DevelopLast updated April 11, 2025

Leadership development programming is receiving outsized investment relative to its impact

Why It Matters

Current leadership development spend represents 35% of L&D budget but shows limited correlation with leadership effectiveness scores or promotion readiness metrics. Reallocating resources to higher-impact interventions could improve ROI by 40% while better preparing your leadership pipeline.

How We Uncovered This

Data Sources

  • • L&D Budget Analysis
  • • Leadership 360 Reviews
  • • Promotion Readiness Assessments

Methodology

We analyzed the correlation between leadership development program participation and subsequent leadership effectiveness metrics. Despite significant investment, participants showed minimal improvement compared to non-participants on key leadership competencies.

Key Findings

  • • Leadership program participants show only 8% improvement in 360 scores vs 5% for non-participants
  • • Cost per leadership development hour is 3x higher than peer organizations
  • • Only 22% of program content directly maps to identified leadership gaps
  • • Manager coaching and stretch assignments show 4x better ROI than formal programs
Related Benchmarks

Leadership Development ROI

Develop

Return on leadership development investment significantly lags peers

Your Score: 1.2x
Peer Average: 2.8x
Below Average

Leadership Readiness Pipeline

Develop

Fewer leaders are rated as ready for next-level roles

Your Score: 45%
Peer Average: 62%
Below Average