Training Industry Magazine - Leadership 2015 Special Edition - 44

THE

Difference
BY MARK HANNUM

BETWEEN LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT AND
LEADERSHIP FORMATION

WHEN IT COMES TO HOW ORGANIZATIONS ALLOCATE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT DOLLARS,
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ALWAYS GRABS THE LION'S SHARE OF THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE. STUDIES SHOW THAT GENERAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT YIELDS
A CONSISTENT RETURN ON INVESTMENT, BUT THE STAKES ARE MAGNIFIED WITH LEADERSHIP. THE
DECISIONS BUSINESS LEADERS MAKE IMPACT THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION AND THEY CAN MAINTAIN
THEIR INFLUENCE ON AN ORGANIZATION OFTEN FOR DECADES AND EVEN LONGER. SO THE QUESTION
IS: IS YOUR ORGANIZATION FOCUSED ON CULTIVATING THE RIGHT LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES TO
ENSURE LEADERS CAN CHANGE WITH THE TIMES AND LEAD EFFECTIVELY IN THE FUTURE?
DEVELOPING LEADERS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The best leadership development programs use sophisticated
design and delivery methods, highly researched competency
models, global requirements and the latest technology to
help leaders skillfully integrate the vision and strategy of their
organization to produce measurable bottom-line results. They focus
on the "process" rather than a specific "event" and most importantly,
they target leaders at all levels. The best leadership development
programs integrate with an organization's leadership management
system, retention and engagement system, succession planning
system, social networking tools, online learning tools, performance
management and its compensation and incentives.
But is that all there is? Of course not. The best leadership development
programs are synonymous with change. And while everyone is sick
and tired of hearing that change is driven by resource constraints,
demographic changes and technology changes, governance is a
fourth driver of change that virtually every major thought leader
considers important and overlooked.
Governance is simply the set of mechanisms an organization uses
to control its activities. Governance describes the mechanisms
an organization uses to ensure that its stakeholders follow its
established processes and policies. It is the primary means of
maintaining oversight and accountability in a loosely coupled
organizational structure. A proper governance strategy implements
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systems to monitor and record what is going on, takes steps to
ensure compliance with agreed policies, and provides for corrective
action in cases where the rules have been ignored or misconstrued.
In other words, governance is the mechanism by which an
organization processes its knowledge of resources, demographics
and technology into a coherent set of actions that its customers,
shareholders and employees can interpret correctly and act on
uniformly. Governance is leadership. And leadership requires
governance and much more. But just as is the case with resources,
demographics and technology, governance is undergoing a huge
transformation. The leaders of the future will need to be more
inclusive, transparent, trustworthy and truthful.
The good news is that most organizations have some form of
leadership development program. Yet most organizations don't
really know how to execute "leadership formation," which is
simply defined as a communal process of inculcating the values
and foundational concerns of leaders and potential leaders of an
organization and its industry. The desired outcome is a sociallyaware, highly articulate leader who can bring value to the
organization, industry and community. Leaders who are "formed"
as opposed to "developed" have values, character, strength,
determination as well as compassion, ethics and judgement.
What often happens in many leadership development programs is
that they only help to improve outward facing skills - analytical
intelligence, practical intelligence, social intelligence, emotional

Training Industry Magazine - Leadership 2015 Special Edition

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