field

review
Unlocking human
potential through
leadership training &
development initiatives
David Day, Nicolas Bastardoz, Tiffany Bisbey, Denise Reyes, & Eduardo Salas

abstract 1

Most organizations invest in leadership training and development

initiatives, but which programs are worth the money is not always clear.
To help leaders and policymakers make informed decisions about
their leadership investments, we review empirical research from the
organizational sciences and provide evidence-based guidance regarding
the appropriate design and delivery of such interventions. Leadership
training and development are distinct initiatives based on different needs
and targeted at distinct albeit interrelated goals. We describe important
characteristics of both kinds of interventions, detailing features with the
most potential for influencing effectiveness and maximizing returns. Our
recommendations provide clear and actionable suggestions for choosing
the right interventions, providing the necessary resources to set the stage
for success, and evaluating such programs.

Day, D., Bastardoz, N., Bisbey, T., Reyes, D., & Salas, E. (2021). Unlocking human potential
through leadership training & development initiatives. Behavioral Science & Policy, 7(1),
41–54.

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 The release of human possibilities is one of the most basic of social objectives
and leadership goals.

—John W. Gardner, American public servant and founder of Common

Cause, a nonpartisan grassroots organization devoted to upholding
core principles of democracy in the public interest1

w
O
rganizations make tremendous invest- In this review—which is targeted to top orga-
ments in leadership training and nizational leaders, general managers, human
Core Findings development initiatives to try to release resources and talent management leaders,
leaders’ full potential and, ultimately, enhance and other policymakers—we have three main
What is the issue? organizational sustainability and competi- objectives. The first is to draw a clear distinc-
Organizations often tiveness. Leadership, after all, serves as the tion between leadership training and leadership
invest much time and
glue that holds organizations together when development. The second is to review evidence
money in both leadership
training and development forces conspire to pull people apart. Effective regarding effectiveness that is gathered from
without a clear idea leaders are able to get people to cooperate research studies done in the field rather than in
of what is required or and to coordinate their activities in the service the laboratory, because field studies are more
whether their initiatives
will actually satisfy of accomplishing goals. Leadership can come likely to be applicable to the real world. The
organizational needs. from anyone, regardless of formal position, third is to propose specific policy recommen-
which means that organizations benefit when dations for implementing effective leadership
How can you act? employees at all organizational levels have lead- training and development, as well as to suggest
Selected recommendations
include:
ership skills. ways to identify practices that may not be worth
1) Conducting relevant the investment of time or money.
organizational needs Organizations need to invest in leadership
analyses and evaluating
training and development when a strong
scientifically validated
training initiatives with an economy allows the prioritization of orga- Leadership Training &
evidence-based approach nizational growth as well as when social or Leadership Development:
2) Creating a favorable economic conditions require downsizing or What Is the Difference?
organizational
environment and culture restructuring. 2 During times of change and Leadership training and development both aim
by, inter alia, removing disruption, organizations often need to turn to foster individual change and unlock individual
barriers to employee to employees with unused or underdeveloped potential. But they have different timescales,
training motivation
3) Setting the appropriate
leadership potential for help in reshaping and focus on different content and processes, and
expectations and bolstering the evolving leadership structure. generally target employees at different organi-
mix between longer zational levels.
term developmental
Indeed, the importance of leadership is widely
interventions and shorter
term training interventions recognized. Billions of dollars are spent annu- Leadership training is a set of systematic
ally on leadership training and development, learning initiatives designed to enhance specific
Who should take with organizations reporting that, on average, job-relevant knowledge (what an employee
the lead? leadership training and development claim the knows), skills (what an employee can do), and
Top-level organizational
largest share—around 35%—of their learning attitudes (what an employee thinks or feels
leaders (such as CEOs),
human resources and and development budgets.3 about the work), with the goal of improving job
talent management leaders performance.4 Knowledge, skills, and attitudes
Although organizations often make large invest- necessary for a specific job are often referred
ments in leadership training and development, to collectively as KSAs, and they provide the
they do not necessarily make these investments foundation for effective work performance. For
wisely. In this article, we review key findings example, human resources managers should
from field research on leadership training and know how to recognize when an employee
development practices and highlight those that needs emotional support, have the commu-
have been shown to be the most effective. nication skills to convey their understanding

