A Practical Guide to Leadership Development

Max DePree has stated that "To be a leader means having the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who permit leaders to lead." Since 1980 the Kellogg National Leadership Program (KNLP) has focused on assisting emerging leaders inthe development of leadership knowledge, skills, and competencies addressing human, societal, and community issues. Through the generous support of the Board of Trustees of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and in partnership with hundreds of organizations across the United States, KNLP has worked with more than 700 fellows and 92 advisers in enhancing the leadership effectiveness of a generation of leaders.KNLP has been an evolving program over the last 18 years. Through the process of operating a leadership development program, we have discovered certain core elements which have worked well. We have identified processes which encourage leadership growth, and we have created a flexible framework in which conceptual leadership models can evolve. These are made available in this practical guide to leadership development. We encourage you to use it as it is intended, i.e., as a "guide" to leadership development. Ultimately, each program must determine its own goals, objectives, and policies for implementation which allow for effectiveleadership growth for participants.At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), we are still learning and working together to discover creative ways to foster leadership development among fellows, staff, and grantees. Eric Hoffer once said, "It is the learner who will affect the future. The learned find themselves equipped only to live in a world that no longer exists." Thus, we have emphasized the Leader/Learner approach throughout the program's evolution