Academe became part of Oliver Wyman’s European learning business in April 2008, working alongside our colleagues in the Executive Learning Center (ELC). ELC provides top-tier executive education for Global 1000 companies and focuses on major executive development that the world’s largest corporations can use as a strategic lever with their senior executives. Academe extends this leadership development and learning capability deeper into organisations.

This fascinating article looks at how leadership development is set to change.

A learning culture in the making

Work as a driver of people

There are so many demands on individuals in the workplace that leadership development needs to be an integral part of working life. It also needs to keep up with the ever-changing demands of the workplace. Leadership development opportunities will become more widely available across organisations as more people are identified as leaders and offered leadership responsibilities and prospects.

Collaboration

Collaboration is no longer just about working closely with colleagues – it’s about working across organisational levels, functions and cultures. This type of collaboration means that leadership becomes more important throughout organisations. Technology will provide increasingly effective collaboration tools. Action learning can also be a powerful tool for helping individuals find new ways of working together and to respond to rapidly changing environments.

Connectedness

Whereas in the past leadership development has often focused on developing individuals in a very compartmentalised way, organisations now need to recognise the value of leadership experience beyond formal learning. Models of leadership need to expand to recognise that connections with others at work and experiences beyond the workplace such as family, hobbies and voluntary work all contribute to leadership development.

Community

Community brings a sense of meaning to leadership development. It’s important that leaders understand what makes people want to come to work and challenge themselves. The shift towards greater organisational integration requires a corporate community philosophy to support it.

David Dotlich and Jim Noel of Oliver Wyman’s Delta Executive Learning Center are prominent global leadership experts. In a new article on The Future of Leadership Development, they look at future leadership learning trends.