Over the past twenty years I have been provided the opportunity to work in a diverse array of organizational development disciplines, and with a number of tremendous people within those disciplines. It has however, been over the past seven years that I have realized a deep-rooted passion for Leadership Development. It is not a simple problem that is easily solved with tools, workshops, book clubs
or training programs filled with artificial and overly simplistic exercises executed under the guise of “Skill-building”. Rather, it is a complex organizational issue that requires introspective thinking, personal reflection, and relevant experiential opportunities. A successful and sustainable leadership development program must be grounded in sound research-based theory. It must place a high value on relevant conversations within the context of the problems that leaders are facing today. It must emphasize reflection as a core value as leaders work to develop insights relative to the complexity of their roles. It must be iterative and on going with continuity and include opportunities to apply and subsequently reflect on the application of knowledge. Finally and most importantly, it must embody respect for the leaders that are vested in the program. Leader development as a discipline provides the opportunity to utilize knowledge, experience and passion with the needs of modern organizations. Developing tomorrow’s leaders combines the intellectual challenge of facilitating the successful application of knowledge with a tremendous sense of fulfillment that comes with seeing leaders consistently achieve higher levels of contribution.
