5 Leadership Development Types For Training Leaders (Plus HR Best Practices)
73% of HR leaders believe their organizations’ leaders and managers aren’t equipped to lead change. What they may not realize is they have the power to train and develop leaders — what steps can you take to foster and support effective leadership?
Leadership development is the foundation of organizational success. It can improve employee engagement, decision-making, and innovation. Unfortunately, only 54% of staff say leadership development is mandatory in their companies.
Additionally, the average learning and development (L&D) budget and team size have decreased by over 70% since 2023. HR professionals have the opportunity to take charge of developing and nurturing effective leaders and ensure the practical application of the training they provide.
This article discusses how you can implement well-crafted leadership programs aligned with strategic goals and company culture to cultivate strong leaders who drive the business forward.
Contents
What is leadership development?
Why leadership development is important
Key benefits of leadership development
5 types of leadership development to benefit your workforce
Best practices for leadership development training
What is leadership development?
Leadership development is a strategic process designed to increase a person’s capacity to effectively guide, inspire, and influence others within an organization.
Its aim is to cultivate essential leadership competencies, such as strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, decision-making, and communication. These skills help current and potential leaders adapt to changes and handle complex challenges better.
While general management training focuses on the operational and administrative skills needed to oversee day-to-day activities, leadership development focuses on the more intangible qualities that define great leaders. It emphasizes personal growth, self-awareness, and the ability to motivate and empower others.
HR tip
Use the 9-box grid to quickly identify high-performing individuals with high potential. Once identified, give them leadership opportunities, such as mentoring others or leading key projects. This proactive approach will accelerate their growth into future leaders.
Why leadership development is important
Great leaders guide their teams towards common goals, driving productivity and performance. They make strategic decisions that can shape an organization’s future and create an environment where employees can thrive. Ultimately, this contributes to an organization’s competitive advantage, financial performance, and long-term sustainability.
Investing in L&D for leadership also ensures employees are more invested in their organization’s success. LinkedIn reports that moderate learning culture results in 27% greater retention, 15% more internal mobility, and an 8% increase in promotions to management. Additionally, a strong learning culture results in 57% greater retention, 23% more internal mobility, and a 7% increase in promotions to management.
By investing in leadership training and development, organizations can ensure a steady supply of competent leaders ready to take on greater responsibilities when needed. Leadership development coaching also provides targeted and personalized guidance, helping leaders overcome specific challenges and accelerate their growth.
Key benefits of leadership development
- Increased satisfaction and retention: Well-trained leaders can better motivate their teams, increasing job satisfaction and retention. In fact, 70% of staff say learning improves their sense of connection to their organizations, and 80% say it adds purpose to their work.
- Improved decision-making and risk management: Leaders with good critical thinking and analytical skills can confidently make informed decisions. They can also better identify and mitigate risks, leading to more stable, sustainable organizational growth.
- Greater innovation and adaptability: Leaders trained in creative problem-solving and strategic thinking are more likely to encourage new ideas and embrace change. As such, they foster an innovative culture that drives competitiveness and adaptation to change.
- Positive organizational culture: Emotionally intelligent leaders build strong relationships, promote collaboration, and manage conflicts well. By facilitating open communication and mutual trust and respect, they contribute to a positive workplace culture.
- Better succession planning and organizational continuity: Effective leadership development creates a pipeline of capable leaders on different levels, ensuring smooth transitions and organizational stability during leadership changes. The company can identify high-potential individuals early, train them for future roles, and reduce the risks of hiring externally for key positions.
Learn how to implement a leadership development program
To shape the future leaders of your organization, you’ll need to be able to identify potential individuals, identify skill gaps, and provide learning interventions to further develop their skills.
In AIHR’s Learning & Development Certificate Program, you’ll deepen your expertise in identifying, nurturing, and accelerating leadership growth. This certification equips you with the tools to create impactful learning programs that drive organizational success. This online, self-paced Certificate Program will also teach you:
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- The different coaching roles
- GROW models
- The benefits of managerial coaching, and;
- How to implement coaching in your organization.
