Leaders developing leaders: an effective way to enhance leadership development programs

The purpose of this article is to examine how senior leaders in organizations can play a greater role in the development of leadership within their organizations. Innovative “leaders developing leaders” programs in PepsiCo, General Electric and Shell are described as examples of tangible and effective ways that can be used for successful leadership development which can also contribute to strategic change and business profitability. Suggestions and various options to incorporate senior executive involvement in leadership development programs are put forward as well as factors that need to be considered when first implementing this approach. At a time when leadership development is recognised as a vital ingredient for organization success, the involvement of senior leaders in the teaching and learning of future leaders has been shown to be a powerful and effective tool.