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 and discuss solutions, and hold empathic and whereas others take more of an episodic,
supportive attitudes. As another example, first- program-based approach.
line supervisors should know how to motivate
the people they manage, have the supervisory Whereas training is bounded and lasts for a
skills to apply incentives fairly and effectively, relatively short amount of time (for example,
and have attitudes that support drawing the best several hours), leadership development initia-
performance from each individual employee. tives tend to last much longer (for example,
several months). Leadership training is delivered
It is relatively straightforward to design and in a highly structured way and imparts much
implement training to improve KSAs when the more specific content than is true of leadership
resources to do so are available. Although this development, which comprises multiple inter-
type of training is easily replicable and therefore related activities such as assessment, feedback,
not a strong source of a sustained competitive coaching, and experiential learning. Leadership
advantage, 2 it is a powerful tool for workforce training tends to be targeted at low- to midlevel
improvement that some organizations still fail to employees, whereas leadership development is
implement. usually offered to senior-level employees.

Leadership training is often used to teach Although we have explored the differences
employees new policies or technologies, between leadership training and leadership
to remediate the performance of leaders or development in this section, we do not mean to
their teams, or to improve performance when suggest that an organization must choose one
indices of business performance are declining. initiative to the exclusion of the other. In fact,
In contrast to training, leadership development whether to go with training or development is
seeks to enhance leaders’ ability to address a false dilemma: both are valuable tools when
challenges that have no known or agreed-upon it comes to realizing human possibilities in the
solutions. These kinds of problems, which have form of more effective leadership.
been referred to as adaptive challenges,5 cannot
be solved through the application of specific
technical skills. Leadership development takes Leadership Training
on the complex and holistic challenges asso- Evidence Overview
ciated with changing the behavioral tendencies As we noted earlier, the goal of leadership
of human beings. Thus, the objective of leader- training is to add new KSAs to an established or
ship development is inherently more ambiguous emerging leader’s repertoire. But how does one
than the objective for leadership training, know whether the training actually improves
because it relates to enhancing an individual’s leadership performance?
capacity to adapt and respond to the unfamiliar
rather than teaching specific KSAs to be applied The evidence is clear that leadership training
to well-known on-the-job situations. works when done right, suggesting that it is
beneficial for individuals and organizations. To
Leadership development is highly varied and arrive at the recommendations presented in this
eclectic in practice. Organizations do not agree article, we relied on evidence from both indi-
on what constitutes the best way to design and vidual field studies and aggregations, called
deliver leadership development interventions. meta-analyses, of multiple field studies. In these
Organizations may send employees to off-site meta-analyses, researchers combined and
residential programs, have in-house initiatives statistically analyzed findings from many studies
run by the human resources department, bring across many different jobs and industries,
in external consultants to design and deliver producing results that are more generaliz-
programs, apply a mix of these options, or able than those of an individual study. See the
explore other possibilities. Some organizations sidebar Key Insights and Recommendations for
value continuous, on-the-job development,

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 Key Insights & Recommendations for Leadership Training
Leadership Training Insights

1. Training consists of a set of systematic learning initiatives designed to teach specific job-relevant
knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) with the goal of improving job performance.
2. More specifically, the goal of leadership training is to provide a leader with new knowledge, add skills to
the leader’s repertoire, and establish the attitudes necessary to learn and apply the knowledge and skills
on the job.
3. Leadership training leads to a 20%–30% increase in learning, on-the-job leadership behaviors, and
positive organizational outcomes. The following recommendations can boost effectiveness even more.

