Back to Basics - What IS Leadership Development?

by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People

Have you ever seen a diamond in its original form? It looks just like a lump of rock (albeit a very slightly sparkly one!), and I for one wouldn’t have a clue what was or what wasn’t a diamond before it goes through the cutting and polishing process that makes it the beautiful stone it becomes.

Leadership development is a similar process. It is about moving you, inch by inch, along a personal continuum. At the beginning is a ‘rough’ management style –the one that came to your naturally. At the other end, is a perfected and optimised way of leading. Leadership isn’t just a way of speaking, or a manner of dealing with your team. It is truly about your overall approach to the world, and how you respond daily to it.

I used to take a critical view of leadership development – it seemed like a very negative, very harsh and perhaps even endless game of ‘chasing your tail’. But I have learned that to understand my faults is a way of knowing myself better, and appreciating that my faults exist is far more positive than denying that there is anything wrong. Finally, to go one step further and engage in leadership development in order to actually reduce or remove those faults is a very noble pursuit that will be beneficial to not just for me, but to those long suffering souls who work with me too!

I am pro-active in seeking solutions, and I hate to have to react only when pushed into a situation at the last moment. Put me in front of a crowd and I clam up, but I will listen to anyone and everyone who needs me. My imagination runs riot in my head, but I am not always blessed with being able to get my ideas across successfully. My kindness is both by best and worst asset, and perhaps I need to develop a little more ruthlessness. These are all characteristics within my personality, my habits and my projected-self. Some of these can be changed more than others. Leadership development is concerned with identifying our weaknesses and one-by-one, and proactively engaging in activities and experiences that will improve them. Perhaps your leadership style is too autocratic and you’re having difficulty delegating properly. Maybe you lack confidence when it comes to public speaking, which undermines the confidence of your team in your abilities. Whatever the weakness and whatever the issue, you can work to resolve it, and you can become a greater leader.

It is truly inspiring to work in a business that is committed to personal development and growth, both for our clients and for our staff. Personal development is infectious - just like a smile! Once you can see for yourself that progress is possible even in some of the most set-in-stone characteristics in a person, you can fully realise the true potential of personal development, and what it could hold for you. I know I did.