Learning LEADS: Developing Leadership in Individuals and Organizations

The old adage “leaders are born, not made” is wrong. Leaders are born and made. Our premise in developing the LEADS framework and writing both editions of this book was that leadership can be learned and developed. As Malcolm Gladwell points out in his book Outliers [1] an individual must be nurtured in an environment that creates the conditions for success. In this chapter, we describe two approaches for using LEADS to develop leadership. The first is an approach where it’s up to you, the leader, to create a nurturing environment for yourself. For this approach we focus on self-directed learning and personal leadership development as a life-long pursuit. The second approach shows how people designing leadership programs can use LEADS for organizational growth and development. It’s a recognition that leadership development should not be limited to individuals, because research shows leadership training aimed at groups of leaders who are committed to distributed leadership can create workplace cultures that are vibrant, adaptive and productive.