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The elements that add up to worthwhile leadership development are not a mystery to The Ken Blanchard Cos. The firm has identified several characteristics that all effective programs have in place: 1. In order for leadership development programs to be successful, the senior leadership in the organization must be actively involved in supporting the process. 2. A successful leadership development program should include such long-term endeavors as mentoring and learning from on-the-job experience. 3. Leadership training must be specifically and explicitly connected to those things that matter inside of the business.

The elements that add up to worthwhile leadership development aren't a mystery to Escondido, Calif.,-based management consultancy The Ken Blanchard Companies, says executive director of client services Scott Blanchard. The firm, he says, has identified several characteristics that all effective programs have in place:

* TOP MANAGEMENT BUY-IN

"In order for leadership development programs to be successful, the senior leadership in the organization must be actively involved in supporting the process," Blanchard notes. That means, "they've declared that developing leadership capacity is a strategic imperative, and that they support that strategic imperative as they would any other meaningful strategy inside the business," he says.

* THE PROGRAM IS TREATED AS A PROCESS RATHER THAN AN EVENT.

"Just sending a bunch of people to training doesn't necessarily improve their leadership skills or capacity to lead," Blanchard points out. Since leadership development isn't a one-dimensional phenomenon, there is no way it could happen in a one- or even a few-day event. He says, for instance, that a successful program should include such long-term endeavors as mentoring and learning from on-the-job experience.

* LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT MUST GENERATE TANGIBLE VALUE FOR THE COMPANY.

This means more than dollar-based results, Blanchard says. Management should see employees behaving differently, he says, with a sense that there's less tension and more cooperation, that people feel like the company is investing in them, that there's less fear in the organization, that people achieve better performance, that there is lower turnover and employees are more productive.

* STRATEGIC INTEGRATION

That means leadership training "must be specifically and explicitly connected to those things that matter inside of the business," he says. "People must learn how to be better leaders within the context of tackling real business issues and concerns."

- M.W.