A hunt for the missing 50 cents: one piece of the leadership development puzzle

Abstract

The central purpose of the present article is to highlight the necessity for organizations to link learning interventions (specifically leadership development) to the organizational culture. Leadership Development experiences not linked to other aspects of the organization, specifically human resources (HR) systems, are unlike to have long-term impact on the performance of individuals “Probably at least half of every training dollar we spend is wasted – we just don’t know which half” -Anonymous Executive Leadership development is big business and much lip service is given to “growing” leaders in organizations. However, Jay Conger (1992) suggests, “Most would agree that to seriously train individuals in the arts of leadership takes enormous time and resources – perhaps more than societies or organizations possess, and certainly more than they are willing to expend” (p. 3839). In fact, a survey sponsored by Training (Delahoussaye, 2001) found that 75 percent of organizations at or above 10,000 employees annually spend in excess of $7,500 per employee. Smaller firms, less than 500 employees, spend about $6000 per employee. Unfortunately, some organizational leaders wonder if the investment is worth it and one anonymous executive pondered, “Probably at least half of every training dollar we spend is wasted – we just don’t know which half” (Martochhio & Baldwin, 1997, p. 15). I would assert that some portion of the missing 50 cents can be found in an organization’s human resources department. Leadership Development experiences not linked to other aspects of the organization, specifically human resources (HR) systems, may not have long-term impact on the performance of individu19 Volume 26 Number 1 Spring 2008 A Hunt for the Missing 50 Cents: One Piece of the Leadership Development Puzzle