Leadership development helps promising individuals gain, develop, and strengthen their leadership skills. During my time in the military, I’ve seen how mentorship, training, and assessments pushed leaders and driven individuals to aim for the stars and vie for more challenging roles in the organization. I’ve since then believed that leadership development is a great way to inspire people to work toward reaching their full potential.
The disadvantages of leadership development include additional expenses, delayed realization of benefits, and the need to invest in a customized approach. You should also be prepared to encounter team conflicts and some resistance. After all, leadership development is one demanding commitment to make.
Training programs for leaders have ups and downs, and it’s essential to be fully aware of all the consequences, especially the drawbacks involved. This article will introduce you to some of the most significant disadvantages and how to diminish their effects. We’ll also talk about the benefits of having a good leadership development plan for your business.
What Is Leadership Development?
Leaders are crucial to the growth and success of a business. The right leaders can help you achieve your goals, while the wrong ones can quickly pull you down. Hence, attracting the best ones — as well as retaining and developing them — will be a contributing factor to business longevity.
Biggest Mistakes in Leadership Development
The biggest mistake companies make is not having a good leadership development program at all levels. In a 2020 survey involving around 18,000 HR professionals and business leaders from around the globe, it has been found that companies with excellent leadership development programs are 9 times more likely to attract and retain top-quality leaders.
The survey further reveals that leaders want to improve their skills through coaching, training, and assessments. Businesses are missing out on this opportunity by not investing in a good leadership development program for their leaders and promising employees.
Advantages of Leadership Development
A business that commits to developing its leaders can expect to reap many benefits, primarily since the business’s future essentially rests in their hands. Take a look at some of the most notable gains of having a good leadership development program:
- Opportunity to retain and develop top talent
- Increased likelihood of attracting the best people in the industry
- Improvement in your company’s bottomline — the amount of money left after all expenses have been deducted — demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of leadership development
- Stronger competitive advantage in the industry
- Better decision-making
- Enhanced crisis management
- More efficient project management
- Better execution of strategies and techniques
- Better success in navigating change within the organization
Furthermore, according to a Center for Creative Leadership survey involving 5,000 global program participants, 99% achieved their goals of affecting change, improving communication skills, and enhancing self-awareness. Additionally, 97% claimed their leadership development program equipped them to handle leadership responsibilities and challenges more efficiently.
Disadvantages of Leadership Development
Leadership development is crucial in business, especially if you want your company to always be in good hands. After all, leaders are the ones who will drive growth and direct your organization toward success. They play a significant role in leading your business all the way to the top.
However, as the saying goes, “Every path has its puddle,” and leadership development has its fair share of downsides. Let’s take a look at some of them:
1. It Can Be Expensive
In 2015, businesses from around the globe spent about $356 billion on leadership development alone. This figure would not at all be overwhelming if not for the unfavorable return on investments it garnered.
To start off, there was no significant change noted in organizational performance. Second, the learnings gained during the programs weren’t effectively retained, causing most of the workforce to revert to their old strategies, systems, and routines.
Leadership development can be expensive, so it’s essential to ensure that you design leadership development plans best suited for your leaders and your business. Investing funds in this endeavor might be inevitable, but the benefits will far outweigh the risks if executed proficiently.
2. It Takes Time
Effects aren’t instantaneous with leadership development programs. You can’t expect the changes to take effect immediately once the program has finished its course. The skills and knowledge gained during training should be consistently practiced in actual business settings to make an impact in the workplace. Otherwise, leaders will run the risk of falling back into old habits, rendering the entire program practically futile.
This may discourage some businesses from launching their leadership development program. Apart from entailing additional costs, results won’t be immediately felt — something most small companies might find too risky. However, keeping your eye on the numerous long-term benefits might encourage you to commit to the plan. Leadership development can positively transform your business given enough time and equipped with the best leaders.
3. It’s Not a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Picking the right leadership development program for your business takes time and effort. Remember, developing current and future leaders isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Merely copying other organizations’ programs may be detrimental to your business and may cost you the loyalty of your best people.
A tailor-fitted program addressing the unique needs and expectations of your leaders and business is best. It should also effectively address shared goals so each individual would be inspired to significantly contribute to their attainment.
Imagine being forced to learn golf when you’re really interested in volleyball. You’d probably end up disliking golf even more if nobody pays attention and promptly reacts to your cues of disinterest and dissatisfaction. You might go through the motions, but never really put your heart and mind into it.
4. Team Conflicts
Some team members may negatively perceive leadership changes. Workflow may then be disrupted since there would need to be adjustments and changes enforced due to the learnings acquired during leadership development training. Conflicts may even arise between employees and leaders.
This is when effective conflict resolution comes in. A positive working environment is crucial to promoting collaboration, efficiency, and productivity within your team, so conflicts must be resolved quickly.
When was the last time you had a family get-together? Did you have a great time? Are you excited about the next gathering? Chances are, if conflict is brewing in your family, your answers to these questions would be a resounding “No!” Settle disputes quickly and resolutely for synergistic relationships and a positive atmosphere.
5. Developing Leaders Is One Tough Job
Developing people is a tough job, more so when it involves leaders. Enforcing a leadership development plan is synonymous with affecting change within your organization. Palpable changes will be felt during the process, especially when the program has commenced, and leaders are expected to apply all that they’ve learned.
It’s one tough job, but someone has to do it. At Sancus Leadership, we are eager to lend a helping hand to businesses keen on taking their leadership development programs up a notch. Book us a leadership call right away when you’re ready for this commitment!
Key Takeaways
Leadership development is crucial in defining your business and allowing it to revel in a competitive advantage within its industry. A good program will retain your best people and attract high-quality leaders from outside, too.
Like all good things, leadership development has its drawbacks. The key to minimizing their adverse effects is to know exactly how to combat them so the benefits always outweigh the risks.
