The podcast where we discuss the aspects of leadership they don't put on the motivational posters. In this episode we discuss how leadership development can suck when we view it as an event we expect to transform leaders' behavior.

Episode 12: Developing Leaders Sucks

Developing leaders sounds simple—until you actually have to do it.

Sending someone to training, giving them a new title, or assigning them a mentor doesn’t automatically create a better leader. Real leadership development requires time, honest feedback, practice, accountability, coaching, and a willingness to let people struggle while they grow.

In Episode 12 of Leadership Sucks, we explore why organizations often confuse leadership training with leadership development, why information alone rarely changes behavior, and what leaders and organizations must do differently if they want development to stick.

We also examine one of the hardest realities of developing others: sometimes you have to resist the urge to step in, solve the problem, or do it yourself—and instead create the conditions for someone else to learn.

Because developing leaders isn’t about creating people who lead exactly like you.

It’s about building their capacity to lead effectively without you.

Leadership development can be frustrating, uncomfortable, and slow.

And sometimes…developing leaders sucks.