Research from Towards Maturity shows that leadership development programmes have little business impact.
This story is an edited version of an announcement by Towards Maturity published on Training Press Releases.
When it comes to leadership development programmes there’s a huge gulf between what L&D professionals want and what they achieve: while 98% want their leadership programmes to deliver improved business performance, only 18% are managing it.
Research by Towards Maturity shows that L&D professionals are also failing to design programmes that suit leaders’ needs. Only 31% of L&D teams include users in programme design. As a result, L&D activities are not in line with how leaders are actively learning.
The research – on 125 L&D leaders responsible for delivering leadership development programmes – was backed by insights from the latest Towards Maturity Benchmark. Findings show that:
• Only 39% of L&D leaders offer mobile content in leadership programmes, despite over 70% of leaders using mobile devices for learning, and 70% of leaders learning what they need for their job on their commute.
• 40% of leaders already belong to social networks for learning, yet 30% of L&D leaders still have no plans to integrate social media.
• 92% of participants focus on face-to-face classroom training, but leaders are self-directed learners: only 40% find their classroom experiences essential or very useful in helping them do their job.
Commenting on the findings, Martin Baker, CEO of Clear Lessons, said: “This confirms what we already instinctively know – that leaders want resources, not courses. And these resources have to be online, and mobile and tablet responsive . It really is time to provide 21st Century solutions for 21st Century leaders.”
Laura Overton, Towards Maturity MD, said: “This report is the product of extensive research into the way that leaders are developing in today’s working environment.
“It is clear that alignment with business objectives and the needs of our leaders is vital to the success of any programme and ultimately, the value of the L&D function. It is time for the statistics to speak for themselves and for us to listen to the evidence and respond appropriately.”
The full report can be downloaded for free at: www.towardsmaturity.org/in-focus/leadership2015