Leadership Training Recommendations

1. Conduct a systematic needs analysis before instituting a training program.

2. Choose scientifically validated training initiatives, and assess their effectiveness for your organization.
3. Remove barriers to employee motivation to learn and apply skills.
4. When conducting training, include multiple teaching modes, provide opportunities for practice, and
offer feedback.
5. Help the training stick: Make it easy to use the newly acquired KSAs by providing resources,
opportunities for on-the-job practice, and incentives.

Leadership Training for a summary of key find- section’s Recommendation 1 for more about
ings and recommendations related to leadership such analyses).
training.
The meta-analysis also specifically examined
Christina Lacerenza and her collegues associations between the 15 variables and
conducted a meta-analysis of 335 studies of learning, on-the-job leadership behaviors, and
leadership training programs and found that, organizational-level outcomes. With respect to
on average, such programs were associated learning, the results showed that it improved
with a 25% increase in learning, a 28% increase when a needs analysis was conducted ahead
in on-the-job leadership behaviors, and a 25% of time and multiple methods of delivery
improvement in organization-level outcomes (lecture, demonstration, practice) were used.
(such as higher profits and lower costs, turnover, Desirable changes in on-the-job leadership
and absenteeism).6 behaviors were associated with conducting
a needs analysis, using multiple methods of
In the same study, the researchers analyzed delivery, conducting training in face-to-face
the effects of 15 different contextual variables (rather than online) settings, and making atten-
and found that some were associated with even dance voluntary.
better outcomes.6 Among these influential vari-
ables were the location, timing, and duration of Better organizational results were associated
the training; the methods of teaching; whether with mandatory attendance and holding the
the trainer was an external contractor brought training on-site rather than off-site.
in to give the training or an in-house resource;
and whether a needs analysis was conducted Although neither voluntary nor mandatory
before training. Differences in these variables attendance is universally better when it comes
can explain why an otherwise effective training to training effectiveness, when on-the-job
design may not work. For instance, a particular behaviors need to change, allowing employees
training curriculum may show success across to voluntarily attend training may help ensure
the industry but fail to generate results in a they have the motivation required for deep
particular company because the organization learning and to apply that training once back on
did not first conduct an analysis to uncover its the job. Mandatory attendance might be better
employees’ leadership training needs (see this reserved for programs targeting large numbers

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 of employees with the intent of shaping broad
organizational results.
“An effective training strategy
How to Create Effective begins with a needs analysis”
Leadership Training Programs
Recommendation 1: Conduct a System-
atic Needs Analysis. How do you know what Meta-analytic evidence indicates that intra-
content your leadership training should cover? personal skills training is provided mainly to
An effective training strategy begins with a high-level leaders, who may derive more direct
needs analysis, which explicitly defines the KSAs benefits from techniques—such as engaging in
associated with leadership effectiveness in your self-reflection, overcoming mental road blocks,
organization and identifies the people who and seeking social support—that help them to
need them. Needs analyses involve conducting cope with the cognitive demands and respon-
interviews, administering questionnaires, sibilities of their role.8 Interpersonal training is
and observing leaders. These analyses can mainly directed at low-level leaders, who might
be conducted by in-house human resources benefit from building skills associated with being
specialists or external consultants with expertise socially adept and developing rapport with
in training design. Because leadership training is others. Business skills training is also targeted to
not “one size fits all,” conducting a needs anal- mainly low-level leaders; these skills are visible
ysis can help avoid wasting time and money and therefore relatively easy to assess in perfor-
on an ineffective, generic program or one that mance evaluations.
targets the wrong KSAs for your organization. As
mentioned earlier, leadership training programs The final category, leadership skills training, is
that were chosen on the basis of the results of offered for leaders at all levels who supervise
a needs analysis outperfomed others in terms others, and attendees are mainly taught effec-
of both learning improvements and transfer of tive leadership styles and the tactics to properly
learned leadership skills from the training to the execute them,9 such as making sure employees
job.6 have the resources they need for success,
delivering support and encouragement, using
When conducting a needs analysis and goal-setting techniques, and implementing
designing a training program for managers, fair reward practices.6,7 Learning these tactics
it can be helpful to group skills into four main is important for preparing those in leader-
types: intrapersonal, interpersonal, business, ship positions to lead others toward business
and leadership.7 Intrapersonal skills relevant to objectives in a way that is ethical, efficient, and
leadership include possessing self-esteem and effective.
self-control, the ability to self-regulate, and
other personal-development techniques. Inter- One program worth emulating dedicated six
personal skills include an ability to build effective months to conducting a needs analysis, which
relationships with others. Business skills relate to incorporated benchmarking against compa-
proficiency at maintaining operational efficiency rable companies and conducting interviews
through strategic planning, monitoring and and focus groups with both new and expe-
evaluating employee performance, forecasting rienced managers from the organization.
and budgeting activities, and running meetings This needs analysis informed the design and
efficiently and effectively. Leadership skills are content of the leadership training program,
focused on building and maintaining effective which included a business simulation, lecture
teams by identifying, attracting, motivating, and and discussion sessions, role playing, and case
retaining talented team members. These four studies.10 After the training, participants demon-
main types of skills are not mutually exclusive; strated increased knowledge about the role of a
for example, leadership skills can depend in part manager, how to manage others in the compa-
on intra- and interpersonal skills. ny’s environment, and how to build a team,

