Evaluating Leadership Development Research Articles

Workplace Leadership Development Practices: An Environmental Scan

Effective workplace leadership development programs are considered critical to organizational adaptive capacity and sustainability. The purpose of this exploratory study is to conduct an environmental scan of contemporary practices and approaches to leadership and management development programs in Australian workplaces. An online survey was distributed to a sample of Australian human resource professionals given the field’s strong practitioner orientation. The survey sample includes members of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), the professional body for human resource professionals and practitioners in Australia. The findings indicate a substantial majority of the current practice is not informed by evidence-based theory or practice. The most commonly used model is 70:20:10, which lacks a coherent evidence base and has been widely criticized for that reason. The findings point to the frequent application of bespoke leadership frameworks and significant theory–practice gaps. While organizations cite “ensuring delivery of business results”, as the main driver for instigating leadership development programs, with support from top management being crucial to the effectiveness and success of leadership development programs/interventions, evaluation and measurement of impact and return on investment remains problematic. Based on these insights, we present a future research agenda for monitoring and evaluating leadership development programs that will build a stronger theoretical foundation to inform evidence-based practice.

Evaluating Leadership Development Competencies of Clinicians to Build Health Equity in America.

To achieve more equitable health, health care must be grounded in an understanding of social determinants of health. Clinicians need hands-on, equity-centered training in interdisciplinary settings where they can further develop leadership skills and apply learnings in real-time. The Clinical Scholars program trained five cohorts of health care professionals in 25 leadership development competencies to contribute toward advancing health equity within the organizations and communities where they work. This study describes the self-reported ratings of three dimensions of competencies within four domains. Data from 169 Fellows were collected at three time-points during the three-year training program using Qualtrics and Research Electronic Data Captrue software. Analysis was conducted in R and included descriptive statistics, fitting a linear mixed-effects model using random intercepts, and paired-sample t tests to assess significance between baseline and endpoint ratings. We found improved ratings over time for each of the three competency dimensions (knowledge, self-efficacy, use) and significant differences in ratings from baseline to endpoint, by domain (personal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and systems). These findings support the effectiveness of an equity-centered leadership development curriculum in training health care professionals to address health challenges in their communities and organizations, thereby furthering the broader goal of achieving more equitable health for all.

Leadership development through experimentation: a theoretical framework and empirical test

Purpose Many theories have been proposed to understand and improve the process of leadership development. One useful way to structure the literature is around three complementary perspectives, briefly summarized as the “knowing, doing and being” dimensions of leadership. While the complementarities between these perspectives have been discussed, the mechanisms by which they are linked are less clear. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of experimentation as one such mechanism.Design/methodology/approach Building on interviews and prior literature, the authors argue that experimentation consists of two processes: task-prototyping focused on the work overseen by the leader and self-prototyping focused on how the leader relates to others. This study proposes a theoretical framework linking experimentation to action-taking (e.g. being entrepreneurial and taking on challenging assignments), which in turn links to leader effectiveness. The authors test the hypotheses on two groups of leaders (481 business school alumni and 310 financial services leaders).Findings The authors find evidence that both forms of experimentation provide significant explanatory power in understanding why some individuals engage in higher levels of action-taking than others. Additionally, their study confirms the central role of action-taking in leadership development.Originality/value Conceptually, this study distinguishes two dimensions of experimentation and their connection to action-taking, knowledge development and identity development. Empirically, the authors show that these two experimentation activities were significant predictors of action-taking, even after controlling for all other factors, and that action-taking (along with self-prototyping) was an important predictor of leader effectiveness. The results offer a practical framework for leadership and development professionals to use in designing and evaluating leadership development activities.

