Leadership development is hard; it takes time and daily devotion.

If leaders focus on followers and their development in helping to lead, they will be more effective.

A while back, I was interviewed about how to better develop one’s leadership capacity and potential. Here are my answers, which include some clear lessons learned from research and practice on leadership development.

1. What does it take to develop your leadership capacity?

First and foremost, developing as a leader is hard work. You need motivation and commitment, and you need to work on it daily (Day, 2024). Moreover, you need to move beyond self-focus. Most leadership development programs should be better termed “leader development.” “Leadership development” focuses on what leaders and followers do together: co-creating leadership. Therefore, to be effective, leaders need to be able to build leadership capacity in followers—in teams. The very best leaders succeed because they engage their followers in the process, and together, leaders and followers create leadership.

You need a plan. There are several models in the book, and some may resonate more with a particular individual. Work........

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