How to Grow Leaders

1. Leadership is a Learnable Skill, Not Just an Innate Quality

The elusive, intangible qualities of leadership can never be taught, for a man either has them or he hasn't.

Challenging old beliefs. For a long time, the prevailing wisdom, known as the "Qualities Approach," held that leaders were "born, not made." This view, exemplified by figures like Douglas Bader, suggested that leadership was an intrinsic set of traits one either possessed or lacked. However, this perspective offered no path for aspiring leaders or for organizations seeking to develop them.

A shift in understanding. The realization that leadership qualities could be developed began to emerge, though the "how" remained unclear. Early attempts often involved listing desirable traits like confidence, determination, and courage, then illustrating them with historical figures. Yet, simply listing qualities proved ineffective for actual development, as individuals struggled to acquire them through sheer willpower.

Beyond inherent traits. The breakthrough came from understanding that leadership is not solely about inherent qualities, but also about what a leader does and knows. This integrated view combines:

• Qualities Approach: What a leader is (e.g., enthusiasm, integrity).
• Situational Approach: What a leader knows (e.g., technical competence, knowledge of human nature).
• Group or Functional Approach: What a leader does (e.g., planning, supporting).
  This composite understanding opened the door to systematic leadership development.

2. The Three Circles Model Defines the Universal Role of a Leader

Essentially leadership lies in the provision of the functions necessary for a group to achieve its task and be held together as a working team.

Universal group needs. All working groups, regardless of their specific context, share three fundamental and interactive needs. These "Three Circles" represent the core responsibilities a leader must address to ensure group effectiveness and sustainability. Understanding these needs is foundational to comprehending the generic role of a leader.

The Three Circles are:

• Task Needs: The requirement to achieve the common goal or purpose.
• Team Needs: The necessity to maintain cohesion, morale, and unity within the group.
• Individual Needs: The personal requirements of each member, such as growth, recognition, and well-being.
  These circles are dynamic and overlapping, meaning actions in one area inevitably impact the others.

Functions of leadership. To meet these interconnected needs, specific "functions" must be performed. These are observable actions, such as planning, initiating, controlling, supporting, informing, and evaluating. While the designated leader is ultimately accountable for ensuring these functions are met across all three circles, it's impossible for one person to perform them all. Effective leaders empower team members to contribute to these functions, thereby fulfilling the generic role of a leader.

3. Leadership Exists on Three Interconnected Levels: Team, Operational, and Strategic

It is a common fallacy that all an organization needs is a good strategic leader at the helm. The secret of business success is excellence of leadership at all three levels.

A hierarchy of leadership. Leadership is not a monolithic concept but manifests across distinct organizational levels. While organizations may appear complex with many ranks, discerning these three core levels is crucial for effective development and deployment of leaders. Success hinges on strong leadership at each level, working in harmony.

The three broad levels are:

• Team Leadership: Leading a small group (10-20 people) with clearly defined tasks. This is the foundational level, often the "seedbed" for future leaders.
• Operational Leadership: Leading a significant part of the organization, overseeing multiple team leaders. This involves leading "leaders of leaders."
• Strategic Leadership: Leading the entire organization, with multiple operational leaders reporting directly. This role focuses on overall direction and long-term vision.

Interconnectedness and transferability. The Three Circles model applies universally across all these levels, though the substantives of task, team, and individual needs change with scale. Strategic leaders, in principle, are more transferable across different fields because their role focuses on overarching direction rather than specialized technical knowledge. However, practical wisdom (phronesis)—a blend of intelligence, experience, and goodness—becomes increasingly vital at the strategic level.

4. Effective Leadership Development Requires a Clear Strategy, Not Just Ad-Hoc Training

To act is easy, to think hard. This English proverb signposts the most common error: organizations act - for external or internal political reasons - before sitting down to think first.

Avoiding the "Danish disease." Many organizations rush into "leadership" activities without first clearly defining what leadership means to them or how it relates to management. This lack of clear thinking leads to ineffective, fragmented programs, often chasing the latest fads or "quick fixes." A robust strategy demands deep thought, not just reactive implementation.

Hallmarks of a weak approach:

• No clear concept of leadership or its relation to management.
• Lack of understanding of different leadership levels and their unique development needs.
• Insufficient commitment or interest from top leadership.
• Ignorance of leadership development history, leading to reinvention of wheels.
• A focus on "instant leadership" rather than sustained growth.

Strategic hallmarks. A true strategy for leadership development must be:

• Long-term: Focused beyond immediate needs, looking years ahead.
• Important: Prioritized as a core activity, not an optional extra.
• Multi-component: Integrating various elements like selection, training, mentoring, and organizational culture into a cohesive whole.
  Such a strategy ensures that efforts are coordinated, purposeful, and aligned with the organization's overall vision and goals.

