Why Leadership Development often fails. And What It Takes to Make It Work.

Yet the familiar statement persists: “Everyone enjoyed the programme, but it made little difference in day-to-day leadership practice” (Schwartz, Bersin & Pelster, 2014).

Where does this disconnect come from?

There are two main explanations.

First, many meta-analyses focus on participant satisfaction or follower outcomes rather than measurable behavioural change in leaders themselves.

Second, the question is not whether leadership development works, but how it is designed, embedded and evaluated. Not all programmes are created equal — especially when the goal is sustained behavioural change.

Leadership Development Works - Under the Right Conditions

Large-scale reviews confirm that leadership interventions are, on average, more effective than no intervention at all (Avolio et al., 2009).
However, effect sizes vary considerably depending on:

• the type of intervention,
• the underlying theoretical framework,
• the outcomes being measured,
• and critically, the quality of implementation.

The issue is not a lack of evidence — it is the wide variation in programme quality and execution.

1. One-off interventions don’t create lasting change

An inspiring workshop or offsite event does not automatically translate into behavioural transfer.
Research on training transfer shows that what happens after the intervention — opportunities to practise, reinforcement, managerial support — determines whether behaviour actually changes (Blume et al., 2010).

Without contextual reinforcement, impact fades quickly.

2. Vague ambitions

Goals such as “be more strategic” or “show more ownership” lack behavioural clarity.
Development efforts are significantly more effective when they focus on concrete, observable actions: conducting structured one-to-ones, applying a defined feedback model, articulating decision rationale.

3. Knowing is not doing

Many programmes are content-heavy: models, frameworks, presentations.
Sustainable behaviour change, however, requires deliberate practice, feedback, repetition and increasing complexity.

4. Developmental readiness is ignored

Not every leader is equally ready to develop at a given moment.
Research on developmental readiness shows that motivation and learning capacity strongly influence outcomes (Hannah & Avolio, 2010).
Ignoring this dimension undermines potential impact from the start.

So What Does Effective Leadership Development Look Like?

Effective leadership development is not a standalone training event.
It is an integrated, often longer-term journey aimed at sustained behavioural change.

1. Self-leadership as the foundation: Participants define individual learning goals, supported by coaching and structured follow-up.
2. Hybrid learning journeys: Blending synchronous group sessions with asynchronous learning and real-world assignments strengthens application and retention.
3. Context matters: Executive leadership and line managers must be actively involved.
   Transfer is a shared responsibility.
4. A systemic approach: Is the organisation ready? Structures, decision latitude and role clarity must align with the behaviours being developed.

Conclusion

Leadership development rarely fails because the science is weak.
It fails when organisations treat it as a training event rather than designing it as a structured behavioural transformation journey.

If you would like to explore what an impactful leadership pathway could look like in your context, grounded in evidence and tailored to real organisational challenges, I would be delighted to continue the conversation.

This article was written by Charlotte Van Beirendonck, General Manager People & Consulting at Quintessence.

Avolio, B. J., Reichard, R. J., Hannah, S. T., Walumbwa, F. O., & Chan, A. (2009).
A meta-analytic review of leadership impact research: Experimental and quasi-experimental studies. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(5), 764–784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.06.006

Hannah, S. T., & Avolio, B. J. (2010).
Ready or not: How do we accelerate the developmental readiness of leaders? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(8), 1181–1187. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.675

Schwartz, J., Bersin, J., & Pelster, B. (2014).
Global human capital trends 2014: Engaging the 21st-century workforce. Deloitte University Press.

Lacerenza, C. N., Reyes, D. L., Marlow, S. L., Joseph, D. L., & Salas, E. (2017). Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1686–1718. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000241

Blume, B. D., Ford, J. K., Baldwin, T. T., & Huang, J. L. (2010). Transfer of training: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Management, 36(4), 1065–1105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309352880