Evaluating leadership development in a changing world? Alternative models and approaches for healthcare organisations

ABSTRACT Internationally, healthcare is undergoing a major reconfiguration in a post-pandemic world. To make sense of this change and deliver an integrated provision of care, which improve both patient outcomes and satisfaction for key stakeholders, healthcare leaders must develop an insight into the context in which healthcare is delivered, and leadership is enacted. Formal leadership development programmes (LDPs) are widely used for developing leaders and leadership in healthcare organizations. However, there is a paucity of rigorous evaluations of LDPs. Existing evaluations often focus on individual-level outcomes, with limited attention to long-term outcomes that might emerge across team and organizational levels. Specifically, evaluation models that have been closely associated with or rely heavily on qualitative methods are seldom used in LDP evaluations, despite their relevance for capturing unanticipated outcomes, investigating learning impact over time, and studying collective outcomes at multiple levels. The purpose of this paper is to review the potential of qualitative models and approaches in healthcare leadership development evaluation. This scoping review identifies seventeen evaluation models and approaches. Findings indicate that the incorporation of qualitative and participatory elements in evaluation designs could offer a richer demonstration and context-specific explanations of programme impact in healthcare contexts.

EVALUATING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE PEER NETWORKS USING SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

Social Network Analysis has been posited as a useful technique to determine if leadership development programs are an effective intervention in developing social ties and enhancing connectivity among leaders in an organization. Evaluations can examine the extent to which the leadership development programs create and catalyze peer networks. This study used Social Network Analysis to evaluate the development of a peer leadership network and resulting relationships among leaders participating in a leadership development program. Several predictions were made about the development of participants’ task, career, and social networks, generally predicting enhanced “esprit de corps” with their peer leaders over time. Thirty top executives in local public health were selected to participate in a 12-month national leadership development training program. Peer network development was documented at three time points across the programmatic year at 6-month intervals. The results demonstrated that while leaders’ social networks increased over time, friendship networks increased more slowly than did acquaintance networks. The task-related networks involving interactions to solve problems, and career networks for seeking advice and support increased over time, with task-related and advice-related networks stabilizing by the end of the second workshop. Implications for developing peer leadership networks are discussed. The authors would like to acknowledge the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Association for County and City Health Officials and for their support of this research.

The Leadership Knowing-Doing Gap: A Phenomenological Exploration

Despite the rising interest in leadership development, building knowledge about leadership more often than not remains an end in itself, and little is known about how the transfer of leadership learning into leadership enactment is experienced by managers. This research phenomenologically explores the leadership knowing-doing gap, using semi-structured critical incident interviews with 22 managers in leadership roles across various industries and organizational levels in the United Kingdom. Findings offer a comprehensive understanding presenting the leadership knowing-doing gap as a multifaceted and dynamic experience involving cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements that interplay within the processes of creating or widening the gap on the one hand, or preventing or closing the gap on the other hand. Our proposed framework provides a conceptualization of the leadership knowing-doing gap experience that enhances the potential of identifying and operationalizing such an experience for future theory building and empirical research in both management learning and leadership development. We end with practical insights to address the leadership knowing-doing gap and highlight the importance of evaluating leadership development to evidence effective learning transfer and leadership enactment in organizations.

Distributed leadership typologies in destination management organisations

This paper investigates processes and practices related to the enactment of Distributed Leadership (DL) within Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) through a cross-disciplinary approach by adapting a framework developed by Hoppe and Reinelt (2010) for evaluating leadership development in networks in situ and the visual strand of Social Network Analysis (SNA). The paper unfolds the case of Milton Keynes – an emerging destination in England and its local destination management structure – Destination Milton Keynes. Six leadership typologies within a network of DMO member organisations are identified, which demonstrate different, yet complementary DL behaviours. The study contributes to an understanding of how traditional DMOs shift their predominant organisational models through the development of different leadership behaviours of their member organisations in line with changes in their operational environment. The identification of different leadership behaviours serves as the basis of the development of DL typologies to support DMO policy and practice.

Evaluating leadership development in postgraduate medical education

Purpose – Medical leadership has attracted significant attention over the recent years as one of the factors that could potentially improve quality in healthcare. In response, various stakeholders in UK medical education have been looking into the most efficient ways of developing leadership among trainee doctors and invested in various courses and programmes. This paper aims to briefly set the theoretical basis for evaluating leadership development in postgraduate medical education. Design/methodology/approach – Critical review of available theoretical and empirical literature and review of the content of a number of leadership and management development programmes available to postgraduate trainee doctors in the UK. Findings – This review suggests that programme evaluation can be approached through four different “frames”: their pedagogical content, the conceptualisation and achievement of leadership, the contribution in quality improvement and the consideration of practical aspects that increase engagement and participation. On this basis empirical methodologies of evaluation can be developed. Originality/value – The evaluation of leadership initiatives for medical trainees is an important task that has not been adequately addressed in the literature. This paper provides a theoretical approach to developing more robust methodologies of evaluation.

