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The Development of Management and Leadership Capability and its ...

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1: Executive Summary<br />

<strong>The</strong> executive summary sets out the main conclusions from this review <strong>of</strong> whether <strong>and</strong> how<br />

management <strong>and</strong> leadership development contributes to performance, <strong>and</strong> what further<br />

research would help us adopt policies <strong>and</strong> practices to maximise this benefit.<br />

<strong>The</strong> conclusions are based on the inferences that can reasonably be made from empirical<br />

research, <strong>and</strong> are, in that sense, evidence based. <strong>The</strong> reader will find more on the evidence<br />

<strong>and</strong> methods <strong>of</strong> this in the main report. This executive summary concentrates on the<br />

conclusions.<br />

A ‘summary <strong>of</strong> the summary’ can be made in these few points:<br />

<strong>Management</strong> <strong>and</strong> leadership development can <strong>and</strong> does, in the UK <strong>and</strong> elsewhere,<br />

enhance performance for economic <strong>and</strong> social benefit.<br />

It does not currently do so to <strong>its</strong> full potential, <strong>and</strong> there are therefore further<br />

performance gains to be had from improving it.<br />

This improvement can come as much or more from improving the precision with<br />

which the management <strong>and</strong> leadership development investment is made (by<br />

individuals organisations <strong>and</strong> the state), than by increasing the scale <strong>of</strong> the investment<br />

– though the latter might usefully grow as confidence in performance benefit becomes<br />

more secure.<br />

This is because management <strong>and</strong> leadership development contributes to performance<br />

in multiple rather than a single way, <strong>and</strong> what is effective varies very much with<br />

situation <strong>and</strong> context. Fitting the right approach to the specific context is the key.<br />

<strong>Management</strong> <strong>and</strong> leadership capability is located collectively in organisations,<br />

sectors, <strong>and</strong> regions, <strong>and</strong> initiatives to develop these, in addition to ones based on<br />

education, training <strong>and</strong> development to create individual capability are needed. Not<br />

all capability that exists at the individual level is fully used in collective<br />

organisational processes, for a mixture <strong>of</strong> motivational, organisational <strong>and</strong> reward<br />

reasons.<br />

A major priority for future research therefore needs to be oriented to improving<br />

underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> what forms <strong>of</strong> management <strong>and</strong> leadership development work in<br />

what situations.<br />

To do this future research in this area needs to be more coordinated, more about effect<br />

<strong>and</strong> impact as well as describing the status quo, more longitudinal (to allow for the<br />

identification <strong>of</strong> effects over time) <strong>and</strong> involve more evaluation to improve, <strong>and</strong> learn<br />

the lessons from, ongoing practice.<br />

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