Developing leadership skills is a continuous process that combines self-reflection, practical experience, and learning from others. According to framework insights like the Center for Creative Leadership, leadership development largely happens through challenging assignments (70%), developmental relationships and mentorship (20%), and formal training or coursework (10%).
Key highlights
- The shift: leadership rewards delivering through others, not personal output, so the skills that earned the promotion are not the ones that make it work.
- The method: seven steps, from competency framework to succession readiness.
- The blend: 70-20-10, weighted to on-the-job experience, is where most programmes fall short.
- The measure: readiness by tier and succession coverage, not completion counts.
- The shortcut: a ready program template, build checklist and readiness matrix you can adapt.
What are leadership skills, and why does developing them matter in 2027?#
Leadership skills are the behaviours that let someone deliver results through other people rather than through their own work. The move from contributor to leader rewards a different set of abilities than the one that earned the promotion, which is why strong performers so often struggle in their first leadership role.
The core skills most organisations need to develop:
- Communication and influence, setting direction and aligning people without leaning on authority.
- Coaching and feedback, the daily habit that grows a team instead of just managing it.
- Delegation and prioritisation, so a leader multiplies output rather than becoming the bottleneck.
- Decision-making under ambiguity, making good calls with incomplete information.
- Emotional intelligence and self-awareness, the foundation most leadership derailments trace back to.
- Strategic and change leadership, connecting the team's work to where the business is going.
Developing these matters more in 2027 because benches are thin and external hires are slow and expensive. Industry research has long reported that only a small minority of organisations rate their leadership bench as strong, and flatter structures plus AI-reshaped management roles have only widened the gap between "attended leadership training" and "can lead."
How to develop leadership skills: 7 steps#
Run the first four as the backbone, then let each person and each tier follow their own plan through the year.
1. Define the leadership competencies and tiers
Start with what good leadership looks like in your organisation, not a generic model. Name the competencies that matter and the levels they apply to, from first-line leaders to the successor pool. Without this, every later step drifts; with it, assessment, development and succession all aim at the same target.
Try this
- Example: Define "sets direction, coaches, decides under ambiguity" for your org, and which tiers each applies to.
- Build the model from your own strong leaders, not a generic list.
- Keep it to a handful of competencies per tier so it stays usable.
2. Assess and baseline current capability
You cannot develop what you have not measured. Baseline each person against the framework using self-assessment, 360 feedback and manager input. The output is not a scorecard to judge people with. It is a map of where the real gaps sit, by level and by individual, so investment lands where it changes outcomes.
Try this
- Example: Run a 360 plus self-assessment against the framework for every leader in the programme.
- Combine the scores with manager input to set a clear starting point.
- Store the baseline so you can show movement later.
3. Turn gaps into individual development plans
Convert each gap into a specific individual development plan (IDP) with goals, the experiences that will build the skill, and a timeline. Generic curricula for everyone is the most common reason development stalls. An IDP the leader owns, reviewed with their manager, is what makes it personal enough to stick.
Try this
- Example: If coaching scores low, the IDP sets a goal, a stretch assignment and a timeline to build it.
- Write one or two focus areas per person, not ten.
- Make the IDP specific: the experience, not just "improve coaching."
4. Apply the 70-20-10 blend
Weight development toward experience: roughly 70 percent on-the-job stretch, 20 percent coaching and mentoring, 10 percent formal learning. The step most programmes skip is the 70. If development is all courses and no stretch assignment, leaders learn the theory and never practise it where it counts.
Try this
- Example: Pair a module on decision-making with a real project that forces the leader to use it.
- Weight the plan to on-the-job stretch, with coaching and formal learning supporting.
- Pick stretch assignments that build the exact missing competency.
5. Run cohorts and peer coaching
Leaders develop fastest alongside peers facing the same problems. Run cohorts with action learning on real business challenges, not case studies. The cohort also builds the cross-functional network a senior leader will later rely on, which a solo e-learning path never creates.
Try this
- Example: Run a cohort solving a live business problem together, not a case study.
