Leadership development: integration in context

The study and practice of leadership development has been influenced by models of leadership which emphasize behavioural perspectives. The need to understand the impact of a leader on the people they lead is important if it leads people to reflect on how they interact with others. But the models tend to be either limited to a focus on how to engage others or to be based on a rather static competence framework. Yet leaders must learn to make choices within a more dynamic context. The practice of leadership development needs to pay attention to integration in at least two important senses. One relates to the design and delivery of leadership development and the need to focus on both the development of leaders and the development of leadership as it is practised in the organization. The latter requires a focus on the choices leaders make and the assumptions and skills they bring to decision-making. The second arises out of the first and is based on the assumption that integrated and effective leadership development must be a joint process where responsibility is shared between senior leadership of the company and leadership development professionals. The paper illustrates these ideas through a number of case illustrations drawn from the authors' recent practice in this field