Leadership Development

by

David Day, Darja Miscenko

• LAST REVIEWED: 01 March 2023
• LAST MODIFIED: 26 May 2016
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199846740-0092

Introduction

The scientific study of leadership development examines how individuals and collectives develop greater capacity to be effective in leadership roles and processes. Embedded in this general description are different levels of analyses. When the focus is on developing individuals the appropriate referent is leader development, whereas the development of collective leadership capacity is termed leadership development. In general, more attention has been paid to the field from the perspective of practice (i.e., identifying processes, practices, and interventions designed to enhance the development of leaders and leadership) than to scholarly approaches, although the latter have begun receiving greater attention. The leadership development field differs from that of leadership in that the former is less concerned with identifying which particular theory of leadership is most supported. Instead, the primary focus is on change and development that enhances the potential for greater leadership effectiveness. As noted, leader development focuses on the development of individuals as leaders (including their self-views, skills, and abilities), whereas leadership development involves developing a broader shared capacity for engaging in leadership processes. We distinguish between these two broader focus areas wherever possible.

Books

Most of the books on leadership development have more practical rather than academic emphasis, and there are no standard textbooks on the topic. McCall, et al. 1988 is an early landmark book in the field that advanced thinking on the importance of work experiences over formal programs and other classroom approaches in facilitating leader development. Conger and Benjamin 1999 examines best practices from high-profile organizations that are used to develop leadership talent at all levels. Taking a more holistic perspective, Vicere and Fulmer 1998 addresses the issue of strategic leadership development that links leader development practices with organizational strategy in enhancing learning and development in organizations. Hill 2003 uses a qualitative interview methodology with first-time managers to explore the core leadership challenges that are faced in becoming a leader. Espousing the belief that leaders are mainly made through experience and practice and not born to lead, Avolio 2005 advances the topic of authentic leadership development in practical and accessible language. Yost and Plunkett 2009 offers practical advice and research-based tools designed to enhance leader development that occurs in the context of ongoing work. Adopting a more scholarly tone, Day, et al. 2009 theorizes on leader development processes, integrating across various literatures in proposing that more-observable forms of development (leadership skills and competencies) are supported by deeper and less observable forces of identity and self-regulation that are embedded in ongoing adult development. The third edition of an influential handbook of leadership development (Van Velsor, et al. 2010) summarizes the core learnings and practices of researchers and trainers at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). A more recent practice-based offering on how organizations can best use on-the-job experiences to enhance leader development is McCauley, et al. 2014. The book consists mainly of very brief applied cases illustrating various contextually based approaches to the development of leaders and more-effective leadership.

• Avolio, Bruce J. Leadership Development in Balance: Made/Born. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005.

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  This book promotes an understanding of what the author calls authentic leadership development, based on the notion that leaders are primarily made rather than born (i.e., nurture rather than nature). Through understanding and implementing the principles of authentic leadership development, the book also promises the possibility of developing one’s full leadership potential.

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• Conger, Jay A., and Beth Benjamin. Building Leaders: How Successful Companies Develop the Next Generation. Jossey-Bass Business & Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.

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  The authors examine what they consider to be best practices of companies for developing leaders at every organizational level. Presented and reviewed are skill sets that are proposed as “must have” competencies needed to lead effectively. Also identified are organizational values that promote leadership, successful strategic interventions, and detailed reviews of successful leadership development plans.

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• Day, David V., Michelle M. Harrison, and Stanley M. Halpin. An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise. New York: Psychology Press, 2009.

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  In an attempt to advance theory around leadership development, the authors of this book provide an integrative approach based in theory and research from the fields of adult development, identity and identification, and expert performance. There are thirteen general propositions that comprise a minimum of five hypotheses per proposition. As such, an overarching objective is to advance research in addition to theory in the field of leadership development.

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• Hill, Linda A. Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership. 2d ed. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2003.

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  This book provides an evidence-based perspective on the leadership challenges new managers face in their first year on the job. The sample is relatively small (N=19), but the qualitative data are fairly rich and reinforce the notion that so-called people challenges are at the heart of learning to manage and become a leader.

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• McCall, Morgan W., Michael M. Lombardo, and Ann M. Morrison. The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988.

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  This is a classic in the field of leadership development in promoting the perspective that it is experience, and especially challenging experience, that is the most potent force for developing as a leader.

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• McCauley, Cynthia D., D. Scott DeRue, Paul R. Yost, and Sylvester Taylor, eds. Experience-Driven Leader Development: Models, Tools, Best Practices, and Advice for On-the-Job Development. San Francisco: Wiley, 2014.

