Grooming leaders of the future is becoming a high stakes gambit for companies that want to retain a competitive edge.

Leaders are made, not born. It’s a truism that’s trotted out every time a corporate executive talks about leadership development, but there’s mounting evidence that the talk is finally being translated into action. Maybe it’s the reality of globalization; maybe it’s that the aging of the baby-boom generation is creating gaps in corporate organization charts. Whatever the motivation, the growing number of leadership development programs now being rethought and reorganized makes it clear that U.S. business is concerned about its future management needs.

More than 40% of the major international companies recently surveyed by Corporate University Xchange, a research and consulting organization based in Harrisburg, PA, say they have just significantly changed or totally revamped the internal programs they rely on to produce their next generation of leaders. One reason: A mere 3% of those surveyed say they believe they have the ability to find the leadership talent they require. “There’s a big problem here,” says Sue Todd, president and CEO of CorpU. “We’ve been saying it and saying it and saying it, and it is still not working.”

As Todd sees it, businesspeople have long talked about the need for leadership development, but many have failed to make it a priority. Too often, she says, organizations succumb to pressure to meet quarterly earnings expectations and other short-term needs, behavior that can deprive them of important management resources when they are most needed. Todd points to recent succession problems in the financial sector, where major banks and brokerage firms have been forced to scurry when they needed to put a new CEO in place.

Concern over the quality of future leaders has been steadily growing as businesses have expanded globally and technologically. At the same time, retiring baby-boomers are creating a significant talent drain. Still, the number of businesses CorpU will be honoring this month with awards for excellence in corporate education suggests that many are stepping up to the challenge. The best are providing the funding and flexibility to create and implement companywide professional development plans. They are embracing concepts like action learning, where leaders gain on-the-job experience by solving real business problems as they happen. At the very best, increasing numbers of senior management—starting with the CEO—are taking an active role by supporting and participating in the programs.

Overseeing a Far-Flung Empire

A perfect example is Staples, which has had a successful leadership development program targeted at midlevel management for nearly a decade. It is now also focusing on the development of top-level executives. The change wasn’t prompted by a single event or moment in time, but rather by a growing appreciation of the value of such programs in an increasingly complex business world.

“More and more, we are becoming a global company,” says Nancy Persson, vice president of organization development, training, and internal communications. Staples now does business in 22 countries, compared with six a few years ago. “When you look at the rapid growth of markets and economies like India and China,” she says, “you realize you have to prepare for where the world is going.” Borrowing a metaphor from Wayne Gretzky, Persson adds that Staples needs to “skate to where the puck is going to be,” not toward where it is at the moment. To do that, the company developed a competency model for the leadership skills its executives will need; it includes inspiring people, driving results, integrating operations around the globe, and an uncompromising commitment to creating an ethical environment.

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