Why a simple misperception may lie at the root of our current challenges

Perception

We now know the way we develop leaders is flawed.

We spend $385BN globally on leadership development and yet never have we seemed to want real leadership more, yet wanted the leaders we have less.

Today, whatever domain you choose to examine (e.g. business, geopolitics, equality, our environment) all is clearly not well.

The reasons for this are many, complex and interwoven.

However, at its essence, I propose that the reasons can be distilled to a common misperception and it is this.

We confuse leader development with leadership development.

The former cultivates our character and capacity. The latter seeks to apply character and capacity in a live setting, working with others to change the culture and make things better.

The capacity and character of our humanity are crafted not machined.

Effective leader development emphasises what needs to be unlearned rather than in learning new concepts.

Simon Parke notes that ‘“We learn many things in life, certainly, and some of them are remarkably complex and clever, but they are utterly useless until we know what it is to be human.”

How we show up as ourselves in the moment, is what matters most.

With this in mind, how might you choose to show up differently today?

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