Special Issue on New Paradigms in Evaluating Leadership Development

Abstract

The Problem Evaluation of leadership development programs has been criticized recently for being based too much on structured evaluation models that do not account for more broad based outcomes and interpretations of leadership development. The Solution This special issue develops some core themes around enabling and enacting leadership development evaluation in organizations. The focus is on highlighting innovative ways of evaluating leadership development that fits more comfortably with contemporary leadership theory. This link with contemporary leadership literature, in turn, brings about thinking around mindsets, culture, partnerships, relationships, and the interdependency of leaders and leadership in organizations, some of the core themes represented in this special issue. These themes are expressed as new paradigms as there appears limited discussion in the literature regarding their use in evaluating leadership development. The purpose of the special issue will be to highlight differing and innovative approaches to leadership development evaluation rooted in experiences of delivering such programs in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Each article expresses novel approaches to the evaluation of leadership programs that can be inculcated into practice across a wide variety of organizations. The Stakeholders Leadership development programs have started to become prolific in organizations both public and private sector based. This has provided a challenge to human resources professionals in the evaluation of such programs that are increasingly becoming complex in nature and starting to use innovative and unusual approaches. This special issue therefore delves into contemporary leadership theory and relates this to the practice of delivering and evaluating programs across organizations. The outcome therefore will help HR professionals identify key aspects to take account of when evaluating leadership development in and across organizations, and will set the basis for further empirical research and theoretical reflection on the topic.