Abstract Purpose – This paper is derived from a two-year study that sought to
provide a critical understanding of the current state of business leadership
development (BLD) and to identify directions for innovative future practice. The
first of two companion papers, this contribution aims to examine the issue of
achieving business relevance in BLD and the quality of HR/management development
strategy formulation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses four
organisation case studies of BLD strategy derived from interview data sourced
from 103 senior line/HRD managers in 20 organisations. Findings – The findings
highlight the need for HRD managers to take a discriminating approach to linking
BLD strategy, development method, evaluation and the role of management
development. In particular, the cases studied reflect the importance of informal
activity and politics in the execution of BLD and the positive effect of
individual leadership in moderating the effectiveness of the linkages between
business context, BLD strategy and its implementation. Practical implications –
The paper provides a conceptual framework to enable practitioners to
discriminate between different bundles of development practices that can, over
time, be translated into behaviours that suit the changing needs of an
organisation. A list of useful starting points is provided for managers to
review and improve BLD strategy and practice in their own organisation.
Originality/value – The paper provides a framework that shows the importance of
different development populations, different sponsors, interest groups and
strategic timeframes in enabling more informed discussion about the strategic
alignm
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