Improving leadership development

Purpose – Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Developing leaders and managers remains high on the agenda for many organizations. Learning requirements are established and companies strive to meet these goals by creating and delivering relevant programs. These endeavors do not come cheap though. Considerable investment is the norm. Little wonder then that the focus on evaluating leadership development programs has grown markedly. Firms naturally want to know that such outlays can be justified. Evaluation means additional cost. But executed properly and it can be money well spent. Assessment of past and current learning programs provides strong foundations for the future. Specifically, evaluation can identify ineffective program elements and those which have had a more positive impact. Important findings then help to create a framework for subsequent offerings. Practical implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Evaluating leadership development using the Most Significant Change technique

Course evaluations are now a serious matter for universities trying to meet stakeholder needs and expectations, quality assurance, improvements and strategic decision making. Typically, students are invited to participate in surveys on how well the design and delivery aspects meet predetermined learning objectives, quality of teaching, and the types of improvements needed for future deliveries. We used the Most Significant Change technique to gather data on the impact of a leadership course on 18 Pacific Islanders who completed a Master of Education (Educational Leadership). Participants’ views highlighted impacts that were of significance to the students and their workplaces. The findings demonstrate that the Most Significant Change technique offers a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of leadership development courses.

Special Issue on New Paradigms in Evaluating Leadership Development

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.

Evaluating Leadership Development Needs in a Health Care Setting Through a Partnership Approach

The Problem Strategic HRD contributes to creating an environment in which objectives and improved performance can be realized through leadership development (LD). Despite considerable investment in LD by public and private sector organizations in North America and Europe, these efforts often fail to produce significant changes in leaders’ behaviors, organizational culture, or organizational performance. As a result, too often leadership development programs (LDPs) are “one size fits all” or a prepackaged competency model without paying attention to individual and contextual differences. A more collaborative approach in the design and delivery of LD has been advocated; however, to date little research has documented or evaluated this at the pre-LDP or needs assessment stage. The Solution This research argues that LD should be a collaborative process involving all stakeholders and that such a partnership approach starts at the needs assessment phase. The research documents and evaluates a three-phase LD needs assessment process in a health care setting. Adopting a case study methodology, it draws primarily upon qualitative data collected from focus groups, written submissions, and interviews with senior and middle managers employed in a provincial health authority, Horizon Health Network, located in Atlantic Canada. The Stakeholders HRD researchers and practitioners in health care responsible for designing, delivering, and evaluating LDPs will find the approach described here insightful and practical. Middle and senior managers working in health care settings who seek to find practical and effective means of addressing leadership gaps and building and sustaining leadership competence across organizations under the pressures of persistent and complex change will also find this research relevant and valuable.

A Cultural Approach to Evaluating Leadership Development

The Problem Current thinking around the evaluation of leadership development programs pays insufficient attention to the way that learning to lead becomes embedded and affected by the cultural context within which leaders and leadership operate. The Solution We propose an enhanced appreciation of cultural factors, organizationally, regionally, and nationally, when evaluating leadership development programs. We go on to suggest a cultural approach to the evaluation of such programs. This more cultural view enables a greater appreciation of current and contemporary accounts of leadership in the literature that are of a more distributed and cultural nature. This view also enables a more significant appreciation of shifting cultures, contexts, and situations within the process of learning that is a central element of leadership development. The Stakeholders This article will appeal to researchers in the area of leadership and leadership development, as well as those engaged in the design, delivery, and evaluation of leadership development in a professional capacity.

Evaluating leadership development in an academic program

An evaluation of the Royal Military College of Canada's Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year leadership practicum was conducted in 2009. This novel approach used several human performance technology (HPT) models to frame the evaluation and identify the dimensions and subdimensions of merit. This article explains the theoretical framework of the evaluation, how and why different HPT models complemented the evaluation process, the challenges faced in executing the evaluation, and the teams' findings on using this approach.

