Dive Brief:
- Leadership development is increasingly seen as an important part of talent development offerings for workers of all levels, according to a Wednesday report from the Association for Talent Development.
- Almost half of organizations surveyed — represented by 214 talent development professionals, 104 C-suite executives and 1,035 working Americans — said they have started offering leadership development programs to workers at all levels, and close to 79% said organizational culture improved upon doing so.
- Sixty-eight percent of workers surveyed said their job performance improved due to leadership development. Notably, 66% of organizations said they require leadership development for people managers.
Dive Insight:
Employers have historically struggled to develop managers before promoting them into people leadership roles, experts have previously written for HR Dive. Leaders are often thrust from performing well in a front-line role to struggling to handle the far different demands of management.
But as ATD points out, leadership development can assist workers of all levels.
“Leadership development isn’t just about titles,” one survey respondent told ATD, per a press release. “We are all leaders. It’s about influence, ownership, and impact. Every person in an organization, from the front line to the executive suite, has opportunities to lead, make decisions, solve problems, and help others succeed.”
For example, the vast majority of C-suite executives surveyed by ATD said that communication and decision-making skills are highly valued, and learners were particularly interested in developing those skills, according to the report.
However, a previous ATD study found that managers, in particular, often lack the time required to undertake leadership development. Notably, 63% of those surveyed said being a manager was more difficult than they anticipated, and more than half said their organization provided little training to prepare them.