Leadership Style Evolutions

Are You Aligning Your Strengths with What Your Organization Values? A few years ago, a talented professional, came to me feeling frustrated. Despite her hard work, she wasn’t moving forward in her department. After a core competency analysis, we discovered the reason: She excelled in technical skills, but the company placed heavy emphasis on leadership, initiative, and innovation—areas where she wasn’t fully demonstrating her potential. To fix this, we crafted a plan to develop these core competencies. We assigned her small team projects to build leadership experience, and encouraged her to share her innovative ideas. Within six months, she was recognized as a natural leader, and new opportunities started opening up for her. 🌱 📊 Here’s How You Can Assess Your Organization’s Core Competencies: 👉Review Job Descriptions: Look at the required skills for your current and aspirational roles. Companies often include key competencies in job postings. 👉Pay Attention to Company Culture: Observe what behaviors are praised and rewarded—this is often a reflection of the core competencies the organization values. 👉Engage with Leadership: Ask for feedback and guidance on what the organization sees as vital for success in your role. 👉Study Performance Reviews: Look at what’s being measured in performance evaluations—this will reveal the competencies your company values most. 💡 Key Action Points: 🔆Assess the core competencies your organization values most. 🔆Identify where your strengths align with those competencies. 🔆Take proactive steps to develop in-demand skills like leadership and innovation. Feeling stuck in your role? It might be time to reassess your competencies and align your strengths with what the organization values. Start today and unlock new opportunities! #Leadership #CareerDevelopment #CoreCompetencies #Innovation #Initiative #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipSkills #CareerAdvancement #SkillDevelopment #LearningAndDevelopment

Driving change in organizations has interesting parallels to physical workouts. In teaching about this today, I started thinking about what makes change stick, and realized how much it mirrors what happens in the gym. Here are five parallels that stood out: (1) You can’t delegate the workout. Just as no one can do your pushups for you, no one can “do the change” on your behalf. A leader can inspire, set direction, and create the right environment, but must also model the effort. People follow sweat. Change starts when others see you lifting the weight you’re asking them to lift. (2) Real growth happens through discomfort, not avoidance. In exercise, muscles grow by tearing slightly and rebuilding stronger. In organizations, people and systems grow by facing what’s uncomfortable: uncertainty, conflict, new habits. Avoiding discomfort keeps you safe; embracing it makes you strong. (3) Consistency beats intensity. One heroic workout doesn’t make you fit (I so wish it did!); small, regular effort does. Change leadership is the same: big launches fade if not followed by daily practice. Meaningful transformation comes from steady repetition: feedback loops, small wins, sustained energy. Change is endurance not an event. (4) Progress feels invisible before it’s undeniable. When you first start training, results are slow and invisible. But over time, the small efforts compound. In change, early results are often hidden beneath resistance or confusion. Leaders must hold faith long enough for the “muscles” of the organization to catch up. Patience is the bridge between effort and impact. (5) You train differently, but you sweat together. Every body has its limits and rhythms; every person and team does too. But the shared experience of effort builds trust and community. Great leaders create conditions where everyone feels part of the same workout: supported, stretched, and celebrated. Change is a team sport, not a solo performance. #Leadership #ChangeManagement #HumanLeadership #GrowthMindset #OrganizationalChange #Learning

What's the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of leader development initiatives like coaching, mentoring and training? If we take a common framework like the Kirkpatrick Model, it clearly guides us to measure: 👉 Reaction: Did participants find the experience valuable or engaging? 👉 Learning: Did they acquire new knowledge, skills, or insights? 👉 Behavior: Did their actions or habits change as a result? 👉 Results: Did these changes lead to measurable organizational outcomes? The visual below provides us with a few more evaluation ideas and methods, which are helpful! I particularly like the focus on measuring success with objectives set at the start of the coaching programme (because it guides us to make sure the objectives are clear and realistic). The one I struggle with is "Impact on business performance In my experience, evaluating the direct link between leader development and business results (e.g., profits, savings, or productivity) is difficult and often misaligned with the true purpose of these initiatives. Leader development fosters long-term growth, enhances team dynamics, and shapes organizational culture—outcomes that don’t always translate into immediate business metrics. It’s also essential to manage expectations. If the primary goal of leader development is to see immediate improvements in business performance, it’s worth asking if those expectations are realistic. Initiatives like coaching and mentoring often result in intangible but powerful outcomes, such as: ✔️ Increased self-awareness ✔️ Improved team communication ✔️ Strengthened confidence and competency While these outcomes may not directly show up in quarterly metrics, they lay the foundation for sustained organizational success. This is why setting clear, measurable objectives at the start is so important. If the intended outcomes include changes like better communication or a shift in culture, these should be the focus of evaluation—not solely traditional business performance indicators. Leadership development IS NOT a quick fix for the bottom line. It IS an investment in the people and culture that drive long-term success. What methods or frameworks have you found helpful for evaluating #leadershipdevelopment? Leave your comments below 🙏 Image Source;: Jarvis J (2004) Research Gate

