Learn what leadership development is and how it builds leadership capability. Explore definitions, approaches, and best practices for developing leaders.
Written by Laura Bouttell • Fri 16th January 2026
Leadership development can be defined as the systematic process of expanding an individual's capacity to lead effectively through intentional activities that build knowledge, skills, behaviours, and self-awareness. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership indicates that organisations investing in leadership development outperform their competitors by 20% on key metrics. Yet despite billions spent annually on development, many programmes fail to deliver lasting impact. Understanding what leadership development truly means—beyond training events—enables more effective approaches. Like the ancient apprenticeship systems that developed master craftsmen, effective leadership development combines learning, practice, and guidance over time.
This guide explores the definition of leadership development and how to implement it effectively.
Leadership development is the deliberate, ongoing process of building an individual's capacity to influence others, make sound decisions, and guide groups toward shared goals. It encompasses formal programmes, experiential learning, relationships, and self-directed development that together expand leadership capability.
Core elements of the definition:
Deliberate: Leadership development doesn't happen by accident—it requires intentional design and investment.
Ongoing: Development is continuous, not a one-time event—leadership capability grows throughout a career.
Capacity building: The focus is on expanding potential, not just improving current performance.
Multi-dimensional: Development addresses knowledge, skills, behaviours, mindsets, and self-awareness simultaneously.
Context-embedded: Effective development connects to real challenges and opportunities, not abstract learning.
Leadership development and leadership training are related but distinct concepts that serve different purposes.
Development versus training:
| Dimension | Leadership Development | Leadership Training |
|---|---|---|
| Timeframe | Long-term, ongoing | Short-term, event-based |
| Focus | Capacity and potential | Skills and knowledge |
| Approach | Experiential, reflective | Instructional, practice |
| Measurement | Behaviour change, impact | Knowledge, satisfaction |
| Scope | Holistic growth | Specific competencies |
The integration:
Training is one component of development—the formal learning that provides concepts, frameworks, and initial skill building. But development encompasses much more: application of learning to real challenges, reflection on experience, feedback from others, coaching relationships, and ongoing practice. Training without broader development rarely produces lasting change.
The 70-20-10 model:
Research suggests effective development typically follows this pattern:
How organisations define leadership development shapes how they approach it—and therefore what results they achieve.
Definition implications:
Narrow definition (training focus): Leads to event-based approaches, knowledge transfer emphasis, limited application support, and often disappointing results.
Broad definition (development focus): Leads to integrated approaches, experience emphasis, strong support systems, and more sustainable impact.
Common definitional mistakes:
Comprehensive leadership development includes multiple components that work together to build capability.
Development components:
Formal learning: Courses, workshops, programmes, and educational experiences that provide foundational knowledge and frameworks.
Experiential learning: Challenging assignments, projects, and roles that provide opportunities to develop through practice.
Developmental relationships: Mentoring, coaching, peer learning, and feedback relationships that support growth.
Self-development: Personal reflection, reading, and deliberate practice that individuals pursue independently.
Assessment and feedback: 360-degree feedback, personality assessments, and performance data that build self-awareness.
Component integration:
| Component | Development Contribution |
|---|---|
| Formal learning | Concepts, frameworks, initial skills |
| Experiential learning | Application, practice, real-world learning |
| Relationships | Guidance, support, accountability |
| Self-development | Personal agency, sustained growth |
| Assessment | Self-awareness, targeted development |
Leadership development builds a range of competencies that enable effective leadership.
Core competency areas:
Strategic thinking: The ability to see the bigger picture, anticipate the future, and make decisions with long-term perspective.
Influence and communication: The capability to persuade, inspire, and communicate effectively with diverse audiences.
Team leadership: The skills to build, develop, and lead high-performing teams.
Emotional intelligence: Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.
Change leadership: The ability to lead individuals and organisations through transitions and transformations.
Decision-making: Judgment, analytical capability, and the ability to decide effectively under uncertainty.
Competency development stages:
Different development methods serve different purposes and have different strengths.
Method comparison:
| Method | Best For | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Training courses | Knowledge, frameworks | Limited application |
| Coaching | Personal development | Expensive, time-intensive |
| Mentoring | Career guidance, wisdom | Dependent on mentor quality |
| Stretch assignments | Real-world learning | Risk of failure |
| Action learning | Problem-solving, collaboration | Requires facilitation |
| 360 feedback | Self-awareness | Can be threatening |
| Executive education | Strategic perspective | Disconnected from context |
Method selection principles:
Organisations approach leadership development through various philosophies and strategies.
Development approaches:
Competency-based: Defines specific leadership competencies and develops individuals against those standards.
Experience-based: Emphasises learning through challenging experiences, with support and reflection.
Strengths-based: Focuses on identifying and amplifying natural strengths rather than fixing weaknesses.
Context-based: Tailors development to specific organisational contexts and challenges.
Collective: Develops leadership capacity across groups and organisations, not just individuals.
Approach characteristics:
| Approach | Core Belief | Development Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Competency-based | Leaders need specific skills | Skill building against standards |
| Experience-based | Leaders learn by doing | Challenging assignments |
| Strengths-based | Build on natural talents | Strength amplification |
| Context-based | Context shapes leadership | Organisational challenges |
| Collective | Leadership is relational | Group and culture development |
Effective leadership development design follows principles that maximise impact.
