There is no one way to build a leadership development program but there are key ideas and thoughts that we do not want to forget when designing one. I’ll share with you one of them here.
When I think about putting together a leadership development program, I look at it through the lens of a product manager – a product manager designs a product to help you make progress in your life. Clayton Christensen taught there are three dimensions of progress:
- Functional – getting a task or job done (complete a task on your to-do list)
- Emotional – moving from one emotion to another (Escape from boredom while waiting in line)
- Social – connecting with other people (connecting with others to have a shared experience)
Leadership development programs should address all three dimensions of progress for maximum benefit and effectiveness. The emotional and social dimensions are inherently difficult to measure but that does not mean they should not be an integral part of the design of the leadership development experience.
What is it that you want to help your leaders accomplish? Progress is being looked for by you and the leaders so write down the functional, emotional, and social dimensions of progress and then use those as a key foundational elements in your design.