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 suggesting that, overall, the leadership training interpersonal behaviors on the job. It would not
program was effective.10 make sense to observe interpersonal behav-
iors if the purpose of the program was to train
Recommendation 2: Choose Scientifically leaders to handle forecasting and budgeting.
Validated Training Initiatives & Evaluate Their
Effectiveness in Your Own Organization. A Just because a program has been scientifi-
saying in the training literature notes that half cally validated does not mean it will perform
of the money invested in training is wasted, equally well in all organizations. For that reason,
but no one knows which half. For this reason, once organizational managers have selected
it is important not to select a program solely on a validated leadership training program and
the basis of faith in its efficacy. Instead, select implemented it, they should evaluate how
training interventions that have been evaluated well the program has performed among their
and validated. own employees. Although many organizations
may not find it practical to do a random-
To help you select a program, we identify in this ized controlled study, it is certainly possible to
section three key indicators of a well-evaluated assess a leadership training program in terms of
leadership training program. employees’ reactions, learning outcomes, and
behavioral transfer, as well as organizational
First, the evaluation ideally used an experimental outcomes.
design that randomly assigned participants to
groups, such as training and control (no training) Organizations should use self-report methods
groups. Randomization provides the strongest to assess employees’ reactions because
evidence that the training accounts for the self-reports reveal how trainees feel about the
differences in the results between groups.11 program. However, learning outcomes should
be measured with objective knowledge tests.
Second, the evaluation should have examined As for transfer, observers can rate trainees on
four main types of outcomes: trainee reactions, changes in their behavior. Objective organiza-
learning, behavioral transfer, and organizational tional data, such as revenue figures, can provide
results. 12,13 Trainee reactions refers to partici- evidence of a relationship between changes
pants’ attitudes about the program’s content, in leader performance and organizational
delivery, and usefulness. Learning focuses on outcomes.
measurable improvements in desired KSAs.
Behavioral transfer means applying the skills Reactions should be collected directly after
in the workplace. Organizational results are training is completed, while they are salient
the outcomes considered important for orga- in the trainee’s memory. Learning outcomes
nizational success (for example, higher profits should be measured both before and after
but lower costs, turnover, and absenteeism). training to allow for comparison. As for transfer
Researchers suggest that to be effective, a and organizational results, evaluation should
program should demonstrate positive effects in compare a project’s or organization’s status
all four of these dimensions.14 before training, directly after training, and
weeks or months after training. In short, a
Third, the evaluator should have made sure rigorous evaluation process should consider
that the measures used to examine these four outcomes at multiple levels and time points,
outcomes aligned with the leadership KSAs using various methods to capture a full picture
that were identified in the needs analysis as of the program’s effectiveness.
being training targets (as already mentioned
in Recommendation 1 of this section). For Recommendation 3: Remove Barriers to
example, if a program is supposed to train Employee Motivation to Learn & Apply Skills.
a leader in how to run team meetings effi- Even the best training will have limited benefits
ciently, an observer can evaluate behavioral if the workplace is not ready for learners to use
transfer by observing specific meeting-related their new KSAs when they return from training.

