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For this assignment, you will write a report that details the components of an executive leadership development program for a fictitious company. The fictitious company can be within an organization and industry of your choice. Do not use the name of or information about a real company. After you have chosen a type of organization and industry, include the following items in your report.
Include an introductory paragraph that lists the name and type of fictitious company, the country in which the home office is located, how long the company has been operating, and the number of executive leadership employees.
Discuss an executive leadership development strategy. Provide a vision for this strategy. For example, what are the outcomes of having a leadership development program for the organization? How will the leadership be structured?
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Leadership Development
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
7. Construct a rationale for designing training for leadership competencies.
7.1 Discuss the leadership development strategy for a company.
7.2 Explain assessment tools for identifying leadership capabilities.
7.3 Discuss benefits of formal leadership development programs.
Required Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
Jenkins, D. M., & Allen, S. J. (2017, Winter). Aligning instructional strategies with learning outcomes and
leadership competencies. New Directions for Student Leadership, 2017(156), 43–58.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=a9h&AN=126316404&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Leonard, H. S. (2017). A teachable approach to leadership. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and
Research, 69(4), 243–266.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bsu&AN=128817733&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Unit Lesson
Introduction
In this unit, we will explore the human resource role in leadership development, assessing leadership
development needs, identifying competency gaps, and examine the assessment tools and strategies that can
be utilized. This unit will take an in-depth look at training and leadership development.
Leader Development
The ability of an individual to influence a group or another individual toward the achievement of goals and
results is considered leadership (Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM], 2017). In an
organization’s hierarchy, leadership is not specifically attached to a certain position but, rather, can evolve
from opportunities and situations. Also, when considering the subject of leadership in a global context, it
should not be confused with the status, power, or some official authority. The ability to influence across
cultures must be present among global leaders. Hence, it is important that leadership development practices
be geared toward preparing and training leaders to lead in a global economy.
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UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Today we see a global leadership environment across many industries.
(Rawpixelimages, n.d.)
Cultural considerations are vitally important in developing a leadership plan for today’s global environment.
Leader development refers to an organization’s training and professional development program, which is
targeted to assist management and executive-level employees in developing the flexibility, ability, and skills
required to deal with a variety of situations (SHRM, 2017). In this unit, we will explore the role that human
resources (HR) has in leadership development through the training and development function. We will also
explore assessment tools for developing leaders, and lastly, we will examine various leadership development
methodologies.
HR’s Role in Leadership Development
According to Giles (2016), HR plays a dual function when it comes to leadership development. The first
function is that of a leader. HR professionals must consider their own role as leaders and the responsibilities
that come with it. Often, through various functions (e.g., training and development, organizational change
management), HR professionals are in a position that requires them to bring about change that is necessary
to keep the organization competitive and successful.
In addition, HR is responsible for identifying other leaders and potential leaders in the organization to
maximize leadership succession planning efforts. Therefore, HR professionals must assess the organization’s
leaders and their leadership needs on a regular basis. These needs must also be aligned with the
organization’s strategic goals. HR is also responsible for providing leaders and potential leaders with
adequate developmental experiences, relationships, and training needed for the continuation of development.
Assessing Leadership Development Needs
The training professional must begin looking at current leaders in relation to the organization’s goals and
strategies when assessing leadership development needs (Scisco et al., 2017). Some of the things to
consider when analyzing leadership development needs include:
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UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
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Most jobs, depending on the type and complexity, require a specific set of knowledge and skills. Competency
mapping is often used for leadership or other positions to identify key competencies for a particular position.
These competencies can be tied to behaviors and personal skills that distinguish excellent performance from
the average. The competencies can be used in training and development, recruitment, performance
management, succession planning, job evaluation, and many other aspects of the employees’ work.
A competency assessment is typically a result of the key competencies formed during the mapping
process. The competency assessment identifies the skill gaps against those specific competencies that
the organization considers important. There are some organizations that may have their own competency
assessments. However, many consultants and vendors offer competency assessment tools in various
formats.
An important aspect of performance management within leadership is the coaching and developing of skills
needed to be successful (Fernandez-Araoz et al., 2017). The results from a competency assessment reveal
how well a candidate or employee may perform the required skills needed for the job in relation to its
performance standards. Competency assessments also provide the foundation of an individual development
plan (IDP) and identify the necessary training and development programs needed to cultivate the skills and
abilities needed to perform well. If you recall, the use of IDPs was discussed in an earlier unit.
Assessment Tools for Leadership Development
Some of the tools that organizations use to assess leadership ability include work sample measures. Work
sample measures are assessment tools that require candidates to demonstrate levels of attained leadership
proficiencies. These work samples include situation judgment tests (SJTs), simulations, and assessment
centers.
•
•
Situational judgment tests (SJTs): Prospective leaders are presented with sample situations and
problems that they may encounter in a work environment along with the probable answers.
Candidates are asked to place the answers in order from best to worst, choose the best and worst
answers, or just provide the best answer to the given situation.
