Leadership development complexity

How NOT to select participants for a Leadership Development program

Dirk Verburg1 Comment

I recently heard an HR leader proudly explain her rigorous selection process for a basic leadership program aimed at newly appointed people leaders. She first pre-selected potential participants based on their performance ratings, then personally interviewed all the top performers. Those who passed were sent by her for a final interview with a senior business leader, and only the successful candidates were allowed to attend the training.

While I appreciated her personal involvement and the engagement of the business leader in the selection process, I do not think this is the right approach.

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Three design principles for Leadership Development

Dirk VerburgLeave a comment

In the last three decades, the business world has become more complex than ever before. This complexity is mainly driven by two factors:

  • Globalization – Never before in the history of mankind have materials, capital and people moved faster and more freely across our planet
  • Technology – The amount of data we have at our disposal for decision-making is dramatically increasing each year, and AI is providing us with the tools to do this faster and more effective than ever.

As a result, our world has become more interconnected and interdependent than ever. A case in point are the supply chain issues businesses experienced in the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This interconnectedness and interdependence has huge implications for the way organizations need to operate, both externally as well as internally.

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