LinkedIn Question: I am looking for cutting edge best practices around developing a company-wide leadership development curriculum. Would anyone mind sharing principles upon which these curricula are built?

10 Easy Steps To Developing a Leadership Development Curriculum That Works:

1. Understand the business as a learning leader, and understand what kind of leadership works in this business.
2. Learn or help identify the strategic direction of the business. Identify the top business needs to achieve strategic goals.
3. Convert business needs to performance needs.
4. Convert performance needs to learning needs.
5. Consolidated learning needs into training needs. Use competency frameworks wherever possible. If this is not available, you will need to profile each role for Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes required to be successful in that role.
6. Work to establishing a success profile of leaders who are already doing well in the organisation. Use a variety of profiling tools, including DISC (for work behaviour).
7. Create a holistic system of classroom training, need-based passive learning infrastructure and on-the-role coaching to progressively move identified candidates to their ideal leadership profiles.
8. Develop an effective assessment system that will show reliable needle-point movement, justifying your effort and budget. See how to link that to business results.
9. Before you start, baseline your result and effort parameters.
10. Always involve the business at every step. 'Evolve' your ideas from the business and let them take credit for the execution and results.

- Kaustav