A recent brainstorming session about how to develop an organization’s leaders captured the full range of world-class leadership development options. These approaches ranged from the traditional to the adventurous and resulted in the following leadership development menu. Understanding the pros and cons of each option will enable your organization to select the right path for the right level and align it with your organizational talent strategy.

1. Self-study

A self-study leadership development program democratizes the process by providing each employee in the program with a stipend he or she can use to create a course of study.

The pros of this approach include:

• It is uniform and consistent.
• It’s an easy decision for human resources (HR) and learning and development (L&D) leaders.
• It involves the same investment for everyone.

The cons of this approach include:

• Learning is not easily tracked.
• It’s difficult to measure the quality of learning.
• There’s no way to ensure that learners’ courses of study are relevant.

2. Formal Internal Program

In this case, the classroom-based, multi-month program following the traditional “students-in-seats model” is delivered internally, although it might have consultant support.

The pros of this approach include:

• Learners are familiar with it.
• They know what to expect and can plan for it.
• It can use content that’s refined and reused many times.

The cons of this approach include:

• There’s often not much follow-up after completion.
• It doesn’t involve experiential learning.
• It’s often not tied back to the learners’ actual work.

3. External Credential Program

One public, external approach involves a certificate or certification program provided by a higher education institution or other organization. It could also be a local management co-op that provides a stamp of approval or continuing education credits.

The pros of this approach include:

• The training is created and delivered by highly qualified experts.
• It provides excellent content and insights.
• It often includes networking opportunities for learners.

The cons of this approach include:

• It can be expensive.
• It’s usually up to the individual learner to apply.
• It’s not always directly applicable to the learner’s job.

4. Internal Program

A customized program, created and designed based on the business culture and specific leadership needs, is typically tailored to employee level and synced to a talent management/succession planning.

The pros of this approach include:

• It is connected to broader talent efforts and organizational strategies.
• It is customized to the organization and learners’ on-the-job realities.
• It enables the organization to track and measure implementation.

The cons of this approach include:

• It requires organizational alignment around competencies and talent outcomes.
• It requires significant investment in time and resources.
• It necessitates support from the whole organization.

5. Small-group Learning Pod

A “learning pod” is a group of four to eight people who have a dedicated coach or adviser and learn together over a period of time, typically six to 12 months.

The pros of this approach include:

• People often learn well from peers.
• It creates bonds and friendships, which sustain engagement with the program.
• It enables the customization of topics and discussions.

The cons of this approach include:

• There is a potential for a downward spiral if the group feeds off an individual member’s negative energy.
• The coach or adviser must be able to create a positive environment and facilitate effectively.
• Team dynamics may prevent the facilitator from doing his or her job.

6. Immersive Experiences

Immersive experiences could involve shadowing, trying out a new position, or working in a different location within the same company or industry.

The pros of this approach include:

• The experience can be eye-opening for the learners.
• They don’t have distractions from their current job.
• It strengthens their ability to learn rapidly.

The cons of this approach include:

• The expense of travel and supervision at the new location.
• The need to have the learner’s current job covered by someone else.
• Not everyone has a job he or she can leave for an immersive experience.

7. Big-name Speaker

A big-name, external speaker can generate enthusiasm and energize learners about leadership or a current topic. Employees attend together, eat together, share the experience and often walk away with some mementos of the occasion.

The pros of this approach include:

• It brings everyone together to hear the same message.
• It can provide a galvanizing moment in which everyone is excited, focused and motivated together.
• It provides a common language that the organization can use in future discussions.

The cons of this approach include:

• There is often no sustainment or application after the event.
• It is usually expensive and requires extensive planning.
• The speaker may not explain the connection between the subject matter and the organization.

8. Digital/Virtual Option

A self-paced, e-learning, microlearning program often consists of watching a video or completing an online course and responding to questions to demonstrate learning.

The pros of this approach include:

• All learners can access the program, no matter where they are located.
• It is completely trackable, and the organization can see who is participating and what their status is.
• The organization can see and approve content, ensuring that every part of the training is on target.

The cons of this approach include:

• Conversations are not synchronized, which can create a sense of disconnection.
• E-learning is not well suited to some subjects.
• There is a significant upfront investment in content creation.

9. Mentoring

An internal or external program designed for mentoring rather than coaching may be a formal or semi-formal program in which people are matched together and meet a few times over an established period of time.

The pros of this approach include:

• People typically respond well to a one-on-one connection.
• Mentors feel empowered when they can share what they have learned.
• Engaging and positive experiences can build and cement legacies.

The cons of this approach include:

• It typically requires a lot of work to administer and to train mentors and match them with mentees.
• Results depend on the match between mentor and mentee.
• It is difficult to control, measure, formalize and enforce.

10. Outside Work Experiences

Experiences involving personal self-awareness and growth outside of work could include an improv class or an outdoors activity like climbing a mountain or rafting down a river.

The pros of this approach include:

• It can help learners to open up and challenge their assumptions about themselves.
• They may meet people they never would have otherwise crossed paths with.
• They can develop an appreciation for the benefits of diverse thinking.

The cons of this approach include:

• It is often expensive and time-consuming.
• Participants may return to work and realize they want a different job.
• It is often not closely tied to day-to-day leadership issues.

With so many approaches to develop leaders, it is essential to align the right approach with your organization’s talent strategy. This leadership development menu provides a clear and concise decision-making tool to review which options might work (or not) as you develop your leaders.