Leadership sustainability reframes development outcomes

Organizations invest in leadership academies, executive education, coaching, succession planning and experiential learning to prepare leaders for positions of increasing responsibility. These investments have strengthened leadership capability and transformed how organizations identify and develop future leaders. Yet one assumption has remained largely unquestioned: that preparing leaders to assume leadership responsibilities is the same as preparing them to sustain leadership effectiveness once they are in those roles, according to Chief Learning Officer.

Leadership development prepares leaders for responsibility; leadership conditions shape leadership effectiveness

Leadership development has traditionally focused on preparing leaders for positions of increased responsibility through competency models, executive coaching, developmental experiences and experiential learning. These approaches establish the foundation for building effective leadership. Leadership itself, however, is practiced within conditions that are difficult to predict and impossible to standardize. Leaders apply what they have learned while navigating competing priorities, changing stakeholder expectations, organizational uncertainty, shifting strategic priorities and continual change. Responsibilities describe the role leaders assume, while leadership conditions describe the environment in which those responsibilities must be exercised.

Leadership sustainability expands the intended outcome

Leadership sustainability expands the intended outcome of leadership development by recognizing that preparing leaders for responsibility and for sustaining effectiveness are complementary but distinct developmental outcomes. The realities of leadership require leaders to interpret ambiguity, regulate their responses under pressure, adapt as circumstances change, establish boundaries that preserve effectiveness and continually make sense of competing demands. Leadership sustainability is not another competency to add to an existing leadership framework. Instead, it broadens how organizations think about the intended outcome of leadership development, according to Chief Learning Officer.

Designing leadership development for leadership sustainability

Viewing leadership sustainability as an intended outcome has implications for how organizations design leadership development. Historically, leadership development has been oriented toward preparing leaders for greater responsibility. Preparing leaders for the conditions in which leadership is actually practiced requires organizations to ask whether development programs intentionally address the environments leaders encounter after formal experiences end, according to Chief Learning Officer.