HR Definitions

Leadership development is seen as the most cost effective investment in the development of people in the workplace.

A person can only be a good leader as long as people want to follow them. The big question is, "can leaders be grown, or are they born?" At HRworkbench, we believe both are true.

In our resource library sheet on capability, we clearly identify the difference between capability and competence.

It is possible that a person has Leadership potential (capability) and then with appropriate development, they assume the position of a Leader and become effective in that position (competent).

Leadership development will get the "best potential" out of the person being developed.

That same development program will generate different results depending on the latent talent of the person being developed. Some will not respond to the development, other may rise to become very high quality Leaders.

Leadership development prepares the person aspiring to be a Leader so that as opportunity presents itself, they are fully skilled and have the knowledge and behaviours fine-tuned to be able to meet the demand.

We have observed that some Leaders have a defined "life as a Leader" that is based on particular environmental circumstances, their view of those circumstances, and their ability to articulate both the problem, and a way forward with which the majority of people agree.

It is not uncommon for Leaders to reach a "use by date" when the situation no longer suits their beliefs, solutions, or style.

In the organisational context, CEO's are sometimes brought in to effect a particular change process for a short time frame. This can often destabilise the workforce and create distrust that makes it difficult for the next incumbent to remedy.

Leadership Development can be used to:

• Hone the performance of existing Leaders
• Create a pool of potential Leaders for succession planning purposes

Best Practice in Leadership development involves a wide variety of activities on an ongoing basis.

360-degree Profiling
Leadership Assessment
Leadership
Staff Training/Staff Development