International Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol. 6 Iss. 1, 2010 © 2010 School of Global Leadership &Entrepreneurship, Regent University ISSN 1554-3145 Practitioner’s Corner Redefining Leader Development: Organizational Learning that Encourages a Culture of Transformation Kirk G. Mensch Myra E. Dingman Regent University Organizational executives are becoming keenly aware of the importance of encouraging self-directed leader development and lifelong learning. It is also evident that a great deal of confusion abounds regarding what is meant by the practice of leader development. This paper explores the nature and source of this confusion and provides clarification regarding terminology and shifting paradigms in methodology and organizational culture. Furthermore, we propose a focus on personal transformation, moral development, and sustainable behavioral change as critical aspects of leader development. In order to understand what is meant by leader development, it is best to begin by understanding what it is not. Leader development is not synonymous with such things as management training, and it is surely more than training in general. It is not the management of training programs, even if it is called a development program, and regardless of the number of times the term leader or leadership appears in the course description. Leader development is neither a single class nor a series of classes in leadership theory or leadership in practice. Leader development is also not a speaker series where prominent academics or experienced practitioners attempt to impart knowledge to their listeners. It is also not any particular item, characteristic, or aspect of a program; rather, leader development is a process of personal transformation; and without a purposeful and personal transformation, there is no development as a leader. And, while many of the examples mentioned previously may be designed to encourage personal transformation, they must not be considered in and of themselves developmental but instead be considered as a means to a greater end. The challenges that organizations will face over the next 10 years are unknown, but we do know that these years will be filled with scenarios not yet seen today, complex situations that some researchers commonly refer to as wicked problems (a problem that is described as difficult, if not impossible, to solve with current understandings), and the need for new answers, new