We have known for some time that leaders progress faster than their peers. The time to the top is determined not only by the leader’s career choices and grit but also by the size and industry sector of the organization. Interviews with just under 40 HR leaders for my new book suggest that it takes, on average, seven to 10 years to advance from graduate to director level, the first level of senior management; about 12 to 15 years to reach the first C-suite position; and about 20 years to become the CEO of an organization. Accelerated career development can reduce this time by 25 to 30 percent, which means that the most capable talent can move to director level in five to seven years, to executive level in eight to 10 years and CEO within 14 years.

There are seven elements of accelerated leadership development:

• Potential
• Risk-taking
• Breadth of experience
• On-the-job learning
• Consolidation phases
• Reflective learning
• Support

In other words, in successful acceleration, the speed factors of high potential, an appetite for risk-taking and the leader’s pushing themselves out of their comfort zone to gain a breadth of different experience through on-the-job learning must be counterbalanced with consolidation phases, reflective learning and a range of support systems.

Speed, Breadth of Experience and On-the-Job Learning

With leadership development acceleration, people progress in big rather than small increments, creating initial skills gaps that must be closed quickly and effectively. Accelerated leaders must be ready for a life on the fast track, where being out of their comfort zone, taking risks with unfamiliar responsibilities and being able to learn quickly are critical to success. Being out of their comfort zone not only refers to taking on more responsibility in their chosen area of expertise; it also often means trying something completely new.

Breadth of experience is the foundation for progression to senior roles. Only when a promising employee has worked through a variety of different organizational challenges will he or she be able to deal effectively with the scale and complexity of a leadership role. Breadth of experience benefits an emerging leader in a myriad of ways, including providing an organization-wide view, helping them develop flexible leadership and problem-solving styles, and helping them learn how to get up to speed quickly in a new environment. Breadth has always been important for senior leaders, but it is even more so now that leaders must navigate organizations through the choppy waters of technological disruption, increased global complexity and volatility.

Some experiences seem to be more developmental than others, as they provide challenges that lend themselves to gaining and fine-tuning leadership capabilities. These experiences include:

• International assignments
• People management responsibilities
• Change management roles
• Turnaround assignments
• Start-up situations
• Operational delivery

Development in these roles happens on the job. The accelerated leader is immersed in the new role straight away and has to deal with its unpredictability, nuances and real-life challenges. On-the-job learning can be a more effective way of learning than classroom training, but it is also more risky and challenging, as there is no warm-up period, no safe spaces to practice new skills and no time for test runs.

It is easy to see how big increases in responsibility, working in a range of different roles and learning while doing can be developmental experiences for a high-potential leader. It is, however, equally easy to see how they could go wrong, leading to either personal burnout or business mistakes. To ensure that individuals and organizations can reap the benefits of acceleration, L&D teams must pay attention to the support that is in place for an accelerated leader.

Consolidation, Reflection and Support

It is not the experience itself but the learning we draw from it that leads to development. Personal reflection, which is about regularly taking a step back to review what they can learn from a situation, helps to maximize the learning that leaders can extract from each experience. Systematic reflection allows an accelerated leader to avoid making the same mistake twice, getting up to speed faster in new situations and dealing more effectively with unexpected events.

Furthermore, while it may sound paradoxical to talk about consolidation as part of a framework for acceleration, occasional consolidation phases, in the form of an additional year in an existing job or a short step back by taking a less challenging role, allow an accelerated leader to consolidate their learning from previous stretch assignments. They also help them catch their breath and enhance their resilience resources. This consolidation will reduce the likelihood of burnout and, therefore, indirectly help the leader progress at speed.

Finally, leaders need a range of support mechanisms, such as access to informational support (e.g., career information), hands-on support (e.g., finding accommodation when on an international assignment), feedback support (i.e., learning how they are performing in a new role) and emotional support (e.g., nurturing relationships). Only when acceleration is adequately counterbalanced with support and consolidation can successful development take place.