet ‘good enough’ in the role.

While these may all be considerations, they are absolutely not the most significant factor in understanding the importance of leadership & management development, for the organization and the individual.

Quality of leadership throughout the organization is known to be one of the single most significant factors in organizational success.

Leader capability is pivotal in making great choices, developing strategy, building high-performing teams, shaping culture, achieving goals, optimizing effectiveness, developing and retaining talent, coaching the stars of the future and a host of other important outcomes.

Development is not and should not be a dirty word. It is not a reflection on what capabilities a leader is lacking: it is how we learn to be more effective, to get the best out of ourselves and others and to have a positive influence on the people, operations and world around us. Every leader and manager needs development and not just once.

It should be part of the everyday fabric of how any organization operates.