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 For employees, bringing a new way of doing Opportunities for Practice, & Offer Feedback.
something back to work is unlikely to result in An evidence-based approach to structuring
lasting change without a supportive environ- training incorporates the following steps: (a)
ment. This environment should be established deliver information, (b) provide demonstrations
even before training begins by removing any for participants to watch, (c) include opportu-
barriers to employees’ motivation to participate nities for practice, and (d) offer constructive
in training, learn, and use new skills; such barriers feedback during practice.18 In other words, after
can include lack of supervisor support or lack trainees are exposed to the content, their new
of an expectation of change.15 Research shows KSAs can be solidified by seeing demonstrations
that learners may avoid participating in training and engaging in guided practice. During prac-
opportunities if they perceive their immediate tice, learners should be given feedback so they
leaders are uninterested in their skill advance- can make adjustments and improve. Construc-
ment, and they may avoid attending training tive feedback should also be delivered after the
events altogether in the absence of supervisor official training is complete.
support.16 Therefore, before employees embark
on training, ask them to set personal goals for
how they will apply new skills on the job and
convey the expectation that, after the training,
In general, this framework is necessary but
not sufficient for training effectiveness. The
methods used within each stage should also be
35%
Average share of
they will teach others what they learned. These evidence based. organizational learning
policies can signal to employees that their and development budgets
allocated to training
participation and learning are important and Evidence shows that using multiple methods and development
expected and that they will have some personal in training interventions enhances learning. 10
accountability for transferring training back to For example, the information-delivery compo-

25%
the workplace. nent could include a lecture supplemented with
visual aids such as videos and written mate-
Supervisors can, moreover, boost motivation rials. 22 An exemplar transformational leadership
by framing the training in a way that signals its training program provided multiple opportu- Average improvement
in organization-level
importance.17,18 One study compared situations nities for practice by following a lecture with a outcomes from leadership
in which potential participants received a real- daylong interactive session that involved role training programs
istic preview of a leadership program (including playing, decisionmaking exercises, and a case
both favorable and unfavorable reviews) with study. 23 Moreover, people learn more when

KSAs
those in which potential participants received the information is presented by a professional
a traditional all-favorable program description. teacher or trainer rather than acquired through
The potential participants who received a real- self-study alone.6
Job-relevant knowledge,
istic preview of the program were more likely
skills, and attitudes
to (a) deem the program to be appropriate for When it comes to feedback during training, relevant for training
them to complete, (b) benefit from the program, both positive and constructive critical feedback
and (c) show commitment and motivation to on behaviors need to be delivered, along with
attend the program.19 suggestions for how to improve responses to
challenges or setbacks.18 Regarding posttraining
Motivation to change is useless without the feedback, debates continue on exactly who
autonomy to do so. Just as autonomy is a key should deliver the feedback. 24 Many proponents
factor in effective work design, 20 it is also a key support 360-degree feedback, in which assess-
factor in allowing employees to use new skills ments are solicited from multiple sources, such
after training. Training is not likely to be effec- as the supervisor, subordinates, colleagues,
tive unless it is embedded in a work system that and clients. 25 However, meta-­ a nalytic find-
facilitates autonomy, responsibility, and a sense ings suggest that receiving feedback from
that the work is meaningful. 21 multiple sources is not necessarily more
effective than getting it from a single source.6
Recommendation 4: Training Should Using 360-degree feedback or other multi-
Include Multiple Teaching Modes, Provide source approaches may not provide returns

