The Deficiencies of Leadership (Management) Training*

*Delivered at the International Academy ofManagement, Prague 2024

Leadership and management training must adapt to the evolving needs of today’s organizations—needs that were not as critical when management principles were first formalized over a century ago.

In today’s world, decision implementation is crucial to organizational success. This wasn’t always the case. In the past, societies were scarcity-driven, authority was more respected, and change occurred slowly. Implementation challenges were not as pronounced. But now, as organizational complexity increases and authority is routinely challenged, implementing change has become one of the greatest management difficulties of our time.

Yet, this reality is not reflected in the curricula of leading business schools. In reviewing programs at major institutions, I found no courses explicitly focused on implementation. Students learn how to make good decisions in marketing, finance, and operations—as if a good decision will automatically be executed. But we know this is not true.

Who makes this flawed assumption? Often, it’s those who lack practical experience running organizations. Many faculty members at top business schools have pursued academic careers but have never managed anything themselves. Consulting, where practical experience might be gained, is frequently dismissed as non-academic.

Even the field of “management” has largely disappeared from MBA curricula. It is often considered insufficiently scholarly. In its place, behavioral science dominates, with an emphasis on controlled experiments that are publishable but of limited use in addressing the realities of implementation.

As a result, leadership program graduates often diagnose problems effectively and reach sound conclusions—but when asked to implement their ideas, they fall short. Many become disillusioned and critical of senior leadership, failing to appreciate the complexity of aligning people, politics, and power centers to enact change.

I myself fell into this trap. As a professor of management, my only “management” experience had been managing to cross the street. I was once invited to advise a company facing a serious challenge. I analyzed the problem, wrote a thorough report, and was proud of my recommendations. I had applied everything I taught in my courses.

But to my surprise, the company rejected my proposals. When I asked the CEO why, he told me my plan would have sparked serious conflict with the trade unions—something he couldn’t afford.

That moment was humbling. It taught me that companies are more like sailing ships than factories. You cannot simply stand on the deck and plot a new course to avoid an iceberg. If you want to change the ship’s direction, you must go to the engine room. You need to understand how the engines work, which ones are functional, and which ones are resistant. You may need to decrease power on the left engine and increase it on the right. If one engine refuses to cooperate, your plan—however brilliant—won’t matter.

In organizational terms, these engines are power centers. Implementation requires an understanding of their alignment, interests, and influence. This is the essence of organizational politics. But politics is not taught in leadership programs. And that’s a problem.

Recognizing this, I resigned my tenured position at UCLA to dedicate my life to developing methodologies that support successful implementation. In my experience, an average decision that is well implemented is better than an excellent decision that fails in practice. Over the decades, I’ve developed a methodology that helps organizations make change happen—swiftly, collaboratively, and sustainably(1). Some companies have grown from $50 million to $6 billion using it.

If leadership education is to stay relevant, it must confront the real-world complexities of implementation. Teaching students how to make good decisions is not enough. We must teach them how to make those decisions stick.

1. Ichak Adizes: Mastering Change (Publication@adizes.com)