Leaders are made, not born: 10 leadership development principles that help create long-term value

The growing deficit of trust in different institutions and increasing number of reported integrity infractions by people in the position of leadership, across the globe in different arenas over the years, makes me ask myself: ‘What kind of leaders do we need?’ And as I prod on this question, immediately another question pops up: ‘What are some of the fundamental principles on which the foundation of authentic and integrated leadership development rests?’ If the foundation is flawed or lopsided, it cannot create long-term value; instead, it grooms leaders that leave behind a wake of distrust, devastation and disaster.

While working in the area of human development in an organisation/corporate context, I discovered a few principles (listed in no specific order) that I believe should form the bedrock of any leadership development programme. My view is that these principles are not only confined to corporates, but they also apply to all aspects of life where leadership development matters. In order to present them clearly, this article is written in two parts. Part one sets the context and details out 10 leadership development principles. Part two shares examples and real-life stories to elucidate the application and impact of these principles in an organisational/business context.

Leadership development requires a context

Is leadership development for CXO-1 team of a tech start-up in India with a current workforce of 500, that has just received series-C funding, same when compared with middle manager development of a mature global FMCG operating out of a relatively stable market with a loyal customer base? The answer is No, and this is where the context comes into play. Context can mean many things like industry, role, business and organisational environment, organisation and national/geography, culture, etc. Customised leadership development programmes that bake in the context aspect score high on impact as compared to generic leadership development offerings. Leadership development is not a free-standing phenomenon.

Leadership can be learnt and enhanced

Leadership development is a combination of skills, mindset, knowledge, values and attitudes and can be learnt; it isn’t dependent on inherent capabilities that get genetically transferred. The belief that some people are born leaders and others aren’t is an extremely limiting belief that projects a fixed mindset approach. (To know more about this principle, refer to the book Mindset-The new psychology of success by Carol S.Dweck).

Leadership or the lack of it manifests clearly in certain situations

Leadership abilities get tested, developed and harnessed in certain specific situations more than in business as usual situations. Situations like a crisis, expansion of markets, sudden exodus of team members, forging new alliances, presenting to the board -- anything that puts us in a challenging and demanding situation has a strong potential of allowing us to manifest our leadership abilities. This does not mean that ‘business as usual’ should be ignored or relegated to a second position, it only highlights a point that for development purposes, certain situations provide a more fertile ground than others, therefore one must identify, simulate and leverage those situations/events/experiences.

Leadership development is reflection-based and feedback- (or feedforward) guided action

Leadership development is about acquiring, questioning and applying new skills, knowledge, experiences and attitudes, and therefore only reflecting or only doing isn’t enough. One needs to reflect on one’s action and commit to the next set of actions post reflection and feedback. The two aspects go hand in hand. If we ignore reflection, it may result in a speedy and directionless orientation. If we don’t act, it may result in deep contemplation with no/extremely delayed outcome orientation.

Leadership development is both an inner and an outer journey

To lead others, one needs to first lead self with clarity. Meaning, making of the experiences in the outside world happens internally and realisation of one’s vision happens engaging and partnering with others using multiple methods and resources. A deep, integrated and evolving journey requires discovering one’s purpose and then ensuring that it finds a practical and creative expression in this world to contribute to self and others. People who focus largely/entirely on the inner journey may get isolated, limited and confined which may restrict learning, evolution and contribution. People who are highly skewed towards the outer journey may face an existential challenge at some stage, caught up in the vortex of demands and actions with no real anchor, thus devoid of genuine fulfilment. The key is an integrated approach not losing sight of either.

Leadership development is a holistic process comprising creative and analytical aspects

Holistic leaders appreciate and apply a mix of creative and analytical ways to create value for themselves and others, to overcome challenges and create new possibilities. Technology today allows us to gather and slice and dice data in various ways and also helps in future predictions. This invariably creates a pull for strong analytical and data skills. At the same time, the idea of being truly strategic demands an ability to see beyond and behind data, to nurture and draw upon our intuition and not only cut information into different pieces but also stitch and weave a possibility with existing, limited or at times no data. Leadership development thus needs to focus on analysis as well as synthesis. It should help leaders in nurturing a sense of balance and harmony between forces that are perceived opposite or contradictory like data and intuition, short-term and long-term value, purpose and profit, courage and compassion, thus making it holistic. It also highlights that learning and leadership development are inseparable.

Leadership development is an organisation-wide systemic and integrated process

Leadership development creates value when it becomes an integrated part of the overall organisation across levels and is not confined to a few leaders at the top or few sections of the organisation. It is this belief that allows us to go beyond the ‘great man theory of leadership’ which is limiting, dated and anachronistic in today’s connected world where organisations want to scale and succeed on many frontiers. It also nurtures prosperity and parity by ensuring that organisations go beyond leader development and focus on embedding leadership across levels. Apart from many other things, it’s a great risk mitigation method. We don’t rely on a few individuals but develop leadership cadres across levels. Also, it should not be a stand-alone agenda, it must be integrated with the other business and HR priorities and processes.

Leadership development is individual led and organisation supported

The organisation needs to provide the opportunity, process and infrastructure for leadership development. However, the primary responsibility rests with the individuals. One cannot outsource his/her own development to someone else. The longevity of careers with a particular organisation, dipping drastically across levels in most of the geographies and industries, and the business scenario becoming extremely connected, uncertain and volatile, it is in personal interest that employees appreciate and work on the basis of this principle.

Leadership development enables expansion

Leadership is about expansion in many dimensions, it can be knowledge, skills, perspectives, vision, network, domain, geography, cultures etc. The attempt is to define and create opportunities that allow widening/enlarging/uplifting of the existing level from which an individual operates.

Leadership development is linked to impact

Any strategic initiative will always have an impact component built into it. In the case of leadership development we need to identify, define, communicate and keep an eye on the agreed-upon impact assessment. In some situations, it can be extremely quantifiable: for example, change in scores in some surveys. In some other cases, it may be a mix of quantifiable and qualitative measures and short-term and long-term measures. For example, the percentage increase in acquiring marquee clients or a shift in the thought leadership quadrant of an organisation in leading global indices.

Based on my experience, the impact of leadership development programme increases significantly if business and HR/learning teams design such interventions incorporating the above principles. Some of them may seem extremely practical, some a little esoteric. However, they contribute to defining the leadership brand of an organisation and creating long term value. Part two of this article will focus on explaining the application of these principles.

This is the first installment of a two-part series on leadership development principles and their real-life application. Read the second part here.  

Vivek Tiwari is the founder of Pragyan Advisory, a boutique consulting firm specialising in the area of organisation leadership, talent and culture. He has earlier worked with Amazon, PwC and American Express in senior leadership roles.