What I Actually Mean When I Say “Develop Leaders”
“Developing leaders” is one of the most common goals I hear from organizations - and one of the least clearly defined.
Often, it surfaces as a concern from the field.
Leaders are struggling in people conversations. Emotions run high. Interactions feel reactive instead of grounded. Something feels off, but it’s hard to name exactly what’s missing.
The response is familiar: invest in leadership development.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a great intention! Kudos if your organization is one that continues to invest in your future people. AND – I know the frustration the executive sponsors can feel when it’s perceived that behaviour isn’t meaningfully changing.
It’s not because leadership development doesn’t work, but because learning is often confused with development.
The mismatch most organizations don’t name
I strongly believe workshops and assessments matter, and can have tremendous impact. They create awareness, shared language, and insight.
But on their own, they rarely change how leaders behave when pressure is on.
That’s the mismatch - Organizations invest in leadership development and quietly expect the workshop to do the work.
Development doesn’t work that way.
Learning is exposure. Development is change.
In mountain biking, watching technique videos or attending a skills clinic helps - but no one expects that alone to prepare you for a technical descent (believe me, I’ve tried!).
The map shows the trail. Riding it builds the confidence. Snow just helps the fun factor. :)
Confidence comes from practice. From being on the trail. From wobbling a bit, correcting, and trying again.
Leadership works the same way: Learning introduces ideas. Development changes how leaders show up over time.
It shows up when a leader:
pauses before reacting in a tense conversation
exercises judgment instead of escalating decisions upward
stays present in ambiguity instead of avoiding it
handles people issues with more confidence and less defensiveness
Those behaviours aren’t built in a single session. They’re built through repetition, reinforcement, and expectation - inside the system leaders operate in every day.
This is less about skill, more about confidence.
Most newer leaders aren’t struggling because they lack capability. They struggle because people leadership introduces uncertainty - emotional reactions, competing needs, imperfect information.
Confidence grows when leaders are supported to practice, not perform.
That requires psychological safety. A culture where leaders can ask a “silly” question, admit uncertainty, or test a new approach without needing to look polished.
Without that, insight stays theoretical.
What “developing leaders” actually means.
Developing leaders means creating the conditions where leadership behaviour can mature.
Not perfectly. Not instantly.
But steadily - like building confidence on a more technical trail.
It means development isn’t something leaders attend. It’s something the system supports, expects, and reinforces over time.
That’s when leadership development stops being an event - and starts becoming how leadership actually works.