The Future of Leadership Development Can’t Just Be About Leadership

Today, leaders are faced with the challenge of navigating greater complexity 

The winds of change are here. Artificial intelligence, globalization, and rising customer demands all add to the complexity of the world that we all live in today. As we prepare for this new world, it will be important that we raise our own complexity and ability to adapt, learn, and evolve. What does this mean for the future of leadership development? The future of development can’t just focus on building skills. It needs to start focusing more on building people at their core. By building people and working on the “who” versus focusing just on the what and how (i.e., the skills) we better equip leaders for this new landscape. 

What does it mean to work on the “who?” How do we help leaders evolve holistically as human beings to face the complexity of today? Here are some ways… 

1. Focus on core values, beliefs and assumptions. Knowing what we stand for as a leader becomes our true north for guiding decisions and behaviors. Leaders that are firm in “who” they are can have the confidence to be that leader. 
2. Increase self-awareness. You may have heard sayings like “how you do anything is how you do everything” or “where ever you go, there you are.” Often we are creatures of habit and we relive the same patterns. By becoming more attuned and accepting of oneself, leaders end up creating more options for themselves. 
3. Practice compassion for yourself and others. Giving yourself and others the space to live out loud, make mistakes and be gentle with each other on the journey will allow us to learn and evolve together. 

With this, I challenge you to think about how you are developing yourself and others as a leader. By expanding your focus beyond just skills, you can support deeper and more lasting growth.