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  Taking mainly a best-practice perspective, the authors of the various chapters demonstrate how organizations can use on-the-job experiences to enhance the development of their leaders as well as bring about more-effective leadership. The book comprises over eighty minicases, each no more than a few pages long, that concisely summarize the most-important tools, techniques, processes, and other practical resources to enhance leader development.

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• Van Velsor, Ellen, Cynthia D. McCauley, and Marian N. Ruderman, eds. The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development. 3d ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.

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  Now in its third edition, the handbook is an important resource summarizing key perspectives of researchers and practitioners from the CCL. It is perhaps best considered as a translational resource that helps the reader understand some of the core thinking and practices from CCL and how they can be used to enhance development of leaders and leadership.

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• Vicere, Albert A., and Robert M. Fulmer. Leadership by Design. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.

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  The notion of strategic leadership development is advanced in this book as a way to enhance overall organizational effectiveness. It argues that the most-effective leadership development programs are linked with organizational strategy that focus on enhancing learning across all levels of an organization. The focus of the book sets it apart from most others in the field in that it examines organizational structures and processes that enhance learning and development, rather than taking an individual-based perspective.

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• Yost, Paul R., and Mary Mannion Plunkett. Real Time Leadership Development. Talent Management Essentials. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

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  As part of the publisher’s Talent Management Essentials series, this book offers guidance and tools based on research as well as practice to leverage experience-based development. The focus is on development in the ongoing context of work rather than through programs or classroom experiences. The approach and presentation are accessible and designed mainly for the practicing manager.

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Reference Sources

Books and academic journals provide the best source of information. Both types of sources range from academic in orientation to highly practice based.

History

The exact origins of leadership development as a discipline are difficult to pinpoint. The earliest of these was a self-help book authored by Grenville Kleiser (Kleiser 1923) that comprises twenty-eight self-development exercises for enhancing personal characteristics thought to be related to effective leadership (e.g., self-confidence, willpower, personal magnetism). Skipping ahead several decades, Douglas Bray and colleagues summarized the results of one of the first organization-specific studies of managerial (i.e., leader) development, based mainly on the assessment center method (Bray, et al. 1974). Another pivotal contribution was the lessons-of-experience study by Morgan McCall and colleagues (McCall, et al. 1988), later interpreted by researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) to suggest that at least 70 percent of developmental impact stems from on-the-job experiences. In 1998, CCL researchers published the first handbook of leadership development (McCauley, et al. 1998). A particular emphasis was on the role of multisource or 360-degree feedback for developmental purposes.

• Bray, Douglas W., Richard J. Campbell, and Donald L. Grant. Formative Years in Business: A Long-Term AT & T Study of Managerial Lives. New York: Wiley, 1974.

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  Follows the career development of AT & T managers across two time points separated by eight years.

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• Kleiser, Grenville. Training for Power and Leadership. New York: George H. Doran, 1923.

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  Provides self-development exercises to enhance personal characteristics associated with leadership. Republished as recently as 2007 (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger).

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• McCall, Morgan W., Michael M. Lombardo, and Ann M. Morrison. The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988.

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  The authors of this book challenged the assumption that leadership skills are innate. Through interviews with successful executives, a better understanding was gained about the important role of job experiences in fostering leader development.

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• McCauley, Cynthia D., Russ S. Moxley, and Ellen Van Velsor, eds. The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.

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  The first edition of this handbook summarizes and integrates much of what researchers and trainers at the CCL have come to understand about leadership development.

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Research Reviews

The authors of Burke and Day 1986 conducted a first meta-analysis on the effectiveness of managerial training—a field related to leadership development. Across seventy training studies, results suggested on average that managerial training is moderately effective for improving learning, behavior, and objective results. Scholarly interest in leadership development began to form around 2000, with Day 2000 providing a review of the literature “in context.” In a conceptual review on the development of global leaders, Caligiuri 2006 argues that managers differentially benefit from intercultural training or a particular development experience depending on their individual aptitudes. Collins and Holton 2004 updates the results of Michael Burke and Russell Day by meta-analyzing the studies on managerial leadership development published from 1982 to 2001. The authors found interventions with knowledge outcomes to be most effective. Avolio, et al. 2009 reports on the most recent large-scale meta-analysis of the leadership intervention literature across two hundred laboratory and field studies. Results for development interventions suggested generally overall positive impact, but this varied as a function of moderators such as type of leadership theory. More-recent narrative reviews of the leadership development field are provided in Day, et al. 2014 and Day and Dragoni 2015.

• Avolio, Bruce J., Rebecca J. Reichard, Sean T. Hannah, Fred O. Walumbwa, and Adrian Chan. “A Meta-analytic Review of Leadership Impact Research: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Studies.” Leadership Quarterly 20.5 (2009): 764–784.