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 commensurate with the considerable invest- Finally, financial rewards are an effective way
ment in time and money associated with these to encourage transfer, hold trainees account-
practices. able for using their newly acquired KSAs, and
demonstrate how the KSAs support the organi-
Recommendation 5: Help the Training Stick zation’s goals and values. 29
by Providing Resources, Opportunities for
On-the-Job Practice, & Incentives That Make
It Easy to Use the Newly Acquired KSAs. Work Leadership Development
conditions set the stage for successful main- Evidence Overview
tenance of training benefits. In the training Evaluating the evidence supporting effective
literature, these conditions are referred to as the leadership development interventions is more
transfer climate because they can determine difficult than evaluating the leadership training
whether trainees feel comfortable, engaged, evidence. No large-scale meta-analyses have
and motivated to apply their new knowledge summarized the literature on best practices in
and skills to their work. 26,27 The concept encom- leadership development. Moreover, until fairly
passes more than having the autonomy or ability recently, leadership development was not of
to change the way that tasks are performed. A keen interest to researchers. 30 However, times
study of a customer service skills training found have changed, and some recent research has
that transfer can be increased in a supportive been devoted to understanding leadership
work climate, such as one that provides development as a set of practices and processes
resources, opportunities to practice new skills, distinct from leadership training. The results of
appropriate incentives, or some combination of relevant research studies are summarized in the
these features. 28 following recommendations and in the sidebar
Key Insights and Recommendations for Leader-
Resources can include mentors, checklists ship Development.
to help review the training material, refresher
training, and feedback from supervisors and How to Create Effective Leadership
subordinates. Leadership practice opportunities Development Programs
can be provided by giving the trained individual a Recommendation 1: Leverage Work Experi-
leadership role on a low-stakes project followed ences for Leadership Development. A widely
by a gradual increase in responsibilities. 6 shared tenet of leadership development is

Key Insights & Recommendations for Leadership Development

Leadership Development Insights

1. Leadership development expands a person’s capacity to be effective in leadership roles, even as

responsibilities and circumstances change.
2. The goal of leadership development is to enhance an individual’s and the organization’s capacity to
address challenges with no known or agreed-upon solution.
3. Many of the effects—especially the long-term effects—of leadership development initiatives on
individual and organizational outcomes are unknown. The following recommendations are based on the
best evidence available. Adopting these recommendations should improve the return on investments
made in leadership development.

Leadership Development Recommendations

1. Leverage challenging work experiences to create opportunities for leaders to learn and expand their
leadership abilities.
2. Provide feedback and support.
3. Use evidence-based processes for structured reflection after significant positive and negative events.
4. Facilitate positive change in leaders’ self-views—that is, help them develop their self-awareness,
confidence in their leadership skills, and a sense of identity as a leader.
5. Give development efforts time to work. Long-lasting individual change does not come quickly.