5. Training for Leadership Must Start Early and Focus on the Generic Role

The basic principle in leadership development is that an organization should never give a team leadership role or position to someone without training.

The natural starting point. The most effective place to begin leadership development is at the team leader level. This is where individuals first step into a formal leadership role, and it represents a crucial "window of opportunity" for learning. Providing foundational training at this stage ensures that new leaders understand their generic role and develop essential skills from the outset.

Why start with team leaders?

• Foundational learning: Younger individuals are more receptive to learning the generic role and attributes of leadership.
• Seedbed for future leaders: Team leaders are the primary source for operational and strategic leaders; a strong foundation here benefits all higher levels.
• Organizational control: It's easier to mandate training for newly appointed team leaders than for senior executives, ensuring broader impact.

Focus on the generic role. Training should center on the Three Circles model, teaching participants the universal functions of a leader (planning, supporting, etc.) and how to apply them in their specific context. These courses should be short, practical, relevant, and dialogue-based, allowing participants to learn by doing. While "old gorillas" (senior leaders) may need recalibration, the most profound learning occurs when individuals are on the threshold of their first leadership responsibilities.

6. Select Leaders Based on Observable Potential, Not Just Interviews

Measure the cloth seven times, because it can only be cut once.

Choosing, not just growing. While organizations strive to "grow" leaders, a more immediate and impactful approach is to select individuals who already possess strong leadership potential. This requires a robust selection process that goes beyond traditional interviews, which often fail to identify the elusive traits of effective leadership.

Routes to leadership: People become leaders through various paths:

• Emergent: Naturally stepping up in "leaderless" situations.
• Appointment: Assigned a role within a hierarchy.
• Elected: Chosen by a group through formal or informal voting.
• Hereditary: Inheriting a leadership position.
  Understanding these routes helps in designing appropriate selection methods that identify genuine aptitude.

The War Officer Selection Board (WOSB) model. A significant breakthrough in selection came during World War II with the WOSB, which successfully identified leadership potential by observing candidates in "leaderless groups." This method, a prototype of the Group or Functional Approach, focused on:

• Group effectiveness: Ability to contribute to task and group cohesion.
• Stability/Mental stamina: Resilience under stress.
  This approach, which became the grandparent of modern assessment centers, demonstrated that observable behavior in dynamic group settings is a far more reliable predictor of leadership potential than mere interviews or trait lists.

7. Line Managers are Crucial Mentors in the Apprenticeship of Leadership

One other thing stirs me when I look back at my youthful days, the fact that so many people gave me something or were something to me without knowing it.

The power of apprenticeship. The most natural and effective way to learn leadership is through an apprenticeship model, working alongside a "master-leader." This involves direct observation, instruction, and shared experience, where the senior leader actively guides the development of their subordinates. This informal, yet profound, learning process is often more impactful than formal courses alone.

Line managers as mentors. The principle dictates that line leaders, at all levels, should act as teachers and mentors to their apprentice-leaders. This means:

• Active engagement: Taking a personal interest in the individual growth of team members.
• Sharing experience: Demonstrating leadership by example and explaining decision-making.
• Providing feedback: Offering constructive criticism and encouragement, as exemplified by Montgomery's mentorship of Horrocks.

Beyond the bare minimum. While professional mentors can offer valuable sounding boards, they often lack the direct observational context needed for true leadership mentoring. Line managers, however, are uniquely positioned to provide this. Even a "bare minimum" of briefing individuals before a course and debriefing them afterward can significantly enhance learning transfer and demonstrate genuine interest, fostering a "psychological contract" where individuals feel valued and supported in their growth.

8. Organizations Must Provide Consistent Opportunities and Challenges to Grow Leaders

The only way in which the growing need for leadership in management can be met is to find the potential leader and then start his training and give him the chance to lead.

Opportunity fuels growth. Organizations cannot create leaders, but they can provide the essential conditions for leadership to flourish. Chief among these is offering consistent opportunities to lead, coupled with appropriate challenges. Just as war accelerates the development of military leaders, growing organizations that offer diverse, stretching roles foster the growth of business leaders.

The nature of challenge:

• Optimum level: Challenges must be neither too easy nor overwhelmingly difficult, but "stretching" enough to promote growth.
• Creative experiences: True challenges often involve seemingly impossible tasks, pushing individuals to innovate and develop new capabilities.
• Prepared minds: While specific challenges are unpredictable, individuals who have cultivated their vocation and prepared broadly are better equipped to seize these opportunities.

