What are you looking for out of your leadership development efforts?  Increased competency, employee efficiency, improved attitudes, greater self-confidence… all of these are good outcomes.   But there’s a by-product of leadership development that we often overlook…loyalty. 

People want to grow and develop.  In 1999 Gallup released the book First Break All the Rules which shared their results of interviewing 10 million employees and managers across 114 countries.  In this study they discovered one of the top things employees are looking for is the opportunity to be developed.  When we invest in the development of those we lead it increases not only their competence, but their sense of engagement with the organization as well.  Knowing you care enough to invest in them increases their sense of loyalty to you and the organization.  

In today’s economy leadership development dollars tend to be one of the first things that are cut out of the budget.  But make sure you count the true cost before you cut those dollars.  Spending $79 to send someone to a local conference, paying $22.95 to give them a book or paying $16.73 for them to take an expert to lunch is an investment that will not only build them as a leader but will build their loyalty  to your organization.