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 that it is work experiences, and especially the
lessons derived from work experiences, 31,32 that
“change rarely occurs when
drive much of the growth in leadership compe-
tence.33 To spur growth, these experiences must someone is comfortable or
be challenging, because change rarely occurs
when someone is comfortable or complacent. complacent”
What types of experiences create challenge
and take people out of their comfort zones? competence in strategic thinking. 37 Leveraging
Researchers have empirically identified 15 work experience is clearly a key practice in lead-
dimensions of job challenge and organized ership development. We note, though, that in
them into three categories: job transitions (such most of the research, the connection between
as acquiring unfamiliar responsibilities and work assignments and leadership development
having to prove onself), task-related character- is correlational. Therefore, it is wise to temper
istics (such as having to create change, bearing any tendencies to draw strong causal inferences
high levels of responsibility, and gaining coop- from those findings.
eration from coworkers without having formal
authority over them), and obstacles (such as Recommendation 2: Provide Feedback &
adverse business conditions, lack of support, Support. Although having challenging work
and a difficult boss).34 assignments is critical for leadership devel-
opment, some challenges may find people in
A tool called the Developmental Challenge over their heads. When challenges are exces-
Profile incorporates these dimensions in a sive, access to feedback becomes a key aid to
self-report survey meant to assess levels of leadership development. Field research using a
challenge in a given job.34 This self-­assessment sample of middle- and senior-level managers
tool can assist individuals and superiors in has demonstrated that the relationship between
understanding an individual’s work-related the intensity of work-related developmental
challenges so as to leverage them in support of challenges and leadership development showed
ongoing leadership development. a pattern of diminishing returns in the absence
of feedback. 38 As the challenges became more
Research has shown that key transitions expe- intense, the gains in leadership competence
rienced by early-career managers—including leveled off unless feedback was available, in
taking on new roles; starting new businesses or which case development continued even under
initiatives; or undergoing personal challenges, very high levels of challenge.
such as juggling changes in work–life balance
or deciding how to confront an ethical conflict A valuable resource for support is one’s super-
at work35—can provide the kinds of work chal- visor. Research has examined how supervisors
lenges that are associated with developing provide support to leaders who are transitioning
leadership competency. Field research involving into positions of new responsibility. 39 When
upper-level managers who were assigned to supervisors modeled effective leadership
work in foreign countries has suggested that behavior and explicitly taught transitioning
leaders assigned to work in places where the leaders about their new roles, these forms
culture is highly distinct from their home culture of support accelerated the development of
(a contrast referred to as cultural distance) tend the transitioning leaders, as indicated by self-­
to display greater development in strategic perceived knowledge and time spent leading
thinking than do managers who experience others. Again, these field studies were correla-
smaller cultural differences.36 Research involving tional, which limits the causal claims that can
executives also suggests that having worked be made. Nonetheless, the findings point to
in a variety of capacities—as a nonmanger, a the potential importance of providing access
manager, and a lead strategist, for example— to feedback and support along with on-the-job
is associated with enhanced development of

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 challenges to maximize opportunities for self-awareness, leadership self-efficacy, and
growth. leader identity.

Recommendation 3: Use Evidence-Based A field study comparing high-performing and

Processes for Structured Reflection. Under- average-performing managers at middle and
going challenging experiences is important but senior organizational levels suggested that
insufficient for leadership development. Also the high performers were more self-aware, as
needed is some way to enhance learning from measured by the level of agreement between
experience. Because it is possible to go through leaders’ self-assessments and assessments
an experience without learning anything from provided by the leaders’ direct subordinates.43
it, mechanisms to facilitate learning should be Although the study’s focus was not leadership
included in leadership development initiatives. development, its results suggest that having
One such learning mechanism is a process self-awareness, and thus some understanding
of structured reflection called after-event or of the impact of one’s actions on others, might
after-action review.40 be associated with better managerial perfor-
mance. Self-awareness might also play a role
As the name implies, after-event reviews provide in mitigating leader derailment—the failure to
a mechanism for individuals, in the wake of a advance professionally or the involuntary loss of
challenging event, to systematically analyze one’s job—which is most often caused by prob-
their behavior, to suggest explanations for their lems with interpersonal relationships.44
successful or failed actions, to compare anal-
yses with others sharing the experience, and Field research has shown that managers’ self-­
to solicit feedback. After-event reviews are reported confidence in their effectiveness as a
typcially conducted in a group; however, the leader (that is, in their leadership self-efficacy) is
technique can also be used one-on-one with a positively related to performance as measured
coach or in a self-directed exercise. by subordinates’ assessments.45

The military uses after-event reviews exten- Leader identity—that is, placing importance
sively, and field research has demonstrated on seeing oneself as a leader—may also
that structured reflection on both failures and faciltate leadership development. Identities are
successes is more predictive of performance grounded in personal values, which determine
improvement than are reviews of only failures.41 how people spend their time. People allocate
In another study, researchers demonstrated that time to those activities that are consistent with
using structured after-event review protocols their identities. Developing and internalizing a
was associated with greater changes in indi- leader identity is thought to support leadership
vidual task-oriented and relational leadership development because it leads to spending time
behaviors over time than was a nonstruc- and effort learning and practicing relevant skills.
tured debriefing protocol in the form of a Research has demonstrated that stronger leader
general discussion of an event.42 This study was identities correlate with more positive trajecto-
quasi-experimental, meaning that it had two ries of development over time,46 such that those
comparison groups but assignment to those who showed greater improvement in leader-
groups was not random. This design allows ship also showed an increase in the value they
causal inferences to be drawn from the research placed on being a leader. Leader identities are
with some degree of confidence, although also positively associated with self-assessments
randomized trials would provide stronger of leadership skills development.47
evidence.
Although viewing oneself as a leader is a poten-
Recommendation 4: Facilitate Positive Change tially important component of the long-term
in Self-Views. Leaders’ views of themselves on leadership development process, little research
various dimensions can influence their growth to date addresses how to change leadership
as leaders. Three of the key dimensions are self-views effectively. However, the literature

