Customer Reviews

The Future of Executive Development

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Internationally recognized Executive Development Expert, James Bolt has edited one of the best collections to date on the trends and future of Executive Development. Drawing from his more than 25 years of experience in the field, Bolt and the contributors provide a wide ranging perspective on both the past and the future of executive development. The articles contributed by both top consultants and internal practitioners overview all of the leading areas in the field including simulations, coaching, action-oriented learning, peer to peer networks and also review such best practices as leader as teachers, building global talent bench strength, creating communities of practice and measuring impact. This is clearly one of the most informative and comprehensive books currently available. It is helpful for both the experienced practitioner and novice alike.

While many collections of this type contain one similar example after another of corporate case studies and programs, Bolt's book provides a more critical view of some of these trends and the business rationale behind them. The chapters on experiential learning and on leaders as teachers for example, provide specific detail on various ways these approaches are used. Bolt and McGrath's chapter on Increasing Speed to Market for Executive Programs describes the innovative concept of Rapid Cycle Design as a method to build line involvement in leadership development and gain quicker and deeper buy in for an executive development effort. The chapter from leadership gurus Jay Conger and Robert Fulmer on succession provides some insights on the use of technology while critiquing competency models and 360° feedback. Also helpful and distinctive is the amount of focus on transferring, measuring and embedding learning in the organization. The chapter by Dulworth and Forcill on peer to peer networks provides success factors needed for these networks which are an often overlooked tool in developing leadership. In these and other chapters, Bolt and his contributors are challenging us to look beyond the typical executive development programs and to examine them in terms of how they connect to the future needs of our leaders and organizations.

Overall, I recommend this book highly. It is broad and comprehensive in its overview of the field yet specific enough to offer practical ideas and takeaways. It does not push any one viewpoint and reflects well on the constructive inquiry that James Bolt has brought to this field for many years.

David Giber, SVP, Linkage, Inc.