Few organizations articulate a clear “theory of action” that argues why and how particular leadership development and performance management activities will enhance leadership capacity, at individual, team and organizational levels, and, in turn, how this contributes towards organizational performance, however defined. Scholars have often suggested that the effectiveness of leadership development is determined more by “how you do it” rather than “what you do”.
Thus, when faced with a proliferation of leadership development tools and initiatives, the effective organization reflects on the purpose, principles and assumptions involved and how they relate to current and future organizational needs and performance – opting for an integrated and holistic approach, comprising a “bundle” of complementary practices, rather than a suite of poorly connected initiatives In today’s times, the significance of corporate leadership vis-à-vis corporate performance is, perhaps, best illustrated by the relative impact of the global financial crisis on major financial institutions.