Our advice: Establish a leadership-development program for a set of your people. It can be as simple or as comprehensive as you wish. Overall, follow this seven-step process:

1. Set your real objective;
   
   
2. Seek counsel from a leadership subject-matter expert;
   
   
3. Determine the target audience;
4. Design and build the leadership program;
   
   
5. Get buy-in from your manager and peers;
   
   
6. Define success; and
   
   
7. Launch the program and stay the course.

A simple version of a leadership program can be a reading program in which the group reads and discusses selected books on leadership and related topics. The participants take turns facilitating the discussion, and meet every four to six weeks. These meetings are made part of their schedule and attendance is required. Occasionally, a guest speaker might be invited.

On the other end of the spectrum is the comprehensive version, which includes reading books, facilitating leadership topics, and having dialogues with guest speakers, both internal and external. The overall objective of such a program is to help the participants discover their personal leadership styles. There's no silver bullet, given that there are more than 60 elements that make up one's style. Fundamentals include knowing who you are, what you're good at, and what you really believe in, e.g., your personal values. Such a program requires a three-day off-site session to set the learning environment, establish the ground rules and practices, and develop the trust needed for a safe learning environment in which to take risks and learn from each other in an open way. Then, every six to eight weeks, a one- or two-day meeting should be held offsite over a period of 18 months.

One critical success factor for your program, be it simple or comprehensive, is your continuous, active support. If it's perceived as the program du jour, it will fail. It requires your time, patience, and consistency. Not every person will progress at the same rate. Measuring progress is up to you and to each individual. Learning should be viewed as a collaborative effort and not a competitive one. If you have a good team already, it will get stronger as they learn how to lead together.

-- Bart Bolton