Why Quick Leadership Fixes Fail: The Need for Long-Term Development Programs

The Importance of Effective Leadership

Many organizations realize the importance of effective leadership to enable an organization to achieve its vision, mission, and strategic objectives, and to make the organization successful. These organizations place a high priority on the training and development of their leaders at various levels and embark on leadership development programs.

The Pitfall of Quick Wins

Unfortunately, many organizations go for the so-called "quick wins" by conducting a 2-5 day leadership development program, believing this will solve their leadership issues and boost business performance. These organizations have to be realistic, as it is impossible to develop and turn people into instant effective leaders in 2-5 days.

Structured Leadership Development Program

To develop effective leaders, a Structured Leadership Development Program is needed with a proper process and blueprint for implementation, the duration of which could be at least 6 months.

Regards,
Wong Yew Yip

Thank you for sharing. I absolutely agree with you. Mostly, management personnel use short-term plans to solve big issues. It's a poor process that we have, but it might be good to start, rather than not allowing us to do something. Keep going; I believe someday they will understand that a castle cannot be built in a day.

Regards, Talsuwan, P.

Well said, Wong! The key reason why many organizations initiate such plans is that they have training budgets they need to exhaust before the end of a financial year. The truth remains that such programs do little good (and at times MORE HARM!) by telling people they have leadership potential and then taking them nowhere. However, let me be honest, some organizations do appreciate the relevance and business impact a good leadership development program can have on their overall business.

With one of our clients, we have engaged in a year-long development program that includes a series of assessments, shortlisting of candidates, and multiple development initiatives. With this client, we have used an adequate mix of psychometric evaluations, assessment and development centers, and interviews at various levels that give these people a holistic development opportunity! The model is working very well for all these 'leaders-to-be'!