As TomorrowToday we have the privilege to both design and participate in Leadership Development Programmes (LDPs) throughout the world. We work internationally with some of fineness business schools and blue-chip multi-nationals in this arena. We have seen a great deal: some of it excellent, a lot of it very poor. It is an area of significant spend for the client and there is a real need to get a worthwhile return on investment on your LDP.
Based on our observations and participation, here are six things, shared as a series, that you need to consider when it comes to designing or looking for a strategic partner in the delivery of your LDP:
# 2: Learning is the learner’s responsibility
Ultimately, the responsibility to learn – to extract value, rests with the learner. Naturally any content needs to be relevant, thought provoking and delivered in such a way that people both enjoy and understand. It is the teacher’s responsibility to stimulate the learning experience, to create an environment conducive to learning, but the onus to learn, sits with the learner. The importance of this point is often overlooked or neglected with the result that participants ‘get away’ with blaming ‘poor’ teaching or relevance when really, it is they who have missed out. I have seen excellent resources (teachers) ejected from LDPs for no other reason than the participants didn’t ‘like them’. It might have been because they (the teachers) came across as too brash or too confident; too young or too old; not entertaining enough or too maverick. Learning is the learner’s responsibility. Always.