The Best Leadership Development Program Is Based on Individual Differences, and Object to the Statement of “cannot Be Done in Teams”

We agree with the first statement which is the best leadership development program is based on individual differences, and object to the statement of “cannot be done in teams”.

1. The first argument that opposition expressed is that different people have different traits. But people always have common traits. And sometimes people have similar personalities or traits to some extent. People who attend leadership development program can be divided into groups based on their common personalities so that an effective teaching project can be applied to this group.

What leadership development program can offer? This program will not directly make participants great leaders with advanced or efficient skills. Conger and Benjamin (1999) states that the focus of LDP shifts from improving individual skills and job performance to shaping the worldviews and behaviors. In my opinion, what a leadership development program brings to a participant is an in-depth perception of himself and the future direction of one’s leadership. In other words, a best program provides necessary foundations to become a great leader. Therefore, some basic knowledge and behaviors can be taught in teams, which is more cost-effective than private teaching.

According to a survey from Prive(2012), some common qualities that make a great leader are Honesty, delegate, communication, confidence, and so on. It is not only unique traits that need to develop, so are these common traits. There is no doubt that these traits can be taught and learned in groups.

Attending leadership development program in teams also can provides group discussion.

Group discussions may offer more comprehensive understanding of what they learned from the program. Different people have different views and experiences, so there may be different understandings and perceptions which can lead to more achievements. People can also receive feedback not only from the teacher, but also from your team members. I think all of these feedbacks will accurately and properly reflect one’s work.