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  A comprehensive, quantitative review of the literature on leadership interventions was conducted by using meta-analyses. The authors sought to answer the question of whether leadership interventions have the intended impact, and, if so, to what degree? Overall, results suggested that such interventions have impact but that the magnitude of that impact is variable.

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• Burke, Michael J., and Russell R. Day. “A Cumulative Study of the Effectiveness of Managerial Training.” Journal of Applied Psychology 71.2 (1986): 232–245.

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  This is an early application of meta-analytic procedures to the empirical literature on managerial training. A specific form of leadership training based on Fielder’s contingency theory (i.e., leader match) was found to have stronger effects compared with other leadership-training programs. Despite encouraging future applications of leader match training, there is little early-21st-century interest in the intervention.

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• Caligiuri, Paula. “Developing Global Leaders.” In Special Issue: The New World of Work and Organizations. Human Resource Management Review 16.2 (2006): 219–228.

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  In this conceptual paper, it is argued that the training and experiences needed to develop leaders who can effectively perform global leadership tasks and activities depend on the level of human capital (e.g., knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) that a leader possesses.

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• Collins, Doris B., and Elwood F. Holton III. “The Effectiveness of Managerial Leadership Development Programs: A Meta-analysis of Studies from 1982 to 2001.” Human Resource Development Quarterly 15.2 (2004): 217–248.

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  Updates the results of Burke and Day 1986 by meta-analyzing eighty-three studies to determine the effectiveness of the formal managerial training interventions at the individual, group, or organizational levels. Findings suggest that intervention had the biggest impact on knowledge outcomes, and the least impact on system outcomes.

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• Day, David V. “Leadership Development: A Review in Context.” In Special Issue: Yearly Review of Leadership. Leadership Quarterly 11.4 (2000): 581–613.

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  This narrative review examines the field of leadership development through three contextual lenses. One lens views the difference between leader development and leadership development (conceptual context), the second lens reviews how state-of-the-art development is being conducted in the context of ongoing organizational work (practice context), and the third lens summarizes previous research with implications for leadership development (research context).

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• Day, David V., and Lisa Dragoni. “Leadership Development: An Outcome-Oriented Review Based on Time and Levels of Analyses.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 2 (2015): 133–156.

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  The focus of this review is on the development of leadership in individuals, dyads, and teams and organizations. It also identifies a preliminary set of proximal and distal signs that indicate leadership may be developing. Experiences, interventions, and interactions are proposed as factors that can enhance the leadership development process.

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• Day, David V., John W. Fleenor, Leanne E. Atwater, Rachel E. Sturm, and Rob A. McKee. “Advances in Leader and Leadership Development: A Review of 25 Years of Research and Theory.” Leadership Quarterly 25.1 (2014): 63–82.

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  Reviews theory and research on leadership development and related topics (e.g., 360-degree feedback, self-other rating agreement) over the previous twenty-five years, focusing on articles published in the Leadership Quarterly, cited under Journals.

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Leader Development: Self-Views

Motivation to lead, leader self-efficacy, and leader identity determine whether individuals perceive themselves as leaders. These constructs can serve as proximal indicators of more-distal leader development outcomes, such as effectiveness. Thus, developing a leader’s self-views is an important aspect of leader development. To date, most of the literature on self-views in leader development has been conceptual or theoretical in nature. More-empirical research is being published, offering evidence in addition to theory related to leader development processes.

Leader Development: Competencies and Skills

Leader development is thought to require changes in deeper-level mental structures and frameworks, such as self-views and identity, which in turn support the advancement of the observable, behavioral levels of leadership skills and competencies, where competencies are considered as bundles of more-specific skills.

Leader Development: Experience

Another important factor that contributes to leader development is work experiences that shape leaders’ self-views, skills, and competencies. One prominent perspective is that the accumulation of experience over time is the foundation of leader development. Challenging Assignments are a specific type of experience that is more purposeful in tailoring assignments to address developmental needs of leaders. Bettin and Kennedy 1990 provides early empirical confirmation of the positive relationship between leadership experience and performance. However, as McCall 2010 points out, different types of experiences might be more or less beneficial for leader development. To extend this proposition, Ligon, et al. 2008 studies bibliographies of outstanding leaders to identify early developmental experiences that would further relate to specific leadership style in adulthood. Similarly, Benjamin and O’Reilly 2011 investigates early leadership challenges among master of business administration (MBA) graduates. Goodall and Pogrebna 2015 suggests that the relevance of work experience to the current leaders’ position will determine their effectiveness. Finally, Popper and Amit 2009 offers some evidence that personality characteristics will determine the occurrence and effect of leadership experiences.

