This paper analyzes a Forbes article by Karen Higginbotham on the global stalling of leadership development and connects its findings to key course concepts in training, development, and strategic human resource management. The paper explores why organizations that recognize leadership shortages still fail to invest in training pipelines, the consequences of misalignment between HR functions and company strategy, and the multiple levers — including compensation, mentorship, on-the-job training, and performance appraisal — that organizations can use to build leadership capacity from within. The analysis argues that firms cutting corners on development forfeit competitive advantage in an increasingly volatile business environment.
The Forbes article Leadership Development Around the World Remains Stalled, by Karen Higginbotham, highlights the lack of quality leadership within organizations and the frustrations that HR professionals have regarding not only the shortage of effective leaders but also the neglect of talent development in most organizations. There is a broad sense among the HR community that leadership talent development is not treated as a genuine priority, and that organizations frequently suffer as a result.
Surveys cited in the article indicate that many leaders do not feel ready to deal with the challenges around them — in particular, the ambiguity and volatility of a world where change occurs with remarkable speed. This lack of confidence clearly highlights the weaknesses of existing leadership development programs, because even those who already hold leadership positions struggle with the demands of the 21st-century business environment.
The article also quantifies some of the costs of this problem. Organizations suffer because their leadership pipelines are underdeveloped, leaving them ill-equipped to meet competitive challenges. Many firms worry about falling behind if they cannot field more and better leaders. The troubling paradox, however, is that many of the same companies voicing these concerns have not invested meaningfully in training and development programs designed to produce the leaders they say they need.
This article intersects with course material in a couple of important ways. The first concerns training and development. One of the most critical steps in designing a training program is conducting a needs assessment — a process through which an organization identifies what capabilities it requires going forward and evaluates whether it currently possesses those skills and attributes. If an organization determines that its leadership pipeline is insufficient in either quality or quantity, the logical next step is to establish targeted training programs.
The Forbes article suggests, however, that even when companies are aware of the problem — that is, even after they have conducted some form of needs assessment — they have not responded effectively. Recognition of the gap has not translated into meaningful action, leaving organizations trapped in a cycle of complaint without remedy.
There are many dimensions to training and development. It may be that some organizations expect business schools to shoulder the entire burden of leadership preparation, but formal education is only one source of leadership growth. A great deal of effective leadership development comes from on-the-job training, apprenticeship, mentorship, and the deliberate construction of progressive work experiences that stretch emerging leaders over time.
"HRM must align with overall organizational strategy"
"Pay, development, and retention as shortage remedies"
Where a problem has been identified throughout the entire economy, it points to the fact that many firms are cutting corners on training and development. This is not surprising, because there are still many companies that do not consider human resources to be a strategic function. Yet strategic human resource management makes sense for every organization, because ultimately the companies that accurately identify their capability needs — and then ensure they can meet those needs — are the companies that will sustain the greatest competitive advantages over time.
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