There are many reasons why leadership development is hard to get right. A new ANZSOG Research Insights publication explores why and identifies six major factors based on a high-level overview of relevant academic literature.
The Why is leadership development hard to get right? paper was developed by the ANZSOG Research Team led by Dr Lisa Carson with Dr Julia Richardson, with guidance from Dr Patrick Brownlee.
Whilst a vast amount of literature exists on leadership theories, far less is known about leadership development theories, with the distinction between both often left unstated or conflated. Generally, leadership theories focus on what and why leadership happens, whereas leadership development focuses on how to help people become better leaders, and how to help organisations develop better leadership.
The paper synthesises a non-exhaustive list of six main factors influencing why leadership development for the public sector is hard to get right.
1. Complexities of leadership research
2. Expanding strands of leadership theory and practice
3. Lag between theory and practice (and vice versa)
4. Limited data on leadership development and impact
5. Who and how ‘effectiveness’ is defined
6. Underestimating how much context matters
Up until recently, few established theories of leader development existed, let alone theories of public sector leader development. Some scholars have begun to take tentative steps toward more comprehensive theories of leader and leadership development, however the vast majority of these efforts remain typically rooted within a general approach to leader development (often based on the private sector), suggesting that issues particular to the public sector may not be as closely attended to as others.
Emerging insights from ANZSOG program presenter Dr Dana Born, from the Harvard Kennedy School, suggest that there are seven key attributes that make leadership development impactful: a focus on holistic growth, encouraging self-reflection, addressing stress with precision, opting for shorter/ intensive programs, paying attention to resistance, developing strategies for sustained impact, and embracing online programs for efficiency.
The ANZSOG report states that: “What the ‘right’ type, style or theory of leadership for the public sector, and how it can or should be developed, is both unclear and contested. In the absence of definitive ‘one size fits all’ approach, raising awareness about some of the main factors shaping why it is hard to get right can help inform public sector decision making about leadership development.”
The report concludes that further research specific to the public sector, especially in regard to more comprehensive theoretical frameworks and longitudinal research on impact is needed. Whilst many public sectors rely on capability frameworks, questions remain about how they are actually used in practice, their utility and how to better track alignment and impact over time.
The task of getting leadership development right for the public sector is not insurmountable, rather it requires awareness of factors and steps taken to ensure approaches are fit for purpose to achieve positive impact in practice.
This paper expands on the initial paper in this series Does Public Sector Leadership Differ? which outlined three main schools of thought regarding the extent to which public sector leadership is different (or not) to other sectors. It provides a helpful framing to make sense of different ideologies and viewpoints about the uniqueness of the public sector and the context within which leadership takes place.
Read the Why is leadership development hard to get right? paper here.