• Benjamin, Beth, and Charles O’Reilly. “Becoming a Leader: Early Career Challenges Faced by MBA Graduates.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 10.3 (2011): 452–472.

  DOI: 10.5465/amle.2011.0002Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Investigates early leadership challenges to identify experiences that are critical to success in more-senior leadership roles. Three types of transitions (role, business, and personal) and four common leadership challenges (managing subordinates, relationships with peers and bosses, developing a leadership mindset, and coping with setbacks) were identified on the basis of in-depth interviews with MBA graduates.

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• Bettin, Patrick J., and John K. Kennedy Jr. “Leadership Experience and Leader Performance: Some Empirical Support at Last.” Leadership Quarterly 1.4 (1990): 219–228.

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  An early empirical investigation of the relationship between leadership experiences and leader performance (as rated by subordinates) among a sample of US Army captains. Findings suggest that the relevance of experience is the most important predictor of a leader’s performance, whereas other measures of experience, such as time in service and number of positions held, do not relate to performance.

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• Goodall, Amanda H., and Ganna Pogrebna. “Expert Leaders in a Fast-Moving Environment.” Leadership Quarterly 26.2 (2015): 123–142.

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  Proposes that leader effectiveness is determined by the possession of an expert knowledge, obtained through the relevant experiences. Longitudinal study among Formula 1 principals supported the “expert leader” hypothesis—leaders with longest relevant experiences (e.g., being an F1 driver) were found to be more effective (as measured by team performance in the race).

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• Ligon, Gina Scott, Samuel T. Hunter, and Michael D. Mumford. “Development of Outstanding Leadership: A Life Narrative Approach.” Leadership Quarterly 19.3 (2008): 312–334.

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  Using a narrative analysis of 120 biographies of famous 20th-century leaders, the authors propose that different types of early-life developmental events are related to a particular leadership style (charismatic, ideological, or pragmatic) and orientation (socialized or personalized) in adulthood.

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• McCall, Morgan W., Jr. “Recasting Leadership Development.” Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice 3.1 (2010): 3–19.

  DOI: 10.1111/j.1754-9434.2009.01189.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Provides seven conclusions stemming from the assertion that to the extent that leadership is learned it is learned through experience. Among these conclusions, it is argued that certain experiences matter more than others, challenge embedded in the experience matters, different types of experiences teach different lessons, jobs and assignments can be made more developmental, and learning takes place over time and is dynamic.

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• Popper, Micha, and Karin Amit. “Attachment and Leader’s Development via Experiences.” Leadership Quarterly 20.5 (2009): 749–763.

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  Drawing on attachment theory, the authors propose and test a developmental model of leaders. In a sample of male soldiers, the leader’s attachment style (especially, secure attachment) is found to influence trait anxiety and openness to experience, which in turn predict leadership experiences during childhood and early adulthood.

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Development of Leader-Follower Relationships

Uhl-Bien 2006 reviews relational approaches to leadership development, which generally propose that establishing and maintaining a good relationship with their subordinates is an integral part of leaders’ development. Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) is the most influential leadership theory that describes the formation of a leader-subordinate relationship at the dyadic level. Although LMX often considers the member’s perspective in describing the relationship, the studies reviewed in this section offer an insight into leadership development though dyadic relationship building from a leader’s perspective. The authors of Bauer and Green 1996 conducted a longitudinal study and found that liking and similarity relate to the development of high-quality LMX. Nahrgang, et al. 2009 and Bauer, et al. 2006 find that personality traits (extraversion and agreeableness) also relate to the development of LMX. Liden, et al. 1993 demonstrates that a leader’s expectations of the subordinate are important for LMX development. Taking a different approach to relational leadership development, Gardner and Avolio 1998 considers how leaders use impression management tactics to build a charismatic leadership relationship with their subordinates.

• Bauer, Talya N., Berrin Erdogan, Robert C. Liden, and Sandy J. Wayne. “A Longitudinal Study of the Moderating Role of Extraversion: Leader-Member Exchange, Performance, and Turnover during New Executive Development.” Journal of Applied Psychology 91.2 (2006): 298–310.

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  Examines the role of extraversion in the socialization of senior-level executives. Results of a cross-lagged study suggest that extraversion moderates the relationship between LMX and performance, turnover intentions, and actual turnover (3.5 years post-entry), such that LMX was related to outcome measures for the individuals low in extraversion, but not for those high in extraversion.

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• Bauer, Talya N., and Stephen G. Green. “Development of Leader-Member Exchange: A Longitudinal Test.” Academy of Management Journal 39.6 (1996): 1538–1567.