Hierarchical linear modeling as an example for measuring change over time in a leadership development evaluation context

One of the difficulties in evaluating leadership development is measuring whether and how people change over the time period of the leadership development initiative. Even when change over time is an inherent part of the design and evaluation of leadership development, events may occur outside of the control of evaluators that limit the effectiveness of adequately and accurately assessing change over time. With data from a leadership development initiative designed to account for change over time, this article suggests hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) as a multilevel methodological technique to assess change over time in a leadership development context. This article will use real change over time data from a leadership development initiative and discuss the logic and rationale of HLM. We use HLM as an example of a multilevel methodological tool to investigate typical change over time questions in leadership development evaluation.

Evaluating Leadership Development — A Democratic Leadership Perspective

This paper considers the evaluation of leadership development and reflects on the psychological resistances, political obstacles and cultural impracticalities of developing democratic leadership. The focus is on the development and sustainability of democratic leadership through processes of evaluation. While the authors acknowledge that there exist formidable obstacles to the collective practice of evaluating leadership development, suggestions are made for practitioners and researchers who nonetheless remain interested in democratic leadership.

Do Your Staff Think You're a Better Manager? Evaluating Leadership Development

The author provides an evaluation of leadership development, drawing on a case study from Lancashire County Council. The use of 360 degree evaluations is explored as a management assessment tool and as a way of contributing to future leadership development.

The Handbook of Leadership Development Evaluation

Foreword by Laura C. Leviton. Preface. Acknowledgments. The Authors. Introduction (Jennifer W. Martineau, Kelly M. Hannum, and Claire Reinelt). PART ONE: DESIGNING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION. 1 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evaluations (S. Bartholomew Craig and Kelly M. Hannum). 2 Leading with Theory: Using a Theory of Change Approach for Leadership Development Evaluations (Manuel Gutierrez and Tania Tasse). 3 EvaluLEAD: An Open-Systems Perspective on Evaluating Leadership Development (John T. Grove, Barry M. Kibel, and Taylor Haas). 4 Making Evaluation Work for the Greater Good: Supporting Provocative Possibility and Responsive Praxis in Leadership Development (Hazel Symonette). 5 Measuring Return on Investment in Leadership Development (Jack J. Phillips and Patti Phillips). PART TWO: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION IN CONTEXT. 6 Building Leadership Development, Social Justice, and Social Change in Evaluation Through a Pipeline Program (Prisca M. Collins and Rodney K. Hopson). 7 From the Inside Out: Evaluating Personal Transformation Leadership Efforts (Sally Leiderman). 8 Evaluating Leadership Development and Organizational Performance (Nancy Vollmer LeMay and Alison Ellis). 9 The Importance of Local Context in Leadership Development and Evaluation (Larry Peters and John Baum). 10 Evaluating Community Leadership Programs (Teresa R. Behrens and Maenette K. P. Benham). 11 Evaluating Leadership as a Strategy to Transform Complex Systems (Kimberly Jinnett and Todd Kern). 12 Evaluating Leadership Development for Social Change (Kim Ammann Howard and Claire Reinelt). 13 Evaluating Youth Leadership Development Through Civic Activism (Hanh Cao Yu, Heather K. Lewis-Charp, and Michelle Alberti Gambone). 14 Evaluating Leadership Efforts for Neighborhood Transformation (Nilofer Ahsan). PART THREE: INCREASING IMPACT THROUGH EVALUATION USE. 15 Strategic Uses of Evaluation (E. Jane Davidson and Jennifer W. Martineau). 16 Evaluation for Planning and Improving Leadership Development Programs: A Framework Based on the Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence (Karl E. Umble). 17 Communication in Evaluation: A Systems Approach (Darlene F. Russ-Eft). 18 Accelerating Learning About Leadership Development: A Learning Community Approach (Deborah Meehan and Claire Reinelt). 19 Continuous Learning (Rosalie T. Torres). Afterword: Future Directions for Leadership Development Evaluation (Kelly M. Hannum, Jennifer W. Martineau, and Claire Reinelt). Name Index. Subject Index. About the Center for Creative Leadership.

Evaluating leadership development experiences with the NCSL

Evaluating leadership development experiences with the NCSL

A question of leadership: What are the key challenges that for‐profit and nonprofit organizations face in evaluating leadership development?

A question of leadership: What are the key challenges that for‐profit and nonprofit organizations face in evaluating leadership development?