5 types of leadership development to benefit your workforce
Below are five different leadership development options you can choose from, depending on your organization’s unique leadership needs and priorities:
1. Formal training program
A formal training program involves structured training sessions or workshops to help enhance specific leadership skills and competencies. These may include classroom-based learning, online courses, certificate programs, or blended learning environments.
These programs provide a systematic approach to leadership development, allowing participants to gain theoretical knowledge and learn about practical tools. Topics like strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution are often included, along with opportunities for peer learning and networking among participants.
A formal training program is most suitable when your company needs structured, comprehensive leadership development and to impart specific skills or competencies. It’s also a good method to choose if the organization is undergoing significant changes, facing new challenges, or wants to invest in long-term leadership development and succession planning.
Try this:
- Conduct a thorough skills gap analysis to identify specific leadership gaps and tailor the program accordingly
- Involve senior leadership in program design and delivery to ensure alignment with organizational goals and to increase buy-in
- Incorporate a mix of learning methods (e.g., lectures, case studies, role-playing, and action learning) to cater to different learning styles
- Create opportunities for participants to apply their learning to real-world situations and provide ongoing support and coaching
- Measure the program’s effectiveness through pre- and post-assessments, feedback surveys, and tracking relevant KPIs.
2. Coaching and mentoring from management
This approach involves pairing emerging leaders with experienced executives or managers for one-on-one guidance. The goal is to help mentees navigate leadership challenges and further hone their skills.
Coaching and mentoring from management promote real-time learning applications, immediate feedback, and the transfer of institutional knowledge. It also helps emerging leaders gain valuable insights into organizational dynamics and leadership practices.
This approach is most effective when an organization wants to leverage internal expertise and experience for personalized, ongoing leadership development. It also helps companies to develop future leaders through hands-on, experiential learning.
Try this:
- Establish clear objectives and expectations for both mentors and mentees before any training starts
- Provide training for mentors on effective coaching techniques and active listening skills
- Create a structured framework for mentoring sessions, including regular check-ins and progress evaluations
- Encourage mentors to share both successes and failures, providing real-world examples of leadership challenges and solutions
- Facilitate opportunities for mentees to shadow their mentors in key leadership situations or meetings to gain practical insights.
3. Peer coaching and peer mentoring
Another way to facilitate leadership development is to pair leaders of similar levels or experiences for mutual support and development. Peer coaching is a confidential process that incorporates current practices and aims to solve workplace problems, while peer mentoring involves more experienced peers guiding less experienced colleagues.
Unlike traditional top-down mentoring, peer coaching and peer mentoring create collaborative learning environments where colleagues can share insights and best practices with one another. They encourage open dialogue, welcome diverse perspectives, and create a supportive network of leaders.
Peer coaching and mentoring are suitable for when an organization wants to break down silos and encourage cross-departmental learning. They also make for a promising approach to promoting diverse perspectives and innovative problem-solving among leadership.
Try this:
- Create a structured matching process, pairing leaders based on complementary skills, experiences, or development goals
- Provide initial training on effective peer coaching techniques, active listening, and giving constructive feedback
- Establish clear guidelines for peer coaching sessions, including frequency, confidentiality, and goal-setting practices
- Encourage action learning projects where peer coaches collaborate on real organizational challenges
- Facilitate regular group sessions where peer coaching pairs can share insights and best practices with the wider leadership community.
4. Action learning
Action learning is an experiential, hands-on approach to leadership development that involves small groups of leaders working together to solve real organizational challenges. Participants apply their leadership skills to actual business problems, learning through the process of analysis, decision-making, and implementation.
This method combines practical experience with reflection and group discussion, allowing leaders to develop their skills in ways directly relevant to their work. Action learning aims to enhance critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and collaboration skills while delivering tangible business benefits.
Action learning is suitable for an organization facing complex, real-world challenges that require innovative solutions. Its goal is to develop practical critical thinking and decision-making skills in its leaders. Action learning can also help companies create a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
Try this:
- Select real, strategic challenges the organization has for action learning projects, ensuring they are complex enough to be meaningful but achievable within a set timeframe
- Form diverse teams of four to six participants from different departments or functions to encourage cross-functional idea-sharing
- Assign a skilled facilitator to each action learning team to guide the process, ask important questions, and ensure balanced participation
- Establish a regular team meeting schedule, alternating between problem-solving sessions and reflections on the learning process
- Give teams chances to present their progress and solutions to senior leadership, emphasizing both the practical outcomes achieved and leadership lessons learned.
