A “Flipped Script” Approach to Scaling Leader Development

Sixty billion dollars.

This is the amount organizations worldwide spend annually on leader development programs (Yemiscigil, Born & Ling, 2023). Although such prolific spending may suggest C-suite executives are happy with the returns on leader development initiatives, less than half of HR executives feel their existing programs are effective, and only one in five has confidence in their current leadership pipeline (Curphy, Hogan & Kaiser, 2025; Jackson, 2024). In other words, the prevailing approach to developing leaders—hiving off the top 10-15% of an organization’s “high-potential” employees and enrolling them in exclusive training programs—is broken. We offer a research-based roadmap for flipping the traditional but flawed leader development script by introducing an approach that is both highly personalized and easily scalable (Ashford, Wellman, & Sweeten, 2026).

Personal Growth: The Engine of a Flipped Script Approach

Our flipped script approach is based on better understanding how people grow as leaders and then supporting them in doing so. Anyone, anywhere can improve their leadership if they understand that their everyday experiences are the best teachers. Leaders grow by engaging their experiences with a focus not just on what they need to accomplish but also on where (specifically) they need to grow, by trying different experiments to achieve that growth, seeking feedback, reflecting on the results, and pivoting as needed. Organizations can support this growth by reinforcing its importance, emphasizing a growth mindset, and providing resources and training to help employees fully benefit from the cycle.

Achieving the Five Dimensions of Scale

There are five dimensions of scale that must be achieved for the personal growth process described above to be available at scale (Clarke & Dede, 2009; Coburn, 2003). Below, we describe each dimension of scale and provide ideas about how flipped-script programs can support it.

• Spread—the program is made available to as many employees as possible.

Support tools: hardware and software access, tech training and support, “granting” a leader identity to all, incentivizing participation, celebrating growth

• Depth—the program fosters deep, meaningful changes in beliefs and practices.

Support tools: self-reflection and self-assessment, virtual sandboxes to test experiments, AI-based leadership “coaches,” 360° feedback and pulse checks, virtual “libraries” of possible experiments

• Shift—the program’s ownership transitions from top managers to participants.

Support tools: empowering emergent leaders, establishing shared governance

• Evolution—the program adapts based on participant feedback

Support tools: data mining, short feedback surveys, focus groups, virtual suggestion boxes.

• Sustainability—the program endures as a long-term strategy, becoming a stable part of the organization.

Support tools: coaching and mentoring programs, technologically mediated support groups, large-scale leadership forums, creating a growth and feedback culture.

Conclusion

The current, exclusive script for leader development in organizations is frustrating both employees and executives. Our proposed approach flips the traditional script by helping all employees learn from their ongoing experiences in a way that is both personalized and scalable. By transforming leader development from a privilege reserved for the elite into a resource for all, organizations can unlock the latent capacity of their entire workforce and unleash spirals of positive change at both the individual and collective levels.

References

Ashford, S. J., Wellman, N., & Sweeten, J. R. (2026). Leadership should not be a luxury good: Scaling leader development for the forgotten majority. Academy of Management Learning & Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2024.0590

Clarke, J., & Dede, C. (2009). Design for scalability: A case study of the river city curriculum. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18: 353–365.

Coburn, C. E. (2003). Rethinking scale: Moving beyond numbers to deep and lasting change. Educational Researcher, 32: 3–12.

Curphy, G., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2025). The problem with leadership development. HR Management App. Retrieved from https://www.hrmanagementapp.com/the-problem-with-leadership-development

McCall, M. W., Jr. (2004). Leadership development through experience. Academy of Management Perspectives, 18: 127–130.

McCauley, C. D., & McCall, M. W., Jr. (Eds.). (2014). Using experience to develop leadership talent: How organizations leverage on-the-job development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Yemiscigil, A., Born, D., & Ling, H. (2023). February 28: What makes leadership development programs succeed? Harvard Business Review.