Developing Leaders Takes More Than Competency

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A large company wanted to develop new leaders internally with a goal of increasing “internal hires to 75% of all appointments for top roles by better preparing existing talent for leadership.” Its head of learning and development, “Mark,” proposed a bold approach: engage leaders at all levels in a community-driven learning environment.  

When senior management heard the idea, they resisted, assuming the up-and-coming leaders lacked the right skills and competencies. They couldn’t wrap their heads around how simply connecting people could spur leadership development. 

When I read this in HBR, it made my head spin to think that people reach senior management levels without fully grasping the power of collaboration and community. Good leaders learn how to lead with and for others. Mark felt the same way, recalling, “It was the worst meeting of my whole career.”

How community builds leadership skills 

Leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It's shaped in meeting rooms and team huddles where consensus is built and ideas are refined. During setbacks, collaboration gets us out of tough spots. Community-based learning amplifies this process by allowing leaders to practice key real-life skills within a supportive network. 

When we engage in a community, the learning opportunities are vast: 

Navigating complex relationships 

In any organization, leaders must work with a diverse range of people across departments, generations, and perspectives. A community of peers, large or small, mirrors this dynamic, creating a space where participants can practice emotional intelligence, empathy, and constructive communication—in other words, how to get along with others! 

Pitching, negotiating, and finding consensus 

One of the hardest parts of leadership is influencing others when you don't have appointed authority. In a community, people collaborate, debate, and pitch ideas, giving them hands-on experience with persuasion and negotiation, which are key skills for building alignment across teams. 

Leading initiatives and projects 

Community-type organizations provide opportunities for members to step up and take ownership of projects. The experience of organizing and running events and projects builds the confidence and strategic thinking leaders need in their day-to-day roles. 

Organizing and empowering subgroups 

Strong leaders understand how to delegate, rally subgroups, and leverage different strengths to achieve a goal. Community learning environments often form natural working groups, teaching their members how to engage others and build team cohesion. Community-driven collaboration becomes a proving ground for every essential leadership skill.  

The science behind community-based leadership development 

It's not just me who feels this way; research backs it up.  

• Leaders who engage in peer learning are more likely to retain new behaviors because they can observe, reflect, and adapt in a real-world context (Center for Creative Leadership). 

• Cross-generational mentoring helps close leadership gaps by allowing senior leaders to pass on wisdom while also learning fresh perspectives from their younger counterparts (Wendy Marcinkus Murphy). 

• Peer-to-peer learning programs significantly enhance leadership effectiveness, with 74% of organizations reporting that collaborative learning positively impacts leadership development (The Collective). 

• Psychological safety thrives in community settings and encourages leaders to take risks, voice ideas, and admit mistakes, all of which contribute to growth and innovation (Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School). 

Breaking the competency trap 

From the beginning of the article, the senior management team demonstrated their belief that leadership can be boiled down to a set of technical competencies.  

Wrong.  

Leadership is not a checklist of activities. It is a mindset and a collection of evolving emotionally intelligent behaviors. To build truly exceptional leaders, organizations must provide environments where people can grow. Allow your team to find ways they can: 

• Test new skills in real scenarios 
• Collaborate with peers at every level 
• Reflect on their growth and receive feedback from trusted mentors 

There are numerous options for community-based collaboration. Encourage your team to find something that suits them personally or professionally and give them time to work on these projects. This could be joining the Chamber of Commerce, a Rotary Club, local NABIP chapters, church groups, or PTAs. If your team is interested, engaged, and taking on responsibilities, encourage their efforts because your business will benefit from the newfound or enhanced skills they develop from these community-based organizations. 

Leadership takes a village 

We all know that leadership can feel incredibly lonely. But in the right community, that isolation dissolves and is replaced with support, challenge, and inspiration. 

If you want to grow leaders in your organization (that should be a given 🙂), let the power of the community do the heavy lifting. When leaders learn to lead with others, they become better at leading for others. That’s the kind of leadership that transforms organizations. 

Goose, the community for employee benefits professionals 

We have poured our hearts and souls into creating a community that is a safe space for benefits professionals to find their footing and build their dream businesses. We’ve successfully launched folks into very happy retirements from their work with us. 

Join Goose and learn what the power of a like-minded peer community can do for your career.