Leveraging External Expertise to Boost Leadership Development

Excellent leaders take a long time to develop. Based on research by the Brandon Hall Group, businesses spend more time and money on leadership development each year than on any other aspect of human capital management. However, just 33% of businesses claim that their leadership development programs are successful in creating new leaders who can deliver profitable results. However, a staged, implemented process used in traditional leadership development is no longer effective. Companies should focus on leveraging external expertise to boost leadership development.

Research by the Brandon Hall Group says most businesses believe the following approaches are crucial for boosting leadership programs: 

1. Coaching Leaders 
2. Developing continuous learning pathways 
3. Offering Immersive Learning by Doing 
4. Mentoring Leaders 
5. Enabling peer-to-peer discussions to share challenges and experiences. 

High-performing companies are twice as likely to have excellent work environments. Moreover, they are seven times more likely to develop all levels of leaders because they invest in leadership development. Building a new generation of leaders demands a new, rigid approach to enhancing skills within the organisation by leveraging expertise from outside the organisation. Companies must also offer coaching, mentoring, and many other opportunities for employees to gain leadership experience both internally and externally.

The Josh Bersin Company believes that the following are ways where utilising external expertise can boost leadership development:

1. Organisations that use leadership development programs delivered by qualified consultants significantly increase talent and innovation. 
2. Cohort-based leadership development programs delivered by qualified external experts offer a channel for external expertise in leadership development. 
3. Cohort-based leadership development programs also provide a forum for employees to engage with and learn from experts in a secure and dynamic culture. 

Leveraging external expertise to boost leadership development is a strategic approach to giving perspective, engagement, and access to leading professionals in a scalable and interactive environment. According to a study by The Josh Bersin Company, “74% of high-performing organisations use the expertise of external coaches or training professionals coupled with collaborative learning for leadership development.” Moreover, their research shows that cohorts from facilitator-led training are 2.4 times more likely to build the skills and capabilities needed.  High-performing businesses regard this strategy as a reliable way to boost leadership development. Combining knowledge coaches, and certified trainers, a research-based curriculum on a range of subjects, and collaborative learning experiences, these platforms have the potential to significantly enhance the corporate training experience. Senior leaders need to proactively invest in developing their leaders by taking advantage of this rapidly expanding sector. Leadership capability is crucial to enable a company to achieve World-class Performance. CPC only delivers fully-customised solutions. You can guarantee that these solutions actually deliver specified business results.  Book your complimentary consultation here. Read more about raising the bar on leadership development by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) humancapital December 2006