"What corporation does not spend copiously for leadership development? High potential managers are identified early in their careers. They are 'fast-tracked,' 'mentored,' and sent off to countless expensive programs intended to develop them for prospective senior management positions. This is undoubtedly important. But why not call it what it is: executive development. By calling it leadership development, we again reinforce the notion that responsibility for the future of the enterprise lies in the hands of a chosen few. And who knows what opportunities for real leadership development, more broadly construed, we miss by focusing exclusively on the elite?"

- Peter Senge

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If the goal of leadership development is to produce confident, knowledgeable and courageous leaders, then the key question is how do we do this? We believe there are two critical elements:

• Skill development and knowledge acquisition. This facilitates the "doing" of leadership - knowing what to do as a leader.
• Personal insights. This self awareness facilitates the "being" of leadership - being comfortable enough with your sense of self so you can truly be an effective leader.

What do we mean by the "doing" and the "being" of leadership? The best way to explain it is to reflect on the two extremes. Suppose an individual has a high level of knowledge and leadership skills in developing a vision, thinking innovatively, negotiating, etc. But something is missing. They seem to lack the confidence, intuition or awareness of when and how to apply these skills. Like a cook knowing the recipe but being unable to adapt it in a way that makes the meal exquisite. On the flip side, if the leader were acutely aware of what was required in a particular situation, but simply lacked the skills to put this knowledge into action, their leadership would certainly be ineffective.

We believe these two elements must be linked closely together in any leadership development initiative. Self-awareness is developed through exploring, learning and reflecting on leadership skills and knowledge, which are presented to individuals in increasing depth and complexity.

Leadership skills can be grouped into three subsets, although some skills (e.g., change management) inevitably cross into all subsets, making some of the allocations arbitrary. These skills can be regarded as forming the content of any leadership initiative.

Relationship Skills

These are the softer skills of leadership. Communication, listening, questioning, talking openly and authentically, negotiating, coping with conflict, giving and receiving feedback, managing performance, developing teams, coaching and recognition.

Organizational Skills

These are skills that are not as focused on dyadic and group processes. They include the more task-oriented organizational skills, such as project management, performance systems, planning, creating a sense of urgency, change management, as well as some "how-tos," such as public speaking and developing reward and recognition systems, understanding accountability and implementing ideas/goals.

Strategic Skills

These include complex systems skills, strategic thinking, financial management, marketing, customer service and customer intimacy, process improvement, information technology, knowledge management, thinking innovatively, global thinking and organizational change.

To develop leaders we need to give individuals these skills, but on a continuum - increasing the depth, breadth, complexity and integration of the application of these skills. Through the development of relationship, organizational and strategic skills, all framed within the context of self-understanding and self-awareness, leadership skills will develop.

This increase in leadership skills will result in the development of exceptional leaders, which in turn will have a significant impact on individual and organizational performance. It is this exceptional performance that can truly make the difference in the development and sustainability of exceptional organizations.

We believe the established methods used to "train" leaders have not kept pace with the monumental changes taking place in the world. Unfortunately, many traditional leadership training initiatives are not sufficiently comprehensive. All too often these seminars present leadership as an isolated issue separate from the individual and business challenges leaders actually face daily. The belief that leadership can be developed through an isolated day-long or week-long seminar is unrealistic. Many so-called leadership training programs are actually management training programs, which tend to be functionally and technically oriented.

It is not good enough to send developing leaders on a leadership retreat where we tell them not to be fearful of change, or of stating what they truly, passionately believe in. It is not good enough to send these folks on strategic thinking courses or marketing courses in which they learn the "hard skills" of leadership. No, we help leaders gain a deep, genuine understanding of themselves, while at the same time giving them the skills and the knowledge they need to support them in their leadership. We must give them the confidence to be authentic, to be self-assured while empathetic, and thus be truly outstanding leaders.

Leaders will be required to forge partnerships and links across all types of traditional boundaries, both inside and outside organizations. They will be required to embrace diversity, enable colleagues, nurture performance, provide vision, wisdom and passion; in short, bring out the best in their followers.

Ultimately, leadership development is about learning - about the skills of "doing" leadership and the awareness of "being" a leader. Knowledge must be acquired, digested, integrated and applied. This knowledge must range from the hard technical skills of leadership, to the much more elusive goals of self-knowledge and self-awareness.

In order to acquire these skills and this knowledge, we believe effective leadership development initiatives must focus on some or all of the following:

• Acquiring the knowledge of others - through reading, attending workshops or presentations, and questioning "experts".
• Questioning the information, both individually and in groups.
• Reflecting on the information in order to develop personal philosophy and beliefs.
• Putting the learning into action through practice on organizational issues/case studies.
• Getting feedback on the practice.
• Reflecting on the practice.
• Working in a one-on-one relationship to apply the skill in a deeper, more complex manner - raising the bar on leadership.
• Reflecting on how this contributes to personal and organizational leadership vision.
• Finding balance between learning new knowledge and consolidating previously acquired skills.

These elements can occur through a variety of mediums and delivery methodologies. However, regardless of how the leadership initiative unfolds, we are convinced that leadership development must be on-going and be firmly embedded in the leader's own environment. See "The Journey" for more information.

We believe skill development is an essential part of leadership development. However, skills on their own are not enough. They need to be used to "raise the bar on leadership." Without the on-going cycle of application, reflection and learning, it is unlikely that these skills will be applied to the depth that is required for true and exceptional leadership.

What We Know About Organizational Development