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  A longitudinal investigation of the development of LMX in a sample of new subordinates. Results show that an initial attraction develops between leaders and members who are similar in affect and personality, which leads to more task delegation and more favorable performance evaluation by the leader. Leader delegation–member performance cycles are proposed as central to the development of LMX.

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• Gardner, William L., and Bruce J. Avolio. “The Charismatic Relationship: A Dramaturgical Perspective.” Academy of Management Review 23.1 (1998): 32–58.

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  Using dramaturgical and interactive perspectives, the authors examine the social construction of a charismatic relationship. A conceptual model suggests that leaders use impression management and situational assessment to assert their charismatic-leader identity on followers. Followers’ identity, values, and leadership views, among other factors, are proposed to influence their attribution of and identification with charismatic leaders.

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• Liden, Robert C., Sandy J. Wayne, and Dean Stilwell. “A Longitudinal Study on the Early Development of Leader-Member Exchanges.” Journal of Applied Psychology 78.4 (1993): 662–674.

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  A longitudinal study on the development of LMX in the first six months among newly hired subordinates and their immediate supervisors. Results suggest that leader and member expectations of each other, perceived similarity, and linking are stronger predictors of subsequent LMX ratings than are subordinate performance ratings.

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• Nahrgang, Jennifer D., Frederick P. Morgeson, and Remus Ilies. “The Development of Leader–Member Exchanges: Exploring How Personality and Performance Influence Leader and Member Relationships over Time.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 108.2 (2009): 256–266.

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  Using a longitudinal design and advanced analytical methods (growth-curve modeling), examines the development of LMX quality over time in a sample of student dyads. Findings support the core proposition of the LMX theory that leaders form differentiated relationships with their members. Leader agreeableness and member extraversion were positively associated with LMX at the time of initial interaction, but performance affected the development of the relationships over time.

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• Uhl-Bien, Mary. “Relational Leadership Theory: Exploring the Social Processes of Leadership and Organizing.” In Special Issue: Yearly Review of Leadership. Leadership Quarterly 17.6 (2006): 654–676.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.007Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Examines two dominant perspectives on relational leadership: an entity perspective (individual attributes in the interpersonal relationships) and a relational perspective (a process of social construction of the relationships). Reviews leadership research relevant to the two perspectives. Develops a relational leadership theory as a framework that describes leadership as a social-influence process of emergent coordination and change.

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Leadership Development: Team and Organization Level

Leadership development moves the focus from individual knowledge, skills, and abilities (i.e., human capital) to development based on relationships among people in a dyadic, team, or organization level (i.e., social capital). Day, et al. 2004 contains some of the earliest conceptual work advancing team leadership capacity and leadership development. There is more-recent conceptual work in DeRue 2011 on adaptive leadership theory and in Hannah, et al. 2011 on leadership and collective requisite complexity. Empirical research on phenomena related to leadership development in collectives is provided in Carson, et al. 2007, using social-network analysis, and a qualitative study of extreme action teams is in Klein, et al. 2006.

• Carson, Jay B., Paul E. Tesluk, and Jennifer A. Marrone. “Shared Leadership in Teams: An Investigation of Antecedent Conditions and Performance.” Academy of Management Journal 50.5 (2007): 1217–1234.

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  From the perspective of shared leadership, it is thought that leadership is a team property that is distributed among team members rather than focused on an individual leader. Factors found to predict the emergence of shared leadership include the internal team environment, shared purpose, social support, voice, and external coaching. The degree of shared leadership in the focal consulting teams that were studied was found to predict team performance, as rated by clients.

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• Day, David V., Peter Gronn, and Eduardo Salas. “Leadership Capacity in Teams.” Leadership Quarterly 15.6 (2004): 857–880.

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  Leadership is considered in this conceptual article as an outcome of team processes that contribute resources that enhance team adaptation and performance in subsequent performance cycles. Through interactions, external leadership, teamwork, and team learning, it is thought that a shared or distributed capacity for leadership develops in teams. The components of team leadership are cast within an emerging inputs-mediators-outcomes-inputs (IMOI) framework grounded in the cyclical and ongoing nature of teams and organizations.

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• DeRue, D. Scott. “Adaptive Leadership Theory: Leading and Following as a Complex Adaptive Process.” Research in Organizational Behavior 31 (2011): 125–150.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.riob.2011.09.007Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  This article focuses on using recurring patterns of leading-following interactions to explain various emergent processes that facilitate groups in developing, adapting, and dynamic contexts. These interactions are thought to produce emergent leader-follower identities, relationships, and social structures. Instead of viewing individuals as leaders or followers, adaptive leadership theory focuses on a dynamic leading-following process.

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• Hannah, Sean T., Robert G. Lord, and Craig L. Pearce. “Leadership and Collective Requisite Complexity.” Organizational Psychology Review 1.3 (2011): 215–238.

