A time-honored strategy for developing prospective, new, and practicing leaders is to enroll them in leadership development programs. Many management development programs are also aimed at leadership development. However, management development programs cover hundreds of topics within the functions of planning, organizing, controlling, and leading.

No matter what business a company is in, the real business is building leaders. Without a cadre of effective current and future leaders, a company would lose its competitive edge. Part of the reason is that leaders are either responsible for providing innovative ideas or for creating the conditions that foster innovation.

Developing and training leaders is far more complex than merely sending aspiring leaders to a one-week seminar. The leadership development program has to be appropriately sponsored, carefully designed, and professionally executed. Although online learning supplements other forms of leadership development, face-to-face interaction with other leaders and course presenters will most likely remain popular.