5. 360-degree feedback
360-degree feedback is a comprehensive assessment method that gathers input about a leader’s performance from multiple sources. These may include supervisors, peers, direct reports, and sometimes, external stakeholders. This approach provides a well-rounded view of a leader’s strengths and areas for improvement.
360-degree feedback can provide an accurate picture of how leaders’ actions impact others, making it easier to identify development needs and track progress in leadership growth.
This approach is most effective when an organization wants to promote self-awareness among its leaders and identify leadership skills gaps. It’s also useful for creating a culture of open feedback and continuous improvement and offering its leaders specific, actionable insights for their development plans.
Try this:
- Clearly communicate the purpose and process of 360-degree feedback to all participants, emphasizing that it’s developmental rather than evaluative
- Use a well-designed, competency-based assessment tool that aligns with your organization’s leadership framework and values
- Ensure anonymity for feedback providers (except for direct supervisors) to encourage honest and constructive input
- Follow up the feedback process with facilitated sessions to help leaders create specific development plans based on the insights they’ve gained.
Best practices for leadership development training
Here are some best practices to keep in mind while designing and implementing different leadership development training methods:
Use a leadership development plan
A leadership development plan aligns individual leadership goals with strategic company objectives, ensuring leadership training and development contribute directly to business outcomes.
We have developed an easy-to-use leadership development plan template that you can customize for your organization:
Set measurable goals
Establish clear, quantifiable leadership development goals aligned with individual aspirations and organizational objectives. You can establish HR smart goals to allow effective tracking of your company’s leadership development progress and the return on investment (ROI) of its leadership development training efforts.
Provide ongoing feedback
Implement regular feedback mechanisms throughout the leadership training and development process. This includes both formal assessments and informal check-ins that enable participants to understand their progress, adjust their approach, and apply their newly acquired skills in real-time.
Create a supportive learning environment
The best leadership development programs foster continuous learning and growth and facilitate leaders’ experiments with their newly acquired skills. This requires psychological safety, resources for self-directed learning, and visible senior leadership support and participation in development initiatives.
Maintain adaptability to change
Design flexible leadership development programs that are responsive to changing business needs and external factors. Next, regularly review and update program content to reflect current leadership challenges, emerging trends, and shifts in organizational strategy.
Integrate technology
Leverage digital tools and platforms to enhance leadership development training. This could include virtual workshops, e-learning modules, mobile learning apps, or AI-powered coaching tools. Technology can increase accessibility, facilitate personalized learning paths, and encourage continuous engagement with leadership development goals.
Emphasize experiential learning
Incorporate hands-on, real-world experiences into leadership development programs, then supplement them with structured reflection sessions. This allows leaders to derive meaningful insights from their challenges and successes. The goal is to bridge the gap between theory and practice, accelerate skill development, and prepare leaders for future roles.
Establish peer-to-peer learning networks
Make it easier for peers to learn from and support one another throughout their development journey. Irrespective of the leadership development method, establish peer coaching circles that allow small groups of leaders to meet regularly to discuss challenges, share insights, and provide mutual support.
“Your leaders are an extension of your company’s values, so developing them and ensuring they have the tools, resources, and capabilities to lead effectively are essential and too risky to get wrong. Being a leader also comes with personal responsibility and accountability, and it’s important your leaders are aware of the shadow they cast on their teams. You must work to ensure they are creating a positive legacy.”
To sum up
Organizations that adopt a dynamic approach to reskilling and redeploying talent see a significantly higher application rate of newly learned skills, with employees using about 75% of their new skills. This approach involves collaboration among all impacted stakeholders to identify changing skill requirements, and to develop different skills wherever necessary.
Leadership development is not just a training opportunity—it helps organizations stay competitive and foster sustainable growth. By establishing and implementing effective leadership development programs, you can help leaders develop the necessary skills to drive success for both themselves and the organization.
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