  DOI: 10.1177/2041386611402116Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Requisite complexity pertains to the matching or fit of a collective’s complexity with that of the environment and is proposed as an important component of collective learning and adaptive performance. In terms of development of collective requisite complexity, social-regulation processes that include active goals, identity, and affect, in addition to formal and informal leadership processes, are the key factors within which dynamic complexity emerges.

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• Klein, Katherine J., Jonathan C. Ziegert, Andrew P. Knight, and Yan Xiao. “Dynamic Delegation: Shared, Hierarchical, and Deindividualized Leadership in Extreme Action Teams.” Administrative Science Quarterly 51.4 (2006): 590–621.

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  This qualitative investigation of the leadership of extreme-action medical teams engaged in emergency trauma activities suggested the system of the dynamic delegation: senior leaders rapidly and repeatedly delegate active leadership to more-junior leaders of the team and withdraw that active leadership role when deemed necessary. This type of improvisational leadership activity allows organizations to coordinate swiftly and perform reliably through engaging in flexibility-enhancing processes.

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Tools for Leadership Development

The literature on leadership development broadly defined to also include leader development offers a number of specific tools and approaches that may facilitate the development of individual and possibly collective leadership capacity in organizations: feedback, mentoring and coaching, challenging assignments, and interventions. In this section, we describe more-popular tools mainly used for leader development that have been proposed in the literature: Feedback, Support, and Challenging Assignments.

Self-Development

Leader development can be undertaken by individuals outside formal development programs and interventions. Such self-development can be beneficial for organizations, and therefore self-development should be encouraged and supported by strategic leaders (Reichard and Johnson 2011). Orvis and Ratwani 2010 offers a taxonomy that helps individuals and organizations evaluate the effectiveness of leader self-development. Individuals who engage in self-development have unique attributes, such as mastery orientation, as noted in Boyce, et al. 2010. Finally, Solansky 2015 suggests that certain elements of self-development can be incorporated into more-formal leadership development programs, which will increase their overall effectiveness.

• Boyce, Lisa A., Stephen J. Zaccaro, and Michelle Zazanis Wisecarver. “Propensity for Self-Development of Leadership Attributes: Understanding, Predicting, and Supporting Performance of Leader Self-Development.” Leadership Quarterly 21.1 (2010): 159–178.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.012Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Examines the cognitive, dispositional, and motivational predictors of the propensity for self-development of leadership attributes (SDLA). In a sample of four hundred junior military leaders, findings suggest that mastery orientation positively relates to the motivation and skill to perform self-development. Both motivation and skill fostered a leader’s propensity to SDLA. Further, organizational support moderated the relationship between propensity for SDLA and performance of leader self-development.

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• Orvis, Karin A., and Krista Langkamer Ratwani. “Leader Self-Development: A Contemporary Context for Leader Development Evaluation.” In Special Issue: Leadership Development Evaluation. Leadership Quarterly 21.4 (2010): 657–674.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.06.008Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Proposes a mixed-method approach for the evaluation of leadership self-development. Introduces taxonomy of attributes that indicate the effectiveness level of a leader self-development activity. Provides an empirical illustration for the use of taxonomy in predicting performance outcomes (task, team, and leader adaptive performance).

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• Reichard, Rebecca J., and Stefanie K. Johnson. “Leader Self-Development as Organizational Strategy.” Leadership Quarterly 22.1 (2011): 33–42.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.12.005Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Proposes a multilevel model of leader self-development that links organizational-level constructs (e.g., resources) with group-level norms and individual leader characteristics. Stresses the role of strategic leaders in creating conditions necessary for leaders to engage in and benefit from continual self-development.

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• Solansky, Stephanie T. “Self-Determination and Leader Development.” Management Learning 46.5 (2015): 618–635.

  DOI: 10.1177/1350507614549118Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Investigates the impact of self-determination (i.e., autonomy) on leader skill development in the context of a large-scale training program for leaders. In line with self-determination theory, participants with highest autonomy (volunteered to participate, free choice of training) experienced greater gains in leadership skills as compared with lowest-autonomy condition (mandated to participate, predetermined training).

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Leadership Development Over Time

The development of leaders and collective leadership is inherently longitudinal; therefore, it is important to study both the early antecedents and the process of leadership development broadly defined. In this section, we discuss studies that address early roots of leadership, study leadership development over time, or both. Given that most studies examine the development of individual leaders over time, the main focus of this section is on leader development.