Assessment centers and simulations: These are very similar to SJTs in that they can provide a
candidate with a wide range of problem-solving exercises and leadership scenarios. These exercises
or scenarios could include financial or business data analysis, leaderless group discussions, inbasket tests, role plays, and interview simulations. The series of exercises are observed by multiple
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raters who give an evaluation on each of the targeted performance factors.
assessors
UNIT xThen,
STUDY
GUIDE collect
their results to provide an overall assessment score.
Title
Though these methods have proven to be highly successful, some methods have shown to be more useful
than others (SHRM, 2017). For example, SJTs, work sample tests, and other tools that require
demonstrations of leadership have high validity. However, they can also be very expensive in terms of design,
development, and delivery.
Emotional Intelligence Assessment Tools
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to competently handle interpersonal relationships along with being
aware of and in complete control of one’s emotions (SHRM, 2017). Many organizations are looking for
leaders who possess strong EI. EI assessment tools are a good way to identify the EI competency within a
leader. EI assessment tools come in many shapes and sizes. There are some that are used for hiring,
spotting high-potential candidates, coaching, and assessing performance feedback. Many of the EI
assessment tools currently found in the open market have not been empirically evaluated (Giles, 2016). The
three empirically evaluated EI assessment tools that have been identified in at least five published journal
articles or book chapters with some empirical data to back their validity are BarOn Emotional Quotient
Inventory, Emotional and Social Competence Inventory, and Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory.
For more information on additional empirically validated EI assessments, please consult the Consortium for
Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations website.
Leader Development Strategies
Many organizations take a formal approach when designing developmental opportunities for leaders. This
approach requires organizational discipline, design, implementation, and sustenance to keep the program
running. Utilizing this approach can be very successful in shielding the organization from succession surprises
and can also be a competitive advantage in a number of other ways.
•
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•
•
A system-wide approach on leadership development can help build leadership capacity throughout
the organization.
Initiatives in leadership development should align in all levels of the organization and provide a clear
path of the skills and competencies needed to be developed from one level to the next.
Each manager should have an IDP where they are held accountable for making yearly progress.
Leadership development should be integrated into the ongoing work-related experience.
Leader Development Methods
Below you will find a list of effective leadership development methods commonly used in organizations today.
Challenging assignments: Individuals develop leadership capacity by being exposed to a variety of
experiences that test and expand their abilities to handle a number of issues and scenarios. Scisco et al.
(2017) mention how research has validated that high-performing employees tend to perform at their peak
within 2 years of being in a new assignment and that performance declines after that if the individual is not
given new and more challenging assignments. Often, leadership skills do not materialize until an individual is
moved out of his or her comfort zone. Assigning high-performing individuals challenging assignments that are
outside of their expertise will force them to identify collaborative resources and figure out on their own what
they need to do to succeed.
Risk management: With the exposure of more challenging assignments for the employee, the risk of failure
substantially increases. Hence, there should be appropriate support given to the employee to minimize risk.
This can come in the form of training, mentoring, coaching, and other forms of support. At the same time, this
should be balanced by monitoring the amount of support given because too much support may compromise
the value of the experience and keep the employee from developing core leadership competencies such as
problem-solving and drawing on his or her own resources.
Real-life problem-solving in a controlled environment: Some organizations use real-life situations to help
leaders develop the core competencies for which they are searching (e.g., handling a real business mistake
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or crisis that is actually happening within the organization). This is typically done
in ax controlled
environment,
UNIT
STUDY GUIDE
such as a leadership development center or in a special taskforce, which allows
the organization to manage
Title
the risk and have some control over the situation.
Training: Often, organizations use formal training to help leaders develop the competencies they need to be
successful in their roles. The training is typically done at a time when the leader may need to know something
in order to achieve a specific result and has the opportunity to use the new knowledge in a real-life situation.
This is where training becomes most effective in developing leadership competencies. Examples of this
leadership methodology are workshops, seminars, or classes.
Training and leadership development are important topics in any organization. Organizations today must have
leaders who are prepared to lead in a global environment. Selecting the right leadership development
methods is key to success.
References
Fernandez-Araoz, C., Roscoe, A., & Aramaki, K. (2017, November-December). Turning potential into
success: The missing link in leadership development. Harvard Business Review, 95(6), 86.
http://search.ebscohost.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsg
ao&AN=edsgcl.513826863&site=eds-live&scope=site
Giles, S. (2016). Developing organizational leaders. Society for Human Resource Management.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-andsamples/toolkits/pages/developingorganizationalleaders.aspx
Rawpixelimages (n.d.). ID 45539364 [Photograph]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photopeople-global-business-meeting-image45539364
Scisco, P., Biech, E., & Hallenbeck, G. (2017). Compass: Your guide for leadership development and
coaching. Center for Creative Leadership.
Society for Human Research Management. (2017). SHRM research overview: Leadership development.
https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-reports-and-expertviews/Documents/17-0396%20Research%20Overview%20Leadership%20Development%20FNL.pdf
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