- Add peer-coaching triads that meet monthly between sessions.
- Mix functions in a cohort so leaders learn across silos.
6. Add mentoring and sponsorship
Match mentors for guidance and sponsors for opportunity. A mentor advises; a sponsor opens doors. High-potential talent often has the skill but never the exposure, and sponsorship is how you close that gap for the people the programme most wants to grow.
Try this
- Example: Give a high-potential a sponsor who can put them forward for a visible project.
- Distinguish mentors (advice) from sponsors (opportunity) and assign both.
- Brief sponsors on who they are backing and why.
7. Measure readiness and succession, not attendance
Track progress against IDPs and score readiness by tier, so you know who is ready to step up rather than who turned up. Running the programme and IDPs through a learning platform gives you dated progress per person and per tier, so readiness is a live view rather than a spreadsheet rebuilt once a year. See how that data works in our guide to LMS analytics.
Try this
- Example: Score each leader's readiness by tier against their IDP, not by sessions attended.
- Link the programme to the succession bench so you can see who is ready to step up.
- Report readiness movement over time to the leadership team.
How does leadership development differ by company size, industry and use case?#
The seven steps hold everywhere, but the weight shifts with context.
By company size
- Startup / SMB (1-200 employees): manager-as-coach habits, a simple competency list, and real stretch over heavy frameworks.
- Mid-market (200-1,000 employees): introduce your first formal framework and cohorts as ad-hoc development breaks.
- Enterprise (1,000+ employees): a multi-tier pipeline with succession readiness, mentoring, sponsorship and analytics.
By industry
- Manufacturing & field: first-line and safety leadership developed on mobile, in the flow of work.
- Healthcare: blend clinical and people leadership with patient-safety accountability.
- Retail & hospitality: fast store and shift-leader development for high-turnover teams.
- Technology & services: emphasise coaching, decision-making and leading through change.
By use case
- New-manager transition: the peer-to-boss shift.
- High-potential development: accelerate future senior leaders.
- Succession readiness: prepare named successors for critical roles.
- Executive development: strategic and enterprise leadership.
Best practices for building leaders that last#
- Treat development as a continuous system, not an annual event
- Tie every programme to a competency framework and the next role
- Protect the 70: budget time for stretch experience, not just seats
- Give each leader an IDP they own, reviewed quarterly
- Measure readiness and succession coverage, and act on the gaps
- Pair high-potentials with a sponsor, not just a mentor
What are the most common leadership development mistakes?#
- A course catalogue with no pipeline, so development never connects to the next role.
- Counting completions instead of readiness, so a leadership opening still catches you short.
- All formal learning and no stretch experience, ignoring the 70 in 70-20-10.
- Generic curricula for everyone instead of an IDP owned by each leader.
- No mentoring or sponsorship, so high-potential talent has the skill but never the opportunity.
Watch for this. The exposure usually sits at the bottom of the pipeline: high-potential individual contributors with no development plan and no mentor are the people you most want to grow and the ones the programme reaches last.
Leadership development template and checklist#
You do not have to build this from scratch. Our Leadership Development Training Template gives you a ready program structure, a build checklist and a readiness matrix. Here is what is inside.
The seven-module program
| Module | Audience | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Program design & competency framework | Program owners | Tiers, competencies, and how development connects to the next role |
| 2. Assessment & baselining | All tiers | Self-assessment, 360 and manager input |
| 3. Individual development plans | All tiers | Turning gaps into an IDP with goals and stretch experiences |
| 4. The 70-20-10 blend | All tiers | Weighting development toward experience and coaching |
| 5. Cohort learning & peer coaching | All tiers | Action learning on real business problems |
| 6. Mentoring & sponsorship | Mid & senior | Matching mentors and sponsors, and making them work |
| 7. Measurement & succession readiness | Program owners | IDP progress, readiness by tier, succession coverage |
The 10-point build checklist
- Tiers and competency framework defined
- Talent baselined against each tier
- Individual development plans created per person
- 70-20-10 blend designed, not just a course list
- Cohorts and action-learning groups formed
- Mentors and sponsors matched
- Stretch assignments and exposure agreed
- IDP progress reviewed with managers quarterly
- Readiness scored by tier, not just completion
- Succession coverage reviewed with leadership
The pipeline readiness matrix
The checklist tells you the program is built. This matrix tells you which tier is actually ready to step up. Score each tier 0 to 2 on the five things that decide readiness (required level is 2).
