Leadership Literature And Leadership Development Models

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2.0 Literature review Aggressive growth plans, resulting in increased business complexity, and construction project failures have required the industry to become pro-active in the development and retention of leadership skills. This chapter will review leadership literature and leadership development models. 2.1 Leadership: Definition Leadership is possibly the most studied and recognized topic in the history of commercial literature. It has been discussed and debated as far back as biblical times. Most business gurus have written at least one book or article on the topic. But even today, no two authors can seem to agree on a definition. Warren Bennis says of leadership, “To an extent, leadership is like beauty; it’s hard to define, but you…show more content…
Research conducted by Development Dimensions International (DDI), a global training and staffing firm based in Bridgeville, PA confirms that a large number of companies will be faced with the departure of 40 % to 50 % of executives in the next five years. Early retirements, reorganizations and lean hierarchies have left companies without a pool of employees to move into these senior leadership roles. Fierce competition for qualified leaders is certain to result (Burke, 2006). The importance of leadership is well articulated by this observation: A good leader can make a success of a weak business plan, but a poor leader can ruin even the best plan. That’s why mounting effective leadership by using a consistent model at all levels across the organization can return significant business value. To identify, attract, fill, and retain corporate leadership talent, companies need leadership development programs focused on hiring strategies, employee development, career and succession…show more content…
This research has led to the belief that leadership development is an ongoing process. It is maximized by experiences that assess, challenge and support people. Leadership development processes that incorporate a variety of experiences are the most likely to be effective. According to CCL the most important developmental experiences are ones that challenge people. These experiences require people to develop new capabilities if they are going to be successful. The kinds of situations that challenge people are new experiences, experiences with difficult goals, dealing with conflict and dealing with loss, failure or disappointment. CCL research and practice supports the use of skill-based training experiences and challenging job assignments for leadership development. Challenging experiences are most powerful when they possess an element of support. Support can come from bosses, coworkers, family, friends or mentors. It can appear as listening, suggesting strategies, identifying with challenges, encouragement, mentoring or inspiring. Organizational norms or procedures can also provide
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