In a world where the demands on leaders continue to grow and change, talking to leaders about what they should do may no longer be enough. Leadership growth requires deliberate attention to the drivers of behavior change.
Senior leaders rarely suffer from a lack of knowledge.
By the time executives reach senior levels of responsibility, they have read books, attended courses, and have access to advice from countless experts. They have heard what effective leadership means. However, this understanding is often insufficient to drive change. Rather, the real challenge lies in moving from understanding to making change happen.
This observation informs INSEAD’s Leadership Excellence through Awareness and Practice (LEAP) programme. Rather than focusing on “what” leaders should do, LEAP focuses on “how” they can make the meaningful behavioral shifts that they know will be beneficial to them at future stages of their leadership journey.
"Resistance to behavior change can be unconscious, based on implicit beliefs that the behaviors leaders seek to change are often the very behaviors that made them successful thus far."
A leader whose career was built on deep subject matter expertise may understand that she needs to delegate more and think strategically to progress further. Though she understands this Intellectually, the change proves difficult in practice as it seems to threaten the very habits that produced success.
The reasons for such difficulty can be many and varied. The outcomes, however, are simpler: reason alone rarely ever changes behavior. Hence LEAP pays particular attention to the “inner games” we all play, against obstacles such as doubts, fears, lapses in focus, and limiting concepts and assumptions. Participants learn to play a better inner game by utilising an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral approach.
The programme operationalises this approach by helping participants become aware of the gaps between their desired and current behaviors, and the thoughts and feelings that seem to block change. Then participants land on credible intentions to change; intentions they commit to in the program. But even intentions may be derailed in the moment, and so the program helps participants anticipate and mitigate any possible “interference” to thoughts and intentions.
It is at this point that participants become ready to practice these new behaviors upon return. This is why LEAP is designed as a six-month modular experience rather than a traditional classroom programme.
"Behavior rarely changes after a single insight or conversation. New habits require trial, learning, adaptation and deliberate practice over time."
The gaps between modules allow participants by developing the “muscle” of change through deliberate practice of new behaviors.
Over the past decade, LEAP has attracted a global community of senior executives who share a commitment to continuous growth and personal transformation. Participants describe the programme as not just a learning experience, but as a driver for lasting change in how they lead, decide, and engage with others.
Their commitment to development extends well beyond the programme’s end. Participants typically stay in touch with one another long after the programme, using their periodic contacts to reinforce their intentions to continued change.
"This network of leaders potentially becomes a powerful lifelong asset that accompanies participants at increasing stages of leadership, wherever members may find themselves."
In a world where the demands on leaders continue to grow and change, talking to leaders about what they should do may no longer be enough. Leadership growth requires deliberate attention to the drivers of behavior change. LEAP helps leaders build the foundations of excellence by strengthening the “muscle” of change – through building awareness, identifying credible intentions, overcoming potential interference and through deliberate practice.
Learn more about the LEAP programme here.