Career progression and the hourglass model. Individuals often move from broad generalist knowledge to narrow specialization, then broaden out again to become generalist leaders. Organizations should facilitate this journey through:

• Annual career reviews: Regular dialogues between individuals and the organization to align aspirations with available opportunities.
• Succession planning: Identifying potential leaders for future roles and preparing them for those challenges.
  This creates a "creative tension" where mutual respect and trust allow for calculated risks in promotions, fostering a dynamic environment where leaders can continuously grow.

9. Leadership Education Extends Beyond Training, Encompassing Values and Broader Societal Context

It takes a whole society to raise a leader.

Beyond skills and techniques. While training focuses on developing specific skills for a role, "education for leadership" is a broader, long-range process that shapes the whole person. It encompasses values, attitudes, beliefs, and ethics, drawing out latent capabilities without specific outcomes in mind. This wider perspective recognizes that leadership is deeply intertwined with societal context and personal philosophy.

Thinking outside the organizational box. The traditional "management development" model often confined learning within organizational boundaries. However, true leadership education requires "thinking outside the box," engaging with broader societal institutions like schools and universities. These institutions serve as "nurseries" where:

• Values are formed: Early experiences and education lay down foundational values like integrity, enthusiasm, and compassion.
• General knowledge is acquired: Curiosity, clear thinking, and creativity are fostered, providing the intellectual groundwork for future leadership.
• Horizons expand: Exposure to diverse perspectives and historical wisdom broadens understanding.

Continuing education for adults. For adult leaders, educational programs, like those at the Windsor Leadership Trust, complement training by providing opportunities to explore leadership with peers from diverse fields. These programs emphasize:

• Interaction between theory and practice: Sparks fly when principles meet real-world experience.
• Exploration of values: Leaders reflect on the "stars by which we navigate ourselves through life."
• Catalytic thinking: Facilitators help participants form their own leadership philosophy, rather than simply imparting information. This Socratic approach aims to clarify and deepen one's emerging concept of leadership.

10. Integrity and Culture are the Bedrock of Sustainable Leadership Development

A firm's reputation, he said, 'is like a very delicate living organism which can easily be damaged and which has to be taken care of incessantly, being mainly a matter of human behaviour and human standards'.

The foundation of trust. Integrity is not merely a desirable trait; it is the indispensable quality that engenders trust, without which leadership cannot truly exist. A leader lacking integrity downgrades themselves to a "non-leader" or "misleader." Consequently, an organizational culture that fails to genuinely value integrity, despite any stated corporate values, creates a hostile environment for growing true leaders.

Culture shapes leadership. The "sound in the woodwork" of an organization, often established by its founder, profoundly influences its leadership culture. A culture of trust, openness, and shared purpose, as exemplified by Warburgs Bank, fosters collaboration and empowers individuals. Conversely, a culture characterized by internal politics, silos, and self-promotion stifles leadership growth and undermines collective effort.

Strategic culture change. Building a reputation for integrity takes years but can be lost quickly. Therefore, a strategy for leadership development must actively cultivate a culture that:

• Values ethical behavior: Integrity is consistently demonstrated and rewarded.
• Promotes transparency: Open communication and information sharing are encouraged.
• Empowers decision-making: Leaders are given freedom within clear boundaries, fostering responsibility.
• Fosters hope and commitment: A positive climate where managers are eager to seize opportunities.
  This cultural transformation is far more challenging than mere paper plans, but it is essential for creating an environment where leaders can truly flourish and contribute to sustained success.

11. The Chief Executive's Visible Commitment is Paramount to Growing Leaders

Where the top strategic leader is not involved in or committed to the work of developing leadership, in my experience, you may as well forget it.

Leading from the front. The chief executive, or the top strategic leader, holds ultimate accountability for selecting and developing the organization's leaders. This responsibility cannot be fully delegated; the process must be visibly led from the front. Without the chief executive's active involvement and commitment, leadership development initiatives are likely to falter and fail.

The teacher-in-chief. The strategic leader's role is to be the "teacher-in-chief" of leadership within the organization. This involves:

• Leading by example: Demonstrating the desired leadership attributes and behaviors in their own actions. As Edmund Burke noted, "Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other."
• Mentoring the top team: Actively engaging in one-on-one conversations with senior operational leaders, acting as a guide and counsellor. This fosters an environment of mutual learning and growth.
• Making presence felt: Visiting training courses and leadership education events to endorse their value and encourage participants and trainers. A few well-chosen words from the top can significantly boost morale and commitment.

Speaking from the heart. When addressing the organization on leadership, the chief executive should speak simply, clearly, and without notes, relating their message directly to the business's strategic direction and values. This is an opportunity to inspire, convey purpose, and reinforce the importance of leadership at all levels. The chief executive's presence and authentic message are crucial for igniting the "spirit of leadership" throughout the organization.

Last updated: December 31, 2025