Leadership is vital for any organization's sustained success.

A great leader at top makes a

big difference to his or her organization. Everyone will concur with these statements.
Experts in human resources field mention the importance of leaders at all levels, and not
ust that of the leadership at the top. !t is not without reason that companies like "#,
$roctor % &amble, &E, 'oca 'ola( )*+' etc. have known to put in place processes for
developing leaders continuously.
#ention this subect, however, to a line manager, or to a sales manager, or any executive
in most organizations and you will probably deal with diffident responses.
Leadership development -a strategic need?
,he subect of leadership is dealt with in a general way by many organizations.
Leadership is usually understood in terms of personal attributes such as charisma,
communication, inspiration, dynamism, toughness, instinct, etc., and not in terms what
good leaders can do for their organizations. -eveloping leaders falls in ). domain.
+udgets are framed and outlays are used with indicators like training hours per employee
per year. /hether the good intentions behind the training budgets get translated into
actions or not, is not monitored.
*uch leadership development outlays that are based on only good intentions and general
ideas about leadership get axed in bad times and get extravagant during good times. !f
having great or good leaders at all levels is a strategic need, as the above top companies
demonstrate and as many leading management experts assert, why do we see such a stop
and go approach0
Why is there skepticism about leadership development programs?
,he first reason is that expectations from good 1or great2 leaders are not defined in
operative terms and in ways in which the outcomes can be verified. Leaders are expected
to achieve' many things. ,hey are expected to turn laggards into high performers, turn
around companies, charm customers, and dazzle media. ,hey are expected to perform
miracles. ,hese expectations remain ust wishful thinking. ,hese desired outcomes can
not be used to provide any clues about gaps in leadership skills and development needs.
Absence of a comprehensive and generic 1valid in diverse industries and conditions2
framework for defining leadership means that leadership development effort are scattered
and inconsistent in nature. !nconsistency gives bad name to leadership development
programs. ,his breeds cynicism 1these fads come and go....2 and resistance to every new
initiative. ,his is the second reason why the obectives of leadership development are
often not met.
,he third reason is in the methods used for leadership development. Leadership
development programs rely upon a combination of lectures 1e.g. on subects like team
building, communications2, case studies, and group exercises 1problem solving2, and
some inspirational talks by top business leaders or management gurus.
*ometimes the programs consist of outdoor or adventure activities for helping people
bond better with each other and build better teams. ,hese programs generate 'feel good'
effect and in some cases participants 'return' with their personal action plans. +ut in
maority of cases they fail to capitalize on the efforts that have gone in. ! must mention
leadership coaching in the passing. !n the hands of an expert coach a willing executive
can improve his leadership skills dramatically. +ut leadership coaching is too expensive
and inaccessible for most executives and their organizations.
Leadership -a competitive advantage
-uring my work as a business leader and later as a leadership coach, ! found that it is
useful to define leadership in operative terms. /hen leadership is defined in terms of
what it does and in terms of capabilities of a person, it is easier to assess and develop it.
/hen leadership skills defined in the above manner are present at all levels, they impart a
distinct capability to an organization. ,his capability gives a competitive advantage to the
organization. 3rganizations with a pipeline of good leaders have competitive advantages
over other organizations, even those with great leaders only at the top. ,he competitive
advantages are4
5. ,hey 1the organizations2 are able to solve problems 6uickly and can recover from
mistakes fast.
7. ,hey have excellent horizontal communications. ,hings 1processes2 move faster.
". ,hey tend to be less busy with themselves. ,herefore they have 'time' for outside
people. 13ver 89: of internal communications are about reminders, error corrections etc
. ,hey are wasteful2
;. ,heir staff 1indirect2 productivity is high. ,his is one of the toughest management
challenges.
<. ,hey are good at heeding to signals related to 6uality, customer complaints, shifts in
market conditions and customer preferences. ,his leads to good and useful bottom=up
communication. ,op leaders tend to have less number of blind spots in such
organizations.
>. !t is easier to roll out programs for strategic shift and also for improving business
processes 1using *ix *igma, ,?#, etc.2. &ood bottom=up communications improve top=
down communications too.
8. ,hey re6uire less 'supervision', since they are strongly rooted in values.
@. ,hey are better at preventing catastrophic failures.
Expectations from good and effective leaders should be set out clearly. ,he leadership
development programs should be selected to develop leadership skills that can be verified
in operative terms. *ince leadership development is a strategic need, there is a need for
clarity about the above aspects.
)emant Aarandikar advises companies on business % brand strategy, on business
transformation, and for achieving breakthroughs in business processes. )e leverages this
expertise in product creation proects for companies along with his design associates. )e
coaches business leaders and executives for developing leadership skills. )emant
founded Exponient 'onsulting and Learning Leadership.
$reviously, )emant was #anaging -irector, &/, &lobal /eighing 1now *artorius
#echatronics2 and held position of &eneral #anager at $hilips !ndia. )e is an alumnus
of !ndian !nstitute of ,echnology, +ombay, !ndia.
Bor 3nsite and online coaching for leadership development, please visit
http4CCwww.learning=leadership.comC