Where leadership development programs go wrong—and how to fix them

—Alex and Axel

January 2025

In honor of the 60th birthday of McKinsey Quarterly, the McKinsey Classics newsletter is dedicating a full year to enduring Quarterly articles that were ahead of their time. Enjoy, and check out other celebration highlights such as special themed issues and bonus digital features.

Next week, global leaders will convene in Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, with the goal of addressing some of the world’s most intractable problems. This year’s meeting will focus on a range of priorities for today’s organizations, and crucial among them is the development of human capital.
 
Now, more than ever, the world needs capable leaders. And therein lies the rub: Companies recognize the importance of high-performing leaders, but many struggle to develop their key talent. The reason? All too often, organizations succumb to four common mistakes in their leadership development efforts: They create one-size-fits-all training initiatives; they fail to balance off-site learning with real, on-the-job projects; they underestimate the behavioral changes needed to ensure the program’s success; and they don’t effectively track and measure leadership development over time.

Great leaders start with great leadership development. To learn more about the most common mistakes in these efforts—and how to avoid them—read our 2014 McKinsey Quarterly classic “Why leadership development programs fail.”

Read our latest thinking on this classic topic

— Edited by Drew Holzfeind, editor, Chicago 

Is there a classic business topic you’d like us to feature? Send us an email—we’d love to hear from you.

Share these insights