The research was undertaken over a two-week period last October, involving a sample of 1,200 graduates of Common Purpose programmes. The results show that less than half of people receive leadership development in the workplace before the age of 25 – despite the fact that over half of all respondents said they had wanted leadership development at a younger age.
The significance of this disparity is underlined by the finding that 60% of respondents had already held leadership positions by the time they’d reached 25 years of age. The survey found that the majority of these leadership positions were in employment. This suggests that there are many young people taking the lead in the UK’s workplaces who feel that they’re not receiving the leadership development they need.
In short, the UK is neglecting its leadership pipeline by failing to prepare its young leaders to become the senior leaders of tomorrow.
Redressing the imbalance
Common Purpose is an independent, leadership development organisation which aims to improve the way society works. The company operates throughout the UK and worldwide in Ireland, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, The Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa and Turkey.
Speaking about the research results, Julia Middleton – the chief executive of Common Purpose – commented: “We have to redress this imbalance because organisations and society need more young people prepared and able to stand up as leaders. You have to learn to lead young because it’s a bumpy ride. You inevitably have successes but there will also be mistakes, and you have to be able to bounce back, forgive yourself and keep going.”
To address this problem, Common Purpose is expanding Frontrunner, its leadership development programme for the UK’s young adults. The Frontrunner programme uses real-life situations as its classroom. Participants are taken to a diverse range of organisations where they explore the problems they are facing alongside the people who are tackling them.
This is a rare chance to explore what’s required to lead effectively with people already leading change in society. Participants also gain a stimulating new peer network of other leaders across the UK.
2009 dates for Frontrunner
Frontrunner is a residential course that will be held on five separate occasions in 2009: 22-25 June (London), 6-9 July (Glasgow), 13-16 July (Leeds), 2-5 September (Bristol) and from 7-10 September in Belfast.
There are over 100 free places on the programme, and the application process is now open to people over the age of 18 who may be in full-time education or are in the very early stages of their career, and who have already shown evidence of leadership.
The application deadline for the Glasgow, Leeds and London Frontrunner programmes is 27 April 2009. The deadline for the Bristol and Belfast programme is 27 July 2009. The short application process can be found online (see the dedicated link on the right hand panel of this page) or telephone 020 7608 8148 for further details.
