The Great Leadership Delusion

For decades, organisations have been spending billions chasing a mirage — the idea that investing in the development of a small number of “leaders” will translate into better organisational performance. It’s an appealing notion, rooted in the romantic belief that a few exceptional individuals hold the power to inspire and transform those around them. But the data tells a different story.

Study after study shows that the vast majority of corporate leadership development programs fail to deliver meaningful results. The reasons are multilayered — from using vague, jargon-filled overly complex competency models to focusing on superficial “smile sheets” rather than examining whether skills were actually learned and applied on the job. It’s the equivalent of an actor doing a few rehearsals of being a firefighter and then being deemed qualified to put out fires.

Instead of falling for the leadership industrial complex, organisations should be doubling down on developing foundational skills for middle managers, who are, after all, the backbone of their workforce. It’s the supervisors, team leads and mid-level managers who shape the day-to-day experience for most employees.

When they set clear expectations, provide coaching, and create psychologically safe cultures, there are compounding benefits:

• higher engagement
• better communication
• fewer silos
• improved productivity
• more consistent performance
• lower turnover.

Legendary leaders are few and far between. But highly capable managers who grease the organisational wheels? They’re the levers that can actually move the performance needle.

The evidence is clear. Organisations that take a democratic approach to capability-building — developing managers at all levels rather than just upper echelons — outperform those infatuated with locating and developing the “next Steve Jobs.” It’s an egalitarian view of potential: each contributor deserves to be developed as a craftsperson of their role.

And I’m speaking from experience. In my 30 years of employment I only worked for six leaders. These people left an indelible mark on my life and my work and are people that I can recall and talk about fondly. These people made the choice (they weren’t following a framework) to be different.

And yet, I worked for many more really good managers. People who went about their business with a minimum of fuss and ensured we had a good team and got the job done.

These people all had a core set of similar skills which meant that there was a consistency of approach across the organisation and a general level of competence that could be trusted to get the work done.

While leadership skills are undoubtedly valuable, effective middle management serves as the foundation for all organisational success. When companies spend their money on the many, not the few, performance and results will be consistently high — as will the reputation of the executives who invest in them.

It’s time for organisations to ditch the leadership myth, and invest in helping every manager to level up.