Barriers to Leadership Development

The best way to grow your organization is to grow your people. To grow your people you need to develop a leadership culture. Consider the following barriers to building your leadership culture:

Control and Power Dynamics

Leaders whose chief desire is to be seen as persons of power will ignore the greater and more important work of developing others. Their desire for control will prevent the delegation of significant responsibilities to other leaders necessary for development. 

Need for Affection and Approval

Leaders who need the affection and approval of others are reluctant to develop and deploy leaders lest they lose that. Their insecurity will lessen their effectiveness and ultimately stifle organizational growth. 

Sense of Importance and Superiority

Leaders who “believe their own press reports” and obsess over self-image see the development of others as a threat to their perceived greatness. Furthermore, when they see themselves as indispensable, they will never take the time or effort to develop others.

Longing for Comfort

A longing for comfort will keep a leader focused on the short-term and maintaining the status quo. Often after risks have been taken or great victories won, leaders fall into this trap, failing to take on new challenges necessary for the growth and survival of the organization. 

[Next week we will discuss succession planning and what it means to pass on the baton to a successor.]