Leadership Development: Understanding the Process

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize what researchers and theorists-and scientists and practitioners-know about the process of leadership development. This has proved to be a daunting task because relatively little is known about the process of leadership development. A relevant question to ask (and one that is addressed in this chapter) is why is this the case? Why is it that we know so little about the process of leadership development, and what needs to be done to redress this oversight? One could argue that practice is to blame, given that the majority of leadership development efforts are designed around and evaluated through discrete events without much opportunity for understanding and implementing long-term, systemic approaches. Given the lack of empirical evidence to support the proposition that systemic approaches yield significantly greater returns to organizations, it is difficult to argue for a long-term, systemic strategy for leadership development. However, a practical emphasis on short-term, discrete events is an obstacle to better understanding the process of leadership development. Another reason for the gap in knowledge regarding process is that leadership development has not received much serious scientific attention. This is a puzzling state of affairs when one considers the critical role that leadership plays in organizations and the broader society.

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