Leadership Program ROI Useful Fact or Mythical Fiction

Wendy Shepherd critically examines the entrenched practice of calculating a direct ROI for leadership development, arguing that traditional models like Kirkpatrick perpetuate mythical assumptions. She calls for courage in moving away from these methods towards new evaluation models that prioritise clarity of purpose and context. Based on extensive research, she presents five new categories for evaluating immediate shifts in leadership activity, such as Alignment of Behaviours and Priorities and Engagement. This framework offers a cost-effective solution for measuring genuine impact, including improvements in discretionary effort and employee retention, shortly after program completion.