Context for Leadership Development

An important element for an effective and successful leadership development is a facilitative and supportive environment that curtails some of the challenges and insecurities leaders face in their development. Petriglieri and Petriglieri 2010 examines the role of business schools in offering such environments or so-called identity workspaces. Indeed, qualitative evidence provided in Warhurst 2012 suggests that master of business administration (MBA) students benefit significantly from leadership development efforts offered by business schools. However, Klimoski and Amos 2012 criticizes business schools for not using available scholarly evidence for the design of such programs, and Collinson and Tourish 2015 also chides business schools for relying on conventional as opposed to more-critical approaches to teaching leadership. Outside of business schools, Kark 2011 argues that supportive context for leadership development can be promoted by utilizing the elements of “play.”

• Collinson, David, and Dennis Tourish. “Teaching Leadership Critically: New Directions for Leadership Pedagogy.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 14.4 (2015): 576–594.

  DOI: 10.5465/amle.2014.0079Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Criticizes the conventional approaches to teaching leadership in business schools, which often rely on the concepts of transformational and charismatic leadership. Proposes critical leadership studies as a better alternative framework for leadership development. Discusses the implicit assumptions on power and agency that underlie conventional and more-critical approaches to teaching leadership.

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• Kark, Ronit. “Games Managers Play: Play as a Form of Leadership Development.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 10.3 (2011): 507–527.

  DOI: 10.5465/amle.2010.0048Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Explores the role of play in leadership development processes. Develops a conceptual framework that describes how play influences the development of leadership identity, cognitive abilities, and leadership-relevant skills. Proposes that play may enhance learning at the group level by fostering knowledge sharing and creativity. Discusses the importance of creating safe play spaces for leadership development.

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• Klimoski, Richard, and Benjamin Amos. “Practicing Evidence-Based Education in Leadership Development.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 11.4 (2012): 685–702.

  DOI: 10.5465/amle.2012.0018Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Points out that many of the business schools rarely rely on the available scholarly evidence to promote leadership development among MBA students. Discusses possible reasons for this misalignment of the research and teaching, including lack of communication and collaboration between different stakeholders and the lack of pedagogical skills.

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• Petriglieri, Gianpiero, and Jennifer Louise Petriglieri. “Identity Workspaces: The Case of Business Schools.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 9.1 (2010): 44–60.

  DOI: 10.5465/AMLE.2010.48661190Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Introduces the concept of identity workplaces—institutions characterized by reliable social defenses, sentient communities, and vital rites of passage that facilitate identity work. Because of their relatively stable environment, business schools have become identity workplaces for managers in the early 21st century. Although the article does not specifically discuss leadership development, its focus is on managerial developmental needs that also include leadership skills and identity.

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• Petriglieri, Gianpiero, Jack Denfeld Wood, and Jennifer Louise Petriglieri. “Up Close and Personal: Building Foundations for Leaders’ Development through the Personalization of Management Learning.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 10.3 (2011): 430–450.

  DOI: 10.5465/amle.2010.0032Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Proposes that business schools play an important role in the development of a leadership capacity among MBA students. An inductive, qualitative study explores the process of leadership development in the course of a personalized program that allows the transformation of regressive experiences into the participant’s learning and growth.

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• Warhurst, Russell P. “Leadership Development as Identity Formation: Middle Managers’ Leadership Learning from MBA Study.” Human Resource Development International 15.4 (2012): 471–487.

  DOI: 10.1080/13678868.2012.706428Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Qualitatively investigates leadership development as a process of identity formation among a sample of UK government managers participating in a corporate MBA program. Suggests that informal communities of practice hold an equal developmental value for identity building as the formal MBA curriculum.

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Special Leadership Development

The needs and outcomes of leadership development might differ depending on a particular industry where leadership development efforts are undertaken. Two prominent examples of such special leadership development that have been considered in the literature are health care and higher education.

Women’s Leadership Development

For several decades, influenced by the so-called “Great Man” theories of leadership, the literature on leadership development did not consider the special needs and challenges that women might face in their leader development. Ely, et al. 2011, an influential essay, makes a strong case for the existence of implicit bias both in society and organizations that inhibit women’s leadership development. Hopkins, et al. 2008 reviews the unique needs of women in organizations and suggests specific leadership development practices that address these needs. Davies, et al. 2005 offers an illustration of how a form of implicit bias (i.e., stereotypes) affects women in their leadership aspirations. Arvey, et al. 2007 suggests that heritability explains about a third of variance in leadership role occupancy among women. However, in the absence of clear comparison groups, it is unclear if the results would be different for men (see also Roots of Leadership Development). Li, et al. 2011 offers a more comprehensive examination of leadership role occupancy among men and women, finding determinants that are shared by both genders and those that are unique to females.

• Arvey, Richard D., Zhen Zhang, Bruce J. Avolio, and Robert F. Krueger. “Developmental and Genetic Determinants of Leadership Role Occupancy among Women.” Journal of Applied Psychology 92.3 (2007): 693–706.

  DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.693Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Explores the genetic and developmental factors that influence leadership role occupancy among women. Findings suggest that almost a third of variance in leadership role occupancy is associated with heritability. Authors identify two major developmental factors: work experience was more strongly related to leadership role occupancy among women than was the family experience factor.

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• Davies, Paul G., Steven J. Spencer, and Claude M. Steele. “Clearing the Air: Identity Safety Moderates the Effects of Stereotype Threat on Women’s Leadership Aspirations.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 88.2 (2005): 276–287.

  DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.88.2.276Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Explores how vulnerability to stereotype threat affects women’s aspirations to claim leadership roles. College students were exposed to gender-stereotypic TV commercials, which undermined women’s aspirations in a subsequent leadership task. However, creating an identity-safe environment eliminated vulnerability to stereotype, despite the presence of threatening situational cues.

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• Ely, Robin J., Herminia Ibarra, and Deborah M. Kolb. “Taking Gender into Account: Theory and Design for Women’s Leadership Development Programs.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 10.3 (2011): 474–493.

  DOI: 10.5465/amle.2010.0046Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Examines how subtle forms both of cultural and organizational gender bias interfere with leadership development among women. Proposes revision of the traditional leadership development tools (e.g., 360-degree feedback) in light of the particular challenges women face in senior leadership roles. Offers principles for the design and delivery of women’s leadership programs (e.g., promoting a facilitative environment for women’s identity work).

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• Hopkins, Margaret M., Deborah A. O’Neil, Angela Passarelli, and Diana Bilimoria. “Women’s Leadership Development Strategic Practices for Women and Organizations.” Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 60.4 (2008): 348–365.

  DOI: 10.1037/a0014093Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Reviews leadership development practices that address the unique needs of women in organizations. Examines the obstacles and opportunities these practices present for women. Provides practical suggestions for advancement of women’s leadership development.

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• Li, Wen-Dong, Richard D. Arvey, and Zhaoli Song. “The Influence of General Mental Ability, Self-Esteem and Family Socioeconomic Status on Leadership Role Occupancy and Leader Advancement: The Moderating Role of Gender.” In Special Issue: Longitudinal Studies of Leadership Development. Leadership Quarterly 22.3 (2011): 520–534.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.04.009Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Investigated the influence of general mental abilities, self-esteem, family socioeconomic status, and demographic variables on leadership role occupancy and leader advancement. Self-esteem predicted leadership role occupancy for both genders, and the rate of leader advancement for females. Contrary to predictions, family socioeconomic status was negatively related to leader advancement for females. Mental ability was not related to outcome variables for either gender.

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• Stead, Valerie. “Learning to Deploy (In)visibility: An Examination of Women Leaders’ Lived Experiences.” Management Learning 44.1 (2013): 63–79.

  DOI: 10.1177/1350507612470603Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Critically examines women leaders’ lived experiences of learning leadership through the conceptualizations of invisibility (being excluded, absent, and marginalized). Highlights multiple forms of invisibility experience shaped by gender and power relations. Using qualitative data, illustrates how women learn to deploy invisibility in their leadership development.

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Organizational Outcomes of Leadership Development

The following studies explicitly consider the outcomes of leadership development at the organizational level, thus emphasizing the importance of such initiatives at large. Unfortunately, there are only few articles that have addressed the topic thus far. Avolio, et al. 2010 develops a quantitative methodology to measure the return on leadership development investment. Galli and Müller-Stewens 2012 offers a more qualitative account of organizational benefits stemming from leadership development efforts.

• Avolio, Bruce J., James B. Avey, and David Quisenberry. “Estimating Return on Leadership Development Investment.” In Special Issue: Leadership Development Evaluation. Leadership Quarterly 21.4 (2010): 633–644.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.06.006Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Proposes a method for estimating the return on leadership development investment (RODI). Specific methodology is described for estimating RODI, by using different assumptions, scenarios, length of the intervention, and level of participants engaged in the developmental program. Illustrative findings suggest that RODI may range from low negative to 200 percent for different types of developmental interventions.

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• Galli, Eva Bilhuber, and Günter Müller-Stewens. “How to Build Social Capital with Leadership Development: Lessons from an Explorative Case Study of a Multibusiness Firm.” Leadership Quarterly 23.1 (2012): 176–201.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.11.014Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

  Explores how leadership development affects organizational performance through the contribution to social capital. Findings from a case study suggest that social capital differs regarding its intensity and progresses through stages characterized by contact (e.g., networks), assimilations (e.g., leadership training), and identification (e.g., job assignments). Suggests that leadership development practices vary in their impact on social-capital development stages.

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