Measuring human leadership skills with AI Agents. 🤯 Back in my Novartis days, leadership assessments were a real pain. Every 6-12 months you had to wait for a place. If you were lucky, you got in. If not? Wait again. So much time wasted, so much potential lost. Classic, right? Now check this out: Leadership skills tested not in months but in days. Not with theories but with AI teams that mimic real people. Sounds like Sci-Fi? 🤖 It’s not. A study (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025) showed we can assess leadership skills using AI agents. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱: 👇 → Leaders guided groups of AI agents to solve problems. → Same leaders also worked with real human teams. → Both groups had to pool knowledge and make decisions (think: assembling a puzzle where everyone holds one piece). And guess what? Leaders who crushed it with AI also excelled with humans. What made the best leaders stand out? 🤔 ✅ High social & fluid intelligence (EQ + IQ combo) ✅ Letting others speak (a quiet leader? YES.) ✅ Smart decision-making under pressure ✅ Asking questions (lots of them!) Vitamin-B, gender, age, or background? Didn’t matter. The cool part? AI agents acted as substitutes for human followers. This made leadership assessments: ✔️ Faster ✔️ Cheaper ✔️ Scalable Ok, but why does this matter? 💡 → No bias based on schools, resumes, or connections. → No more waiting MONTHS to get a leadership slot. → Training becomes practical AND accessible. → Hidden talent? Easier to spot. Of course, AI agents don’t feel emotions (yet 🫢). But this proof-of-concept? I find it to be absolute stunning for leadership development. Now the big question: Would YOU trust an AI to measure your leadership skills? --- Hi, I’m Michael I help early-stage leaders fast-track their growth, overcome doubts, and lead with confidence & authenticity in an AI-first world.

Zero. That is the overlap between the top 5 competencies global executives actually display — & the top 5 competencies employees say they need from a leader 📉 Not "a bit of misalignment." Not "some nuance." Zero Hogan Assessments assessed 21,000+ executives across 25 countries alongside 9,794 employees. The result is one of the most uncomfortable leadership datasets I have read this decade 🔍 What executives exhibit: Inspiring Others. Competing with Others. Presenting. Taking Initiative. Driving Innovation 🎯 What employees ask for: Communication. Decision-Making. Leading Others. Integrity. Accountability 98% of employees want leaders who communicate effectively. 97% want sound judgement. 97% want accountability. 97% want integrity But, not one of these appears in the competency profile of the people sitting in the top seats! And it matters 65% of people globally now say their immediate boss is the most stressful part of their life. 59% cite arrogance as the trait most undermining effectiveness. 72% say leaders should NOT be emotionally volatile — exactly the assertive profile that gets most executives promoted So what is going on? 🤔 Organisations keep confusing emergent leadership with effective leadership. Emergent leaders rise to the top. Bold. Charming. Visible. Self-promoting. They win the race to the corner office Effective leaders make the organisation actually work. Trustworthy. Reflective. Accountable. Evidence-driven. They earn the trust of the teams they lead Most companies select the first profile — & wonder why engagement drops, trust erodes, & their best talent quietly walks Here is the part boards do not like to hear: the CEO alone influences up to 45% of financial performance. Yet we keep betting on visibility over substance, then pay handsomely to coach the gap closed once the damage is already in the P&L In my own CEO transition work, this is exactly the divide I see. The presence is there. The judgement, accountability & capacity to lead others — that is where the real work begins The good news? Effective leadership is not a personality lottery. It is identifiable. Measurable. Coachable The bad news? You have to measure it BEFORE the appointment, not after 📣 But don't take my word for it, take it from a recent CEO client of mine: 💬 "I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your support & coaching in my development as a CEO. Your coaching has helped me to define a clear vision for our company, develop a strategic plan for my team, & enhance my self-awareness substantially. The coaching has been crucial in my journey to become a more effective leader. Your coaching not only helped me navigate the initial transition challenges but also empowered me to make impactful decisions that align with our long-term goals. I’d like to thank you for your invaluable support” #LeadershipDivide #Hogan #MasteringExecutiveTransitions #CEOsuccession Wendy Hogan Dr. Rene Kusch Jeremy Sutton Ryne Sherman