| Pipeline tier | Self-awareness | IDP in place | 70-20-10 active | Mentoring | Succession-ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Successor pool | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Senior leaders | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Mid managers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| First-line leaders | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| High-potential ICs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Get the full, editable version in PDF, Word and Excel: Leadership Development Training Template.
Get the full Leadership Development Template
Program structure, build checklist and the readiness matrix, in PDF, Word and Excel.
- Seven-module program + 10-point checklist
- Pipeline readiness matrix (Excel, auto-scored)
- No sales follow-up unless you ask
How do you measure leadership development and ROI?#
Leadership development is an investment, so measure it like one. Track a small set of metrics that connect activity to readiness to business impact.
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Program and IDP progress | Whether development is actually happening, per person and tier |
| Readiness score by tier | Who is ready to step up now, the real output of the programme |
| Succession coverage | How many critical roles have a ready successor |
| Internal promotion rate | Whether you are filling leadership roles from within |
| Time-to-readiness | How long it takes to move a tier to ready, and whether it is shrinking |
| High-potential retention | Whether the people you are investing in are staying |
For ROI, compare the cost of the programme against what it saves and earns: fewer external senior hires, less lost momentum from unfilled roles, and higher retention of high performers. The simple view is (value returned minus programme cost) divided by programme cost. Enterprises that run learning this way, with activity tied to skills and outcomes, have reported up to 8X ROI on their learning investment.
How Disprz helps#
Disprz runs the whole pipeline in one platform: a skills and competency framework, individual development plans, 70-20-10 tracking, cohorts, and a live readiness view by tier, so succession coverage stays current rather than rebuilt once a year.
- Competency frameworks by tier
- Individual development plans
- 70-20-10 and stretch tracking
- Cohorts and social learning
- Live readiness and succession view
- Skills analytics and reporting
Explore related reading: career mobility, learning agility, and building an L&D strategy.
- Develop leadership skills as a system, not a one-off workshop.
- Anchor everything in a competency framework and individual development plans.
- Weight development toward experience with the 70-20-10 blend.
- Measure readiness and succession coverage, not course completions.
- Use a ready template and a readiness matrix to see who can actually step up.
Leadership development FAQs
The questions L&D and talent teams ask most often.
What are the most important leadership skills to develop?
Communication and influence, coaching and feedback, delegation, decision-making under ambiguity, and emotional intelligence. For new leaders, delegation and feedback usually hurt first because they mark the shift from personal output to leading others.
How long does it take to develop leadership skills?
The mindset shift can begin in weeks, but durable skills build over months of practice. Run development as a continuous programme built around real experience, and expect the effect on readiness and retention to show over the following six to twelve months.
What is the 70-20-10 model?
A blend that weights development toward roughly 70 percent on-the-job stretch experience, 20 percent coaching and mentoring, and 10 percent formal learning. It works because leaders learn most by doing, supported by people who guide them.
How do you develop leadership skills in employees?
Define the competencies, assess current capability, build an IDP for each person, grow them through stretch assignments, cohorts and mentoring, and measure readiness by tier. A learning platform keeps plans, progress and readiness in one live view.
How do you measure leadership development?
Measure readiness by tier, succession coverage, internal promotion rate, time-to-readiness and high-potential retention, rather than course completions, and tie these to business outcomes to show ROI.
Sources
- Global Leadership Forecast, DDI. Leadership bench-strength benchmark.
- The 70-20-10 model for learning and development, Center for Creative Leadership. Model origin.
- Disprz enterprise learning ROI, Disprz. Approved proof point (up to 8X ROI).
