Jackie Kennedy, founder and CEO of LeadMe Academy, challenges CHROs to rethink leadership development. She argues that short-term fixes may look productive but rarely lead to real change, and highlights what to do instead.
Leadership is often spoken about in lofty terms: vision, influence, transformation. But for those responsible for shaping it inside organisations, the question is far more practical. How do we build a leadership pipeline that truly prepares us for the future?
It is not for lack of trying. High-potential programmes are launched, offsites are held, frameworks are introduced. Yet a year later, many HR leaders find themselves asking the same uncomfortable questions: Did it work? Has anything really changed?
The uncomfortable truth is that much of what is labelled leadership development is built to satisfy the short term. It delivers activity, not always progress. And in a business environment that demands fast results and constant visibility, that is understandable. But it is also why so many initiatives fail to take root.
Because leadership is not built in a quarter, it is built in culture, in feedback loops, in daily conversations. It takes time, trust and sustained commitment.
Organisations that invest in leadership development over a period of 12+ months see up to 25 percent improvement in employee engagement, retention, and team performance. And companies with high employee retention rates experience a 22 percent increase in overall profitability.
It’s as simple as this: creating a solid leadership pipeline will directly impact your bottom line and this bench strength comes from long-term, embedded strategies.
From intervention to integration
The organisations that see real, lasting returns on leadership development do one thing differently: they stop treating it as a one-off intervention and start treating it as a systemic, cultural investment.
They don’t just train leaders; they grow them through a continuous, integrated approach that aligns personal growth with business outcomes. They measure not just attendance, but behavioural change. Not just satisfaction scores, but shifts in culture and capability. They invest in programmes that evolve with their people – programmes that are embedded, longitudinal, and designed to deliver over time.
This isn’t just good HR. It’s good business.
A McKinsey study found that organisations with strong leadership development cultures were 2.4x more likely to hit their performance targets and 1.5x more likely to outperform their peers financially. The return on a sustainable, integrated leadership development strategy far outweighs the flashier, short-lived alternatives.
Building the next generation of leaders
This is the deeper opportunity in front of today’s CHROs: to move from reactive to regenerative leadership development. To stop plugging gaps and start building pipelines.
CHROs in this position may find it helpful to reflect:
- Are we developing leaders for their current roles, or are we preparing them for the roles that lie ahead?
- Are our programmes reflective of the leadership behaviours we say we value?
- Do our people feel supported not just in learning what to do – but in practising how to do it, on a daily basis?
Because here’s what the next generation of leaders really need: not another keynote or one-off workshop, but consistent, personalised mentorship. Not a resource folder of leadership tips, but real-world opportunities to reflect, experiment and grow. Not rigid, top-down models of authority, but dynamic, collaborative frameworks built on emotional intelligence, systems thinking and trust.
As CHROs, you hold a unique vantage point – and a powerful responsibility. You have the ability to see leadership potential across the entire organisation and the influence to shape its trajectory. By championing embedded, long-term leadership development, you don’t just invest in individual growth – you can shape the future of the business itself, creating lasting impact at every level.
