Originally published in the July 2004 Issue of Link & Learn. 

Overarching Premise

If every company develops a winning strategy, then why doesn't every company win? The differentiator is in the execution. The same applies to best practices in the field of leadership development & education. It is all in the execution. Every best practice I am aware of has/had designs that are straightforward and consistent with other leadership education/development designs. But, it is all about execution. When leadership and executive education initiatives are executed well, it increases the chances of creating business impact.

The important question is: What are the success factors for effectively executing corporate leadership education/development programs (including action learning)? *

* Action learning, or simply "learning by doing," is a given today. Action learning revolves around teams working on real, and sometimes the most vexing, problems facing the business. Most companies and practitioners of leadership development recognize the significance and impact of action learning when executed well. More about action learning later in this article.

1. Commitment from Senior Executives - Senior executives own the process. They understand the use of executive education as a strategic vehicle. They play the role of mentor, faculty, supporter, and as the beneficiary of the executive education process. They also play a vital and essential role in making action-learning work. Roger Enrico, former chairman of Pepsico once observed the value of leadership development: "…I have two jobs. The first is to grow the business, the second is to identify and develop the people who will accomplish objective number one." Can you imagine GE's venerable Executive Development Course (EDC) or its Business Management Course (BMC) without the commitment of its senior executives? GE and Pepsico are just two of a number of leading companies that had the sincere and active commitment from the very top of their organizations. One other note, people have an uncanny ability to sense whether their managers truly value the course learnings and its application.
   
   
2. Leadership-Led. In high-impact leadership development, senior executives often play a role as faculty to complement the external consultants. They realize that good companies don't just teach their managers and leaders - they learn from them. What better way to learn first-hand about leadership than from other leaders inside the organization, those familiar with the unique context, and those who are very well respected? These leaders who get involved in a leadership program also have an opportunity to model leadership. Leadership-led learning brings credibility to the development process because the audience listens first-hand to the ideas, points-of-view, and the issues facing their executive leaders. One of my clients, a very profitable global leader in the computer services field, not only has each member of the senior leadership team involved as faculty….they are goaled to play an active role (therefore committed!). In this case about 800 worldwide senior service managers per year get to know and listen, first-hand, unfiltered, the key messages about the business (the goals, the strategies, and the impact to the field). Great discussions and debate ensue about how to execute and what to consider, and how the field executives and home-office executives should and will partner with each other to ensure success of the goals and strategies. It is not uncommon for the strategies to be revised based on the realities and considerations from the people in the field. As a faculty member and coach with a core leadership program for a professional services firm, two internal partners augment the external faculty. This leadership program is the highest rated in the firm and is believed to have true impact on the participants' problem solving leadership skills and their preparation for further responsibility on client engagements. The partners bring the frame of reference and keen insights that these young associates appreciate and value.
   
   
3. Linked into the Company's Strategic Agenda, Key Issues and Workplace Realities. Leadership is best learned within the context in which it will be practiced. This provides the relevance - where the rubber meets the road. Almost every leadership program deemed best practice is linked to the specific business in which they operate and compete. This is a must. The content, the action learning initiatives, the overall purpose and objectives of a leadership program must be linked into the business context. This ostensibly increases the chances of creating impact - whether the key issue is growth, executing strategies, increasing innovation and renewal, culture change, or increasing productivity & performance. When a leadership development program has the commitment from the top, is leadership-led, and is relevant to the business, it can act as a powerful lever for communicating strategy, focusing behaviors and driving change.
   
   
4. Executive Development Professionals Are Active Business Partners. I am puzzled by this factor because it seems so obvious yet is not nearly as common a trait as it should be. For example, the best human resources people I have observed are those who were good business people first, and HR professionals second. The best executive development professionals are as comfortable in the boardroom as they are in the classroom. If human resource development professionals or the executive development professionals are not good business people first, how then can they expect to be viewed as partners to the executive team? How can they design and develop a high-impact, strategic-focused leadership development program that is relevant to the key issues and initiatives facing the company? Executive development professionals must speak the language of their business first, before they speak the language of HR in order to be credible and trustworthy partners in the eyes of the executive team. Otherwise, they become staff people who merely follow instructions from above. Speaking the language of their business is all about understanding: the goals & objectives, the strategies & key strategic initiatives, the external forces shaping the industry and competitive space, the nature of the products & services their company makes and/or markets, the value their company provides the marketplace, the SWOT (strengths & weakness of their capabilities, and the competitive opportunities & threats), and so on. This is no different than financial professionals. The best corporate financial people speak the language of their company's business as well as their functional (financial) language. They contribute their value by utilizing their financial acumen and providing fiduciary leadership in the context of their company's business. The best CFO's I've seen have been that way. CLO's (Chief Learning Officers) or leadership development professionals should be no different.
   
   The best executive development professionals that I have observed have gone about their roles as business people and business partners, and as a result have naturally elevated themselves as Chief Development Officer. A Chief Development Officer is responsible for the development of not only key individuals but also developing the organization (and its capabilities) to help the company achieve its goals and execute its strategies.
   
