Successful, high performing businesses engage in Executive Leadership Development Programs. Investing in such programs ensures that the managers in a business are engaged in their ongoing self-development and growth.

Effective managers and owners achieve successful outcomes by becoming more self-aware, identifying their own strengths and weaknesses and incorporating the lessons learned into a clearly articulated development plan, with performance measures built into them.

Having these elements in place reinforces leadership behavior throughout the business. By following this method and mentoring and coaching their subordinates, the leadership function is cascaded throughout the business. The business in turn becomes a developmental culture, within which the leaders and manager coach and mentor the people in their charge.

The developmental culture becomes the way that a business creates the opportunity of recruiting excellent people and manages the risk of keeping good people. There is no doubt that over time this approach builds brand recognition, as the business becomes known for producing outstanding leaders. Two notable examples of this are McKinsey’s and The Boston Consulting Group. Young graduates know that if they get a job associated with these brands that their future is bright.

In small business, adopting a developmental approach to recruitment and retention will attract good people to your company. The business may never be as famous as the two brands mentioned above, or have the financial capacity to attract the top graduates from universities, but it is a proven approach, nonetheless.

Even in small companies, it is a demonstrable and proven fact that people will want to come, work and indeed stay for a reasonable time, if they know there is an opportunity for personal and professional growth and development, a sense of meaning and purpose and a sense of belonging to something that is worthwhile.

Over the long term, an investment in a “whole-of-business approach” to corporate team building pays off. In this respect, a business needs to take a long term, strategic view of this business activity. By encouraging people who are already in your business to take the pathway to ongoing learning and development, you are building a culture that satisfies the basic human needs for fun (learning) and belonging (a collegiate approach). This in turn will lead to a distribution of power and control and deliver results on the bottom line. It is also very attractive to both current and prospective employees in terms of building loyalty, dedication and commitment to customer service.

Effective Executive Leadership Development Programs facilitate the following results:

A sense of shared meaning and purpose in the business
The development of greater self-awareness, cooperation and collaboration throughout the business
Identification of personal strengths and weaknesses
Benchmarking in and around performance deficits and gaps
Development Plans for all staff throughout the business to build on their strengths
A pathway that maximizes benefits and reduces risks in and around succession planning and the retention of high performing staff.

Peter McLean is a highly experienced Coach, Senior Manager, Consultant, Business Owner and Company Director. He successfully coaches top Executives in some of Australia’s leading multi-national companies. One such Senior Executive recently won an International Award for Excellence within his particular field. In addition, Peter works extensively in the Public, Private, Commercial and Not-for-Profit sectors, delivering outstanding results for his clients. To learn more of how you can benefit from Peter’s experience, visit the