"It is not a matter of whether leaders are born or made. They are born and made."

(Jay Conger)

Effective leadership development depends greatly on the learning methodology and then its transfer into the working environment. Few aspects of leadership and team development, if any, can be learned in isolation or through classroom or textbook theories alone. Developing leaders and high performing teams are constructed socially and situationally because the environment and atmosphere we desire in our organisations is fundamentally shaped through our social interactions. LtEI seeks to create a similar learning environment that constitutes a change in how people think about work, requiring a shift in assumptions to alter ineffective behaviour. Being considerate and emotionally aware of other people requires a different training and development approach that comes by learning through direct experience.

With the identification of a leadership gene yet undiscovered, the question must then be how are leaders made? Comprehensive and coherent leadership development strategies are rare in organisations. More often, they tend to be a series of events and interventions focused on selected individuals for various reasons; sometimes developmental and occasionally remedial.

"Can leadership be taught?" … is a perennial question on many of our courses and certainly at a cognitive and theoretical level, an understanding of the general theories of leadership is a good thing and organisations willing to invest in leadership development as a competitive advantage should be commended. However, programmes that centre on the didactic teaching of general leadership theories risk missing what organisations and individuals really require to meet their own unique and specific challenges. 'How we lead' is a very personal matter and understand theory is one thing but being able to practise it and then implement it back in the organisation is when the real breakthroughs occur.

Can leadership be learned?

Given that all human behaviour is learned, the answer is yes. Every experience and learning opportunity has the potential to bring about a change in the way we think and behave. In leadership development, it is by experiencing leadership and followership in 'real time', through practice and review, that we can fully understand the art and science of effective leadership.

Those of us who are serious about developing our leadership capabilities, and who makes the time and effort to develop them, may already have a dossier of appraisal and targeted development files on their respective strengths and weaknesses; but until we understand their impact upon others, we cannot fully understand the appropriate steps we may need to take to develop ourselves further. LtEI's Open Programmes are designed to meet the various stages in every manager's development, from emerging leaders through to director level. (Click here to view our Open Programmes.)

For organisations requiring a more tailored and specific learning intervention, customised solutions are also available. (Click here to read more.)