Successful leadership is shaped in everyday life – not in classrooms

Are courses the best way to create better leadership and successful organisations? New research from Jönköping University (JU) shows that organisations and companies with strong financial results prioritise leadership development that is closely linked to everyday work, not one that is taught in conference rooms far removed from reality.

The research is based on a multi-year study of a dozen organisations, in which researchers studied how leadership development is organised and supported. The study also included a national survey of over 1,300 businesses in both the private and public sectors to investigate which activities and methods are used and how they are evaluated.

The results show that successful leadership development is characterised by everyday methods, tailor-made solutions and activities that are integrated into the organisation's other strategies.

"Many established ideas about how leadership should be developed are no longer valid. Our results show that organisations need to work more systematically and in a more everyday manner to achieve real impact," says Sofia Kjellström, Professor of Quality Improvement and Leadership at the School of Health and Welfare at JU and one of the authors of the report.

‘Leadership development needs to be adapted to the conditions of the business.’

A key conclusion is that the organisations that perform best financially prioritise everyday activities that are important for developing their leaders, such as management meetings, reflective group discussion and temporary assignments. Although these activities are relatively easy to implement, the study shows that less than half of the organisations in the survey use them regularly for leadership development purposes. For example, only half of the organisations use manager forums and only four out of ten use development discussions and improvement work as a tool to strengthen leadership. Even fewer work systematically with group-based reflection or temporary assignments.

"It is not the number of activities that matters, but how they are held together and what function they have in the organisation itself. Leadership development needs to be adapted to the conditions of the business, not to according to a one-size-fits all model, says Sofia Kjellström.

These results are also confirmed by organisations that participated in the research:

“For us, it has become clear that leadership is developed in the midst of everyday life, not off to one side. When we talk about different perspectives and practise our behaviours regularly, change happens gradually. And if we work on it systematically, the training becomes both sustainable and realistic, which strengthens the leadership skills of the entire organisation,” says Anna Palmgren from the company JSC it-partner.

New approach requires holistic thinking

Researchers have found that one success factor is seeing how different activities are connected. Leadership development is a strategic issue for the entire organisation.

“It may seem easier and more manageable to package learning and development in the form of training. Courses are straightforward, clearly priced and easier to follow up on. This creates a sense of control. Everyday working methods, on the other hand, require more time and commitment internally and therefore appear less attractive,” says Sofia Kjellström.