   
5. Know Which Leaders and Future Leaders to Focus On. Leadership development may not be for everyone in the company. To optimize and leverage leadership develop initiatives, I prefer three approaches:

   (A) A strategic focus on executive/leadership development for those considered on a growth track (including the high-potentials). Leadership development is tied into HRD processes such as succession planning. When I was the head of the leadership institute for Rockwell Automation, we worked diligently with the HRD organization to link the institute's leadership program (which by the way was linked into the corporation's vision and set of seven strategic initiatives at the time) with the succession planning and HR review processes. When "high-potentials' were tapped to attend the leadership program for their level, it was a recognition of their performance and achievement, as well as their potential. It was clear that the executive leadership expected them to attend and complete this development process.
   
   (B) Targeting the level of executives/leaders that can impact or influence the key issues or initiatives the company is focusing on.
   
   (C) Targeting development activities to the loyal "solid citizens" of the organization. These solid citizens may not be the future VP's (as many of them place a high premium on work-life balance) but they may likely continue to be valuable contributors and knowledge professionals. It is good business to recognize these solid citizens. This is such an important segment which is beginning to receive due recognition. The June, 2003 issue of Harvard Business Review has an article entitled: "Let's Hear It for B Players." This was followed by a front-page article in the September 9, 2003 issue of USA Today that "employers are learning that 'B' players hold the cards." In the HBR article, authors Thomas DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan suggest that "companies' long-term performance, even survival, depends far more on the unsung commitment and contributions of their B players." Build the proper development program to reinforce loyalty, performance, commitment, and retention.

   
   
6. Action (or Active) Learning with Follow-Through and Measurement: As stated earlier, action learning is simply "learning by doing." The learning by doing involves teams working on key or pressing business issues. Pilots are not skilled by listening to lectures. Surgeons are not trained by analyzing case studies. Real work challenges are the centerpiece of an action learning experience. Some basic necessities must be in place for action learning to have impact and success:

   1. Executive Commitment
   2. Teams Have Resources, Support
   3. Action Learning Process is Clearly Defined and Scoped Out
   4. Action Learning Teams are Motivated, Committed, and held Accountable.
   5. Action Learning makes an effort to use Reflection to leverage knowledge and learning (similar to "After Action Reviews" used by the military)
   6. Commitment to Follow-Through

   Typically involved with the team are: CEO or the executive(s) dealing with the issue who will act as a mentor and/or sponsor; outside faculty to provide relevant content, frameworks and coaching; coaches (internal or external) to help with the team process and dynamics; and sometimes researchers. One noted action learning process used the teams as a "think tank." For example: Get the teams to work on/think through an issue the company would pay a consulting firm $1 million to resolve. Key success factors are: the team is Dedicated to the issue , they have the Resources, teams are held Accountable, Sponsors (typically executives who own the problem/issue or opportunity) play a crucial role. Jack Welch, in his book Jack: Straight From the Gut talked about how GE's classes became so action-oriented that "they turned students into in-house consultants to top management." One interesting action learning process not only had these key levers in place but they also had access to researchers (this is how consulting firms often leverage their research departments, analysts and associates on client engagements).
   
   Action learning certainly does not have to be on such a grand scale. There are also smaller scale versions of action learning. They are less time consuming. Examples are computer simulations, behavioral simulations, case studies, role-playing, action planning, etc. The key is to ensure the right business rationale is in place, i.e. the appropriate action learning methodology achieving a realistic objective or purpose.
   
   Finally, the missing link has always been the effective use of accountability-based follow-through processes on commitments. As they say, "people respect what you inspect." Follow-through is a process of monitoring and controlling on the execution of one's plans. The end of the program is the starting line with follow-through. Again, achieving impact is in large part due to effective follow-through on each person's or each team's commitments. The efficacy of follow-through processes, which more and more companies are realizing, is a must if you want to achieve, evince and measure impact of your development initiative.
   
   
7. Enhances Not Only the "Know What," "Know Why," and "Know How,"…. But the "Know WHO:" The best executive leadership programs not only act as a strategic vehicle, or as a vehicle for communicating strategy, focusing behaviors, driving change but they enhance each executive's "know-who" in the company. With many of my clients, this is often the #1 take-away. Think about the impact. Participants have gotten to know some of the senior executives a lot better and they have gotten to know more of their colleagues around the world. They now know who to call, or where to go, for answers or help in executing their plans. I tend to believe that the "know-who" is probably more important that the "know what" and the "know-how." Why? Because success in business is so much about building and sustaining relationships, whether you inside a large or small corporation, or work for yourself, the government, a consulting firm, or a law practice. Success is all about relationships. In fact, I believe that Relationships = Success. The "Know-Who" is an invaluable part of a successful leadership development initiative as well as one's career.

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Michael Andrew is the head of Management Education Services. For more information or to contact the author, visit: www.exec-education.com, mfandrew@aol.com, 603.524.3042.