Design principles:
Needs-based: Start with clear understanding of what development is needed and why.
Business-connected: Link development to real business challenges and strategic priorities.
Experience-rich: Provide abundant opportunities for application and practice.
Supported: Ensure participants have coaching, mentoring, and peer support.
Measured: Track both development activities and business outcomes.
Design process:
Research consistently identifies factors that differentiate effective from ineffective development.
Effectiveness factors:
Senior sponsorship: Leaders at the top visibly support and participate in development.
Relevant content: Development addresses real challenges participants face.
Application opportunities: Participants have chances to apply learning immediately.
Feedback and reflection: Regular feedback enables adjustment and deepens learning.
Ongoing support: Coaching, mentoring, and peer learning sustain development.
Organisational integration: Development connects to talent management and business strategy.
Effectiveness indicators:
| Indicator | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Behaviour change | Participants are applying learning |
| Promotion rates | Development is building capability |
| Engagement scores | Development is valued |
| Business results | Development is creating impact |
| Retention | Investment is being retained |
Building a comprehensive programme requires systematic design and implementation.
Programme building steps:
Programme elements:
Understanding common mistakes enables proactive avoidance.
Frequent mistakes:
Event focus: Treating development as an event rather than an ongoing process.
Classroom-only: Relying solely on formal learning without experiential components.
No application: Failing to connect learning to real work challenges.
Insufficient support: Not providing coaching, mentoring, or peer learning.
Wrong participants: Developing the wrong people or too many at once.
No measurement: Failing to track whether development creates impact.
Mistake prevention:
| Mistake | Prevention Strategy |
|---|---|
| Event focus | Design multi-month journeys |
| Classroom-only | Include experiential assignments |
| No application | Require real-world projects |
| Insufficient support | Provide coaching, peer groups |
| Wrong participants | Use rigorous selection |
| No measurement | Define metrics upfront |
Measurement enables understanding of whether development is working and where to improve.
Measurement levels:
Reaction: Do participants find the development valuable and relevant?
Learning: Have participants acquired new knowledge and skills?
Behaviour: Are participants applying what they've learned?
Results: Is development contributing to business outcomes?
Measurement methods:
| Level | Measurement Methods |
|---|---|
| Reaction | Surveys, feedback forms |
| Learning | Assessments, demonstrations |
| Behaviour | 360 feedback, observation |
| Results | Business metrics, promotion rates |
When done well, leadership development delivers significant return on investment.
ROI evidence:
ROI calculation elements:
Leadership development is the systematic process of expanding an individual's capacity to lead effectively through intentional activities that build knowledge, skills, behaviours, and self-awareness. It encompasses formal learning, experiential assignments, developmental relationships, self-development, and assessment. Effective development is ongoing, multi-dimensional, and connected to real organisational challenges.
Leadership training is one component of development—focused on knowledge and skill transfer through courses and workshops. Development is broader and longer-term, including experiential learning (70%), relationships like coaching and mentoring (20%), and formal training (10%). Training provides foundation; development builds comprehensive capability through application and practice.
Effective leadership development includes: formal learning (courses, programmes), experiential learning (challenging assignments, projects), developmental relationships (coaching, mentoring, peer learning), self-development activities (reflection, reading), and assessment tools (360 feedback, personality instruments). These components work together, with experiential learning typically contributing most to development.
Leadership development is an ongoing, career-long process. Specific programmes typically run 6-18 months to enable learning, application, and behaviour change. Significant competency development usually takes 12-24 months of focused effort. However, true leadership mastery develops over years and decades through accumulated experience, learning, and reflection.
Effective leadership development features: connection to real business challenges, senior leadership sponsorship, experiential learning opportunities, ongoing coaching and support, peer learning communities, assessment and feedback, integration with talent management, and measurement of behaviour change and business impact. Events without these elements rarely produce lasting change.
Measure leadership development at multiple levels: participant reactions (satisfaction, relevance), learning (knowledge and skill acquisition), behaviour change (application of learning), and business results (performance improvement, engagement, retention). Use surveys, assessments, 360-degree feedback, observation, and business metrics to capture comprehensive impact.
Well-designed leadership development typically delivers 4-7x return on investment through improved engagement, retention, productivity, and performance. ROI depends on programme quality, participant selection, and organisational support. Calculate ROI by comparing total investment (costs, time) against value created (performance improvements, retention savings, productivity gains).
Leadership development, properly understood, is a transformative process—not a series of events. It changes not just what leaders know but who they are, how they think, and how they act. Like the metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly, genuine development transforms capability fundamentally.
Understanding this definition shapes everything that follows: how organisations design development, what they invest, what they expect, and how they measure success. The organisations that define development broadly—as ongoing, experiential, relationship-rich, and connected to real challenges—achieve far better results than those who equate development with training attendance.
Define development expansively. Invest in multiple methods. Connect to real work. Support ongoing growth.
The definition you adopt shapes the leaders you develop. The leaders you develop shape your organisation's future.