After having built Leadership Competency Framework for multiple global organizations I have noticed that the way a competency is understood in Manhattan varies from the way it is understood in Mumbai. In one of my previous engagements, one of the competencies that we put on the list is 'stakeholder management'. In Houston it meant managing internal politics across departments. In Hague it meant managing up and turning peers into allies. In Hyderabad it meant managing clients and keeping them happy. What looked like a standardized framework was actually a collection of culturally localized interpretations hiding behind the same label. And that has consequences. Because performance evaluations, promotion decisions, succession conversations, and leadership feedback all start drifting based on assumptions nobody has explicitly named. So, folks in Hyderabad start wondering why they weren't getting promoted although their clients were very happy. If stakeholder management is truly a global leadership capability, then each region should explicitly define: - what behaviors signal strength in their context - what success looks like locally - what gets rewarded inside that office culture Standardization is neat. Customization is effective. The biggest organizational misunderstandings are rarely about capability. They’re about interpretation.

In the last 10 years I've designed, delivered and assessed the impact of several large scale leadership development programmes. Want to know how I make sure they actually matter and aren't just a pretty certificate or a report of butts on seats? It's my 6 power questions. Start asking these and you're guaranteed to have leadership programmes that create long lasting behaviour change AND reportable outcomes. 1) What are the core leadership capabilities and behaviours we need both now and in the future? This is where you survey leaders at all levels to identify essential skills. If you're not talking to your audience then you're missing a HUGE piece of the puzzle. And for the love of god please incorporate strategy here too. What does the business need to achieve and what role does leadership play? 2) How will you assess current leadership competencies and development needs across the organisation? Are you using 360 reviews, skills assessments, interviews? 3) What development formats will allow for skills practice, real-world application and feedback? This could include workshops, cohorts, mentoring, job rotations, special project assignments... something that let's them practice is essential. 4) How will leadership development intersect with your talent management processes? The amount of times this isn't considered is staggering. Look at integration points with recruitment, promotion, succession planning and performance management. This is crucial. 5) What measures will define the success of this programme at the participant, leadership bench strength, and organisational level? Identify key leading and lagging indicators. Wanna know what these are? 💡 Leading = participation rates, completions of tasks, engagement surveys, tests etc. 💡 Lagging = leadership pipeline for critical roles, if your programmes affect things like EVP and brand, leadership retention, and your key metrics around profitability etc. Great programmes measure both ⬆️ 6) How will you evolve curriculums over time to meet changing business objectives and leadership needs? Build in processes for continuous review and refresh. This is my biggest non-negotiable. At a push you should review every 3 years but I suggest a review every year in line with strategy and business objectives + engagement surveys and employee data. Leadership development is a serious game friends. It's not just away days and leadership theory. This is how you future proof your organisation, and goes from grass roots through to established leadership. Anything I've missed that you would add?👇

𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. Companies keep announcing transformations, restructures, new tools, new systems… But nobody talks about the emotional weight real people carry through it all. Because change doesn’t break teams. Uncertainty does. Here’s what effective change leadership really looks like 👇 You communicate early — not perfectly. ↳ People don’t expect you to know everything. ↳ They just need to know you’re not hiding anything. You create clarity where chaos grows fastest. ↳ Even a small update can calm a big fear. ↳ Silence is where assumptions multiply. You check in before you check performance. ↳ Change is messy. ↳ People aren’t machines — they need space, patience, and direction. You lead with empathy, not pressure. ↳ Pushing harder doesn’t accelerate adaptation. ↳ Support does. You walk with your team — not ahead of them. ↳ Leaders don’t just guide change. ↳ They hold the room together while it happens. 💡 Change doesn’t fail because people resist it. It fails because leaders forget that transformation begins with trust, not timelines. ♻️ Share this to remind someone: the strongest teams aren’t those without change — they’re the ones that feel supported through it. #Leadership #ChangeManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Motivation

70% of change management efforts fail. Because most leaders go straight to execution. You treat change as a logistics problem. You build the roadmap, communicate the timeline, and track the milestones. And then you're blindsided when people push back. I've seen this happen in every room I've worked in,  From Capitol Hill to Fortune 150 boardrooms. The process is rarely the problem.  The people side is where change actually happens or falls apart. Here's the reframe that changes everything: Change is emotional before it is ever operational. When your team pushes back, they're not resisting the initiative. They're feeling something: 😨 Fear of losing ground they've worked hard for.  🤔 Uncertainty about where they fit in what comes next.  ❌ A lack of trust in whether leadership will follow through this time. When you understand that the emotional layer comes first, resistance stops being a problem to overcome. Instead, it becomes information to work with. That means before you roll out the roadmap, ask yourself what people are actually worried about. Before you send the announcement, ask: Do they trust this? And before you expect buy-in, check if you have given them a reason to believe in it. Here's the difference it makes in practice: ❌ Change management focuses on the process. ✅ Change leadership takes people on the journey. ❌ Change management treats resistance as a problem. ✅ Change leadership treats resistance as information. ❌ Change management makes one announcement. ✅ Change leadership communicates consistently. And when you are ready to have the conversation, your team needs four things from you, in this order: 1️⃣ What is changing and why. People cannot commit to something they do not understand. 2️⃣ What it means for them. Specific clarity creates confidence. Tell them exactly how this affects their role. This turns fear into focus. 3️⃣ What success looks like. If people cannot picture the destination, they will not start the journey. 4️⃣ What you need from them. Ask for their input before the plan is final. People commit to what they helped build. The leaders who get change right understand that people don't resist a revised plan. They resist feeling unseen in the middle of it. Address the emotion first, then lead the process. What's the hardest part of leading change right now? Let me know in the comments. Every day inside The Leadership Boardroom, I share daily leadership coaching on leading through moments like this: The tools senior leaders need to bring people with them, not just move them. Join us now: https://lnkd.in/g2WGzder ♻️ Repost for a leader in your network navigating change right now.  And follow me, Cicely Simpson, for daily leadership insights like this.

What does it take to lead lasting change? Change is a constant. Yet, while it’s a normal part of life and business, leading change is especially challenging. There’s no shortcut to transformation—no silver bullet or magic wand that makes change seamless. Over the course of my career I’ve learned that real, effective change takes vision, communication, focused execution, and courage. Change management starts with a leader’s ability to set a clear vision and define key performance measures for execution and communicate them effectively. Time and again I’ve learned that success isn’t just about having a grand plan; it’s also in the details. If you don’t have both, momentum stalls. If you don’t communicate effectively, momentum is too easily reversed. Demonstrating persistent focus, in particular, is perhaps the most underestimated time commitment a leader must invest. Lasting change seldom happens overnight. It requires deliberate, ongoing effort. Quick fixes alone seldom create lasting impact—steady and enduring leadership can. Driving change also means that you need to constantly be ready to adjust course and innovate. The best leaders I’ve looked up to (and the times I’ve been most successful in my own leadership journey) required creativity, fresh thinking, and a readiness to listen to and share with those around them. You can never stop learning, and innovation never gets old. Leaders can’t just talk about change; they have to demonstrate it–and this is particularly important in the execution stage of transformation. Here’s where courage is paramount. Modeling behavior, taking risks, and showing commitment through action builds trust and momentum. People don’t follow words—they follow example. The best leaders don’t just manage change; they drive it. They embrace the discomfort, challenge assumptions, and put in the work—day after day. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in leading change?