MIT Sloan Management Review published an article in Winter 2024 titled “Leadership Development Is Failing Us. Here’s How to Fix It.”In it, they note that their review of leadership development programs (LDPs) at several dozen business schools around the world illustrated the typical shortcomings:

Why should anyone be led by you?

In 2000, Robert Giffee and Gareth Jones published an article in Harvard Business Review (HBR) entitled, "Why Should Anyone be Led by You?" Five years later, they published the first edition of a book by the same name, subtitled, "What it Takes to be An Authentic Leader." The authors wrote about putting this question to the executives they encountered regularly in their business program classes and otherwise. When they did, a hush came over the room.

This Leader’s Guide is designed specifically to help leaders and employees have strong and productive development discussions, across time and on single occasions. Having these kinds of discussions help to ensure that the leader knows what is important to the employee’s engagement and feeling valued by the organization. They also help to ensure leaders and employees have the information they need to explore various career directions and opportunities for employees.