| Leadership development is complex. Beyond the knowledge and skill enhancement of individual employees (a learning and development activity), leadership development is a process that requires organizations to purposefully and proactively create strategic approaches to bolster leadership capacity. Since it is critical for remaining competitive in today's marketplace, nearly 50% of executives have emphasized the importance of leadership development initiatives, yet only 6% actually have a structured plan for implementation in place (Mathews, 2011). Evidence gathered to date suggests that the leadership development process requires improvement. Existing literature posits that leaders' lack of emphasis on employee learning and limited commitment to developmental processes have caused leadership development deficiencies. This study is aligned with the Corbin and Strauss (2008) grounded theory approach and examines various dimensions of the leadership development process, as experienced by leaders. Analysis of the data unveils that leadership development, leadership capacity, relationship management, and emotional intelligence are the major themes associated with the leadership development process. While managing the process leaders encounter particular organizational level challenges such as internal culture and politics, implementation inconsistency, time constraints, and low employee engagement. Insights gathered from the leaders further suggests that emotional intelligence and relationship management are connected to the leadership development process and may be used as strategies to address the obstacles faced. Contrary to assertions in the literature, results from the interviews conducted in this study show that leaders believe that they do in fact manage the leadership development process exceptionally well. The leaders possess the personal and social competencies that are needed to engage substantially in the process. Perhaps most importantly, leaders' feedback indicates that they understand, value, and want to contribute to their organizations' developmental processes. In an attempt to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding leadership development, this study concludes by conceptually ordering the major themes in a way that allows leaders to engage in shared understanding and language. As a result of the insights learned, leaders and their organizations can begin to discuss practical solutions by which the leadership development process can be improved. |
