How big is the leadership development market?
Well, companies spend billions on it, trying to develop leadership in the workplace.
While there are many different techniques to developing leadership skills, companies should focus on the ones that are bringing good results.
So, let’s find out which leadership development statistics can help us in coaching, learning new skills, and broadening the knowledge of leaders!
Statistics On Leadership Development (Editor’s Pick)
- Only 5% of businesses develop leaders at all levels.
- 50% of companies lack sufficient leadership talent.
- Out of all corporations, only 19% are good at developing leaders.
- $336 billion are spent on leadership development every year.
19 Leadership Development Statistics
1. Around 83% of businesses think it is important to develop leaders at all levels.
Most of the businesses (83%) find it important to develop leaders at all levels. Yet, only 5% of them have implemented leadership development at all levels. This is according to statistics on leadership development from 2015.
Source: Brandon Hall
2. A top challenge for 55% of CEOs is developing the next generation of leaders.
A challenge for developing the next generation of leaders is recognized by more than half (55%) of CEOs due to work from home and hybrid work models. Also, in the future, CEOs have to focus on new, digital means of communication when leading teams and preparing new generations for leadership. Leaders need to learn a new set of soft skills to be able to lead despite the physical distance barriers.
Source: Global Leadership Forecast
3. More than six in 10 millennials (63%) believe they are not being developed as leaders by their employers.
According to leadership development data for millennials by Deloitte, 63% of them think their workplace is not doing enough to help them develop leadership skills. They believe their employers should be doing more to help them prepare for managerial positions.
Source: Deloitte
4. One in two leadership development professionals believe companies lack leadership talent.
The Association for Talent Development researched 304 leadership development professionals from US companies. Half of them agreed that there is no sufficient talent for leadership in their companies. Also, 47% reported they expect an even bigger gap in leadership talent in the future.
Source: Association for Talent Development
5. 48% of leaders want to be educated through development assignments.
According to a Global Leadership Forecast by DDI, 48% of leaders want to be educated through development assignments. Moreover, another 48% also said they want to be educated through external coaching. Also, 42% want assessment to diagnose leadership strength, and only 39% want formal in-person training for leadership.
Source: DDI
6. In 2019, 77% of companies experienced some kind of leadership gap.
Leadership gaps happen because corporations prefer hiring individuals who already have some leadership skills. This is because they then don’t have to spend their time or money on training them for leadership. On the other hand, employees are more prone to look for jobs where corporations will offer them leadership training and development. That is why 77% of corporations recorded leadership gaps in 2019.
Source: Brandon Hall
7. Only 10% of CEOs see a clear impact of leadership development efforts on their business.
Only one in 10 CEOs report they actually see an impact of leadership development on their companies’ business results. This is a small share out of those who do use leadership development initiatives to better their business.
Source: DDI
8. The highest average rating for leadership bench strength (18%) was in 2011 and has been declining ever since.
According to Development Dimensions International and their annual Global Leadership forecast, the average rating for leadership bench strength has been on a decline for the past 10 years. Moreover, it is connected to poor leadership development and training. In fact, 28% of organizations with high-quality development also had a strong leadership bench in 2020.
Source: DDI
9. Only 19% of corporations believe they are good at developing leaders.
Not even 20% of companies think they are good at developing leaders, according to State of Leadership Development data from 2015. Moreover, 71% of companies do not believe their leaders can take the organization into the future.
Source: Brandon Hall
10. To upskill and cross-skill their leaders, 49% of companies are using development programs.
Just under half (49%) of companies say they use development programs to upskill and cross-skill their leaders. Additionally, 31% of organizations use those programs to find potential leaders, and 20% use them to identify internal successors.
Source: MMC
11. Around 30% of companies fail in creating successful leadership development programs.
By utilizing functional leadership development programs, companies cultivate their leaders for success. However, around 30% of organizations cannot create a leadership development program to be successful, mainly because of the lack of senior management involvement.
Source: Mercer Mettl
12. Millennials (77%) think their employers have a weak ability to provide them with leadership development.
According to 77% of millennials, their employers cannot provide them with the needed leadership development. Likewise, they think these companies have a weak ability in doing so. As it turns out, the majority of companies cannot offer them sufficient leadership training.
Source: Human Resources Professional Association
13. Through observation alone, 42% of managers developed their leadership skills.
Almost half of the managers (42%) say they did not develop their leadership skills through formal training. Rather, they did it by observing previous managers. Moreover, these skills and their leadership style will then affect how they lead their teams, how they perform, boost employees’ morale, retain talent, etc.
Source: West Monroe
14. Nearly 95% of educational organizations plan to increase or maintain their level of investment in leadership development.
For learning organizations, leadership development is an important business. As a result, it is not surprising that 95% plan to keep investing the same amount of money or more in leadership development.
Source: Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Board
15. It costs a company 7% of their annual sales for every year they neglect leadership development.
Every year a company delays leadership development, it costs them 7% of their annual sales. This is according to the Cost-of-Doing-Nothing-Calculator by the Ken Blanchard Companies. This is compared to companies that develop their leadership. For instance, not investing in leadership development takes a toll on employee retention and productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Source: The Ken Blanchard Companies
16. The average time to complete a leadership development program is eight months.
While the average time to complete a leadership development program is eight months, for some it takes more time. Also, according to Mercer Mettl, 31% of organizations reported it took them more than a year to complete their leadership development program.
Source: Mercer Mettl
17. Leadership development programs are based on the leadership competency framework, and 42% of companies do not have that same framework.
For a company to create a leadership development program leadership competency framework is needed. Yet, 42% of companies do not have it. Moreover, according to MMC, 30% of companies blame senior management for not creating those programs. Meanwhile, 22% think those programs are pricey, and 25% think they take a long time.
Source: MMC
18. Companies that utilize inclusive leadership development are 4.2 times more likely to outperform companies that practice leadership development for management only.
According to the Global Leadership Forecast for 2018, leadership development needs to become more inclusive and not used for management only. In fact, companies that use leadership development at all levels are 4.2 more like to outperform those that use it only for their management.
Source: The Conference Board/Development Dimensions International
19. Globally, $336 billion are spent on leadership development every year.
Out of those $366 billion spent on leadership development every year in the world, $166 billion is spent in the USA alone, according to leadership development industry statistics. Also, while that much money is spent on developing leaders, companies need to become more effective at creating leaders who can make an impact.
Source: Training Industry
Final Verdict
In sum, leadership development is a large industry that attracts a lot of money. However, it still does not deliver the results companies would want. For instance, leadership gaps are a common problem for many companies, according to leadership development statistics. On the other hand, those that implemented it at all levels are reaping the benefits. Finally, leadership statistics and leadership training statistics can help them improve in the future.
