Those that have the explicit job to lead, tend to receive the most formal training.  It is my belief that leadership is an ongoing journey and that leaders are always improving.  As a leader we are required to work with so many different personalities and if we are doing our jobs well, those around us grow and develop, requiring slightly different leadership from us along the way.  As far as formal development programs go, I subscribe to the portfolio approach.  There is value in reading leadership content, in curriculum based training, feedback and in coaching/mentoring.  All have their place, all are necessary and a combination thereof works best to grow leaders.

Reading Leadership Content

There are many great books, articles, blogs, etc. that have been published on the subject.  I would even include video content in this category because it is a passive consumable somewhat similar to the written word.   These consumables can provide a great foundation for leadership learning and when specific content is used to develop specific skills, can be extremely effective.   The information set is so vast, it is easy to find great content at whatever level of specificity is needed.  It is also beneficial to gain knowledge from the experience of others as well as the array of perspectives.  In isolation, reading or intake is rarely effective.  Only in the application and reflection upon application is true learning experienced.  That is why a mixture of other elements is critical.

Curriculum Based Training

Training provided in a classroom setting, with set curriculum is similar to reading or intake of leadership content, but with the benefit of a teacher.  As in any educational endeavor, a skilled teacher can guide the student through the content, unlocking its secrets and benefits in ways beyond what is gained simply upon reading.

Feedback

Providing good, well intentioned, honest and timely feedback is one of the most important jobs of any leader.  There is nothing quite like hearing about your performance from a third party.  Both positive and negative feedback is critical.  It is extremely reinforcing to positive behaviors and guiding to negative behaviors.  Leadership is very much like religion; the value is in the practice.  Knowledge alone is worthless without its application.   In any endeavor, feedback on its application can do more for enhancing growth than any other aspect of leadership development.  Feedback sounds like a hard thing to formalize, or may have negative connotations when formal systems like performance reviews are mentioned.  So then the challenge becomes not in making it formal, but making it intentional and a regular occurrence.  Committing to providing feedback for team members on a consistent basis will make all the difference.

Coaching & Mentoring

Note that I am making a distinction between coaching/mentoring and normal feedback.  For this post, I am putting coaching and mentoring activities into a more formal program, led by someone outside the reporting relationship.  In the past, we have employed leadership consultants as mentors and coaches for our management team.  This is the type of mentoring I want to highlight here and distinguish from a leader providing feedback to their direct reports.  This was an extremely valuable development process because it was the perfect compliment to the feedback and curriculum driven processes.  I could provide feedback the leader could absorb what they were reading or being taught, then had a knowledgeable and capable coach to refine that knowledge.  It was also a safe place to share and grow that was not in a direct report-direct supervisor relationship.  Gaining a third party perspective from someone with their own significant leadership experiences was a great reinforcement of those other developmental avenues.