Leadershipcapability
The capacity to establish direction, influence, and align others towards a common aim, to motivate and commit them to action, and make them responsible for their performance. Leadership ability is a mix of skills and knowledge, applied with authentic behaviour and attitude, which enables individuals to lead others towards a stated objective or goal.
Common measures
Leadership bench strength: this measures the number of leaders trained to defined standard who are exhibiting required behaviours.
Quality of leadership: this is an assessment through performance management processes including 360 assessment.
For instance, % of leaders achieving the defined high leadership grade
Leadership review process measures: these are measures defined by the organisation to assess the quality of the leadership process
For example, measurement of the quality and outcomes of project.
Talent distribution: a measure of where identified talented individuals are deployed in pivotal roles; or the proportion of top managers in pivotal roles, or global key roles, as defined by the organisations HR and Talent development strategy1.
For example, number (N) defined top managers / Total number of key roles
Development plan impact: a measure of the success rate for achieving agreed development plans for progression managers1.
For instance, Number (N) development plan objectives completed to good quality / N development plan objectives set
Executive Stability Ratio: a measure of the ratio of executives with less than 3 years’ experience set against the number of executives with more than 3 years’ experience.
Further research
Research from the Centre for Creative Leadership looks at 20 leadership capabilities required for current and future organisations, identifying where organisations are on track, and where there are gaps existing in current capabilities.
Find out more: The Leadership Gap - what you need, and still don't have, when it comes to leadership talent
Resources description
Effective leadership is key to achieving organisational objectives so understanding the strengths and weaknesses of current leadership capabilities is essential for any organisation. Collecting and analysing data in this area can help organisations make evidence-based decisions to improve their capabilities and better understand the investment they make in their leadership. For more information about leadership, visit the CIPD factsheet:
For practical guidance on understanding and implementing different styles of management download the CMI checklist below:
Management and leadership styles
For more information on the theory of management and models of leadership download the CMI thought piece on leading management thinker John Adair, Action-Centred Leadership.
Action Centred Leadership