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 on psychological empowerment provides some
potential guidance.48 Empowering employees
“developing as a leader might
through project-management opportunities
is one way to help employees build leadership be considered a lifelong
self-efficacy and strengthen their leadership
self-view. This is especially the case when process”
the opportunties to lead a small project are
supported by other evidence-based practices, strengthening.46,47 Measuring someone’s prog-
such as supervisor feedback. Taking on lead- ress too soon may give the mistaken impression
ership responsibilities, even in a small way, can that a leadership development initiative is not
encourage employees to start thinking of them- working.
selves as leaders.

Self-views can also be used to assess devel- Final Thoughts

opmental progress. Because becoming an With this review, we have primarily aimed to
excellent leader can take years, the effective- highlight ways that leadership training and
ness of development initiatives can be difficult development differ and to propose evidence-
to measure. Assessing short-term progress on based recommendations for where to best
self-awareness, leadership self-efficacy, and invest resources in leadership training and
leader identity can provide an indication of development. We now briefly identify invest-
progress, however.49 ments that are best avoided. On the leadership
training front, avoid investing in practices that
Recommendation 5: Give Development Efforts (a) are not based on a needs analysis, (b) do not
Time to Work. Long-lasting individual change include mechanisms to apply the training back
does not come quickly; developing as a leader to the job, and (c) have not been scientifically
might be considered a lifelong process. The validated. In terms of leadership development, it
higher one rises in an organization, the more is advisable to avoid investing in (a) approaches
complex the adaptive challenges become, that rely mainly on classroom-based instruction,
which in turn demands more growth as a leader. (b) initiatives that do not provide leaders with
prompt feedback and support, and (c) interven-
Leadership development can be defined as a tions that promise quick-fix ways of developing
journey to elite levels of expert performance as leaders.
a leader.50 A robust empirical literature suggests
that in most expertise domains, a minimum of This is only a partial list of pitfalls to avoid. When
a decade of concentrated, deliberate practice it comes to investing in leadership training and
is required to achieve expert performance. 51,52 development, the best advice is that which
This finding helps to explain why on-the-job applies to any domain in which considerable
experiences are so well suited for leadership sums of money are at stake: Caveat emptor!
development: It is mainly through practicing Ask to see the evidence behind the claims that
leadership skills daily during ongoing, work-­ a provider of training or development programs
related challenges that anyone would accrue is making. If the provider claims that such
the necessary amount of practice time to evidence is proprietary, consider that a red flag.
achieve expert levels of leadership. Transparency offers the best defense against
exaggerated claims of effectiveness.
Another reason it is important to give leader-
ship development initiatives considerable time As we have summarized in this review, it is
to mature is that improvements do not neces- important to know what your organization’s
sarily proceed in a straight line. Indeed, aspects leadership training and development needs
of competence, effectiveness, and leader are and what effective initiatives your money
identity tend to initially decline in response to can buy to meet these needs and to invest
challenging experiences before recovering and accordingly. Leadership training and leadership

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 development are different entities, but they
should be complementary endeavors. Both can
unlock and cultivate leadership potential in the
service of enabling individuals and organiza-
tions to reach their highest goals.

author affiliation

Day: Claremont McKenna College. Bastardoz:

University of Zurich. Bisbey, Reyes, and Salas:
Rice University. Corresponding author’s email:
[email protected].

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