Army Accelerating Leader Development is an article I came across on military.com. The article highlights the need to develop leadership capacity at an ever increasing speed in an ever changing world. The challenge is this…it takes years and years to develop a leader in the first place and I am not convinced that the current processes, systems, and learning methodologies (in any organization) adequately develop leadership as it is. I hope the Army proceeds with caution. I am all for getting more done in less time but accelerating what already exists may not always be the best course of action. – Scott J. Allen

The principle of authority is an important ideal for humankind. We want to make sure that our doctors have gone to reputable medical schools and our lawyers have passed the bar. These are the kinds of credentials that give validity to the work within these two professions. However, authorities in more open and subjective fields of academia often do not have such quantifiable credentials. As a student, I am constantly listening to supposed authorities lecture to me about what it means to be a leader. I think of this as Case Western’s leadership conference approaches. At this biannual event, student leaders from various organizations on campus present leadership development topics to other students. This is an interesting relationship because you naturally have to question what entitles a person to the label “student leader.” While I don’t have an exact solution to this debate, I’m most tempted to say that experience is what makes a leader stand out. This perspective serves as a reminder that no matter what the situation is and who is claiming a position of authority, we should always play the role of an active listener and truly think through any information we are given. – Jim Meehan

Hewitt Associates recently announced its Top Companies for Leaders. CNNMoney.com highlighted the results with its article How Top Companies Breed Stars. Interestingly, 20 percent of the companies on the global list are found in India – read more here. – Scott J. Allen

Here is a link to an article about an interesting study conducted by Bersin & Associates which found that “four out of 10 firms put leadership development programmes in place simply because they are desperate to plug this shortage of internal leadership candidates.” Take a look and if you have an interest in purchasing the original report you can click here. – Scott J. Allen

Avery Denison was named a top company for leaders by Hewitt.  The article can be found here. – Scott J. Allen