Although leadership development is consistently identified as a top priority for organizations, challenges in measuring its effectiveness make it difficult to pinpoint what is working and what isn’t. This leads to wasted resources on programs that do not result in behavioral change and an overall frustration with leadership development capability.
Organizations pour money into leadership development programs that are too general or do not sufficiently apply to their circumstances, making it difficult for leaders to apply learnings and improve performance.

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Our Advice

Critical Insight

Abandon the idea that one-size-fits-all leadership development programs will meet your organizational needs.
Build a targeted program rooted in organizational goals in order to drive behavioral change and demonstrate business impact.

Impact and Result

By building leadership development programs that are reflective of the organization’s unique strategy, leaders are equipped with the knowledge and behaviors that provides the organization a differentiated and strategic advantage.
Strategically designed leadership development programs that are rooted in organizational goals makes learning contextual and transferrable, creating effective leaders who build strong relationships with employees and foster a productive and engaging environment.

Build Impactful Leadership Development Programs Research & Tools

1. Create a plan for leadership development

Draft leadership development goals and consider risks and contingencies for development efforts.

2. Identify program needs

Understand development challenges and develop learning objectives that address current learning activity gaps.

3. Build the program

Map out the program, accountabilities, and timing, including effectiveness and sustainability metrics.

4. Implement and evaluate

Determine guidelines for participants and develop a communication and roll-out strategy.

Leadership Development

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This program has been approved for continuing professional development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).

McLean & Company is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.

HR Certification Institute's® (HRCI®) official seal confirms that McLean & Company meets the criteria for pre-approved recertification credit(s) for any of HRCI's eight credentials, including SPHR® and PHR®.

How to complete this course:

Use these videos, along with the Project Blueprint deck above, to gain an understanding of the subject. Start with the Introduction, then move through each of the Course Modules. At the end of each Module, you will be required to complete a short test to demonstrate your understanding. You will complete this course when you have completed all of the course tests.

Number of Course Modules: 5
Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 hours

Learning Outcome

Explain the importance of leadership development and strategies to build a targeted leadership development program rooted in organizational goals to drive behavioral change and demonstrate business impact.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

Make the case for leadership development in their organizations.
Create a plan for leadership development.
Identify program needs and learning objectives tailored to organizational goals.
Build, map out, and plan to measure the success of a leadership development program.
Implement, evaluate, and iterate a new or rebuilt leadership development program.

All of our McLean Academy courses have closed captioning available. To turn this function on, click on the “CC” in the bottom right corner of the video screen and click "English" on the options that pop up.

Course Modules

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Introduction

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Module 1

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Module 2

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Module 3

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Module 4

Workshop: Build Impactful Leadership Development Programs

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Review Strategy and Define Leadership Development Implications

The Purpose

Review strategy, identify audiences, and define leadership development implications.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identified audiences, risks, and challenges for the leadership development program
Defined leadership development implications

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Review strategic direction of the organization.

1.2

Identify audiences for leadership development.

Audiences for development

1.3

Identify risks and challenges.

Risks and challenges

1.4

Define implications for development.

Leadership development implications

Module 2: Define Goals and Learning Objectives

The Purpose

Review leadership competencies and define goals and learning objectives.

Key Benefits Achieved

Defined leadership development goals and prioritized learning objectives

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Review leadership competencies.

2.2

Set leadership development goals.

Leadership development goals

2.3

Identify learning objectives and prioritize.

Prioritized learning objectives

Module 3: Map Out the Leadership Development Program and Activities

The Purpose

Assess inventory of development activities and identify new learning activities needing to be developed.

Key Benefits Achieved

Performed an inventory of development activities and determined new learning activities that need to be developed
Created a map for the leadership development program

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Conduct inventory of development activities.

Development inventory

3.2

Determine what new learning activities need to be developed.

Identified learning activities

3.3

Map out leadership development program.

Learning map

Module 4: Create a Rollout Strategy and Change Plan

The Purpose

Create a rollout strategy and change plan.

Key Benefits Achieved

Determined the timing of development activities
Created a rollout strategy and change plan for development activities

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Establish timing of activities.

4.2

Develop rollout strategy.

Rollout strategy

4.3

Determine change plan.

Change plan

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 8 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Create a plan for leadership development.

Call 1: Confirm levels for leadership development and identify leadership challenges.
Call 2: Determine organizational leadership development goals, review competencies, and brainstorm risks to leadership development.

Guided Implementation 2: Identify program needs.

Call 1: Develop learning objectives based on organizational goals and common challenges.
Call 2: Analyze existing learning activities to identify what can be leveraged for the program and uncover gaps.

Guided Implementation 3: Build the program.

Call 1: Determine the appropriate mix of learning methods to create an effective program.
Call 2: Map out the leadership development program.

Guided Implementation 4: Implement and evaluate.

Call 1: Determine an appropriate program roll-out and communication strategy.
Call 2: Analyze data to determine program strengths and areas of improvement.

Contributors

Jill Birch, CEO, BirchGrove Inc.
Susan Drake, Director of Human Resources, Maple Reinders
Monica Goodale, Assistant Vice President of National Learning & Development, Zenith Insurance Company
Darcy Jacobs, VP of Engagement and Development, Noventis Credit Union
Donna Krakovsky, Director of HR and Talent Management, Atlus Group
Sara Pena, Talent Development, CalPERS
Dr. Jack Phillips, Ph.D., Chairman, ROI Institute, Inc.
Dr. Glenn Rowe, Ph.D., Ivey Alumni Association Toronto Chapter Faculty Professor in Business Leadership
Karen Van Amerongen, Team Leader of Leadership and Engagement Programs, CalPERS
Minna Whitman, Manager of Learning for North America, HRG North America