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The unfortunate truth is, many learning and development programs fail to accomplish what they set out to do. According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report, while 50% of upskilling and reskilling programs make it through the activation stage, only 4% reach the measurement stage—meaning the programs flop before employees can get what they want and need from them.
In Together’s report, “Enterprise L&D in 2025”, we learned that HR and L&D professionals predict lack of growth opportunities is going to be the top factor in staff turnover in 2025. Another factor high on the list is poor management, and since 70% of employee engagement is determined by an employee’s leader, it makes sense that L&D’s top priority in the coming year is to make sure leaders are properly trained to support their team.
How can you make sure your leadership development programs don’t flop? Here are four common denominators of programs that fail:
- One-size-fits-all approach: Leadership development programs often lack customization, failing to address individuals’ learning needs and styles.
- Lack of practical application: Without hands-on learning, theoretical knowledge rarely translates into real-world skills, leading to disengagement and no meaningful change.
- Insufficient support and buy-in: Without strong support from the higher ups, leadership development programs can fail, highlighting the critical need for supportive leadership.
- Inconsistency: If a program is too large or complex, it makes it hard for administrators to run programs consistently, letting them flounder.
- Failure to measure success: Many organizations don’t track the effectiveness of their L&D programs. Without metrics, it's hard to understand what works and what doesn't, leading to stagnation and disengagement.
To make your leadership development program as successful as possible, look to other organizations that have cracked the code. Let’s explore six companies with leadership development programs and discover how they effectively support their employees' growth.
6 companies with the best leadership development programs
From hiring and training interns before they enter the workforce to building your own in-house university with a large array of resources – the companies below have gone above and beyond to ensure their employees develop essential leadership abilities and get the learning and development they want and need to do their jobs well. After all, empowering employees means empowering your organization.
When looking through these leadership training programs examples, pay attention to:
- Employee groups – managers, graduates, minority groups, etc
- Career level – interns, graduates, entry-level, etc
- Types of learning and development – university teaching, classes, mentorship, etc
Let’s look at 6 companies with the best leadership development programs:
1. Randstad: Cutting employee turnover by 49% with mentorship
Randstad, a Dutch multinational HR consulting firm, established a global workplace mentoring program where every employee could find a mentor within the organization. They wanted to ensure each employee had access to training and development and support their leadership development.
This involved partnering with Together, a mentoring software, to offer a seamless mentorship experience to their employees. After launching the program, they started seeing results.
Through this global mentorship program, they could monitor employee turnover, focusing on those who participated compared to those who didn’t. They found that those participating in the mentorship program were 49% less likely to leave the organization.
2. General Electric: Experiential learning for well-rounded leaders
Leaders who understand different business functions are better equipped to guide teams through unique challenges and come out on the other side.
General Electric takes experiential learning for their future leaders very seriously, offering rotational programs through different business functions that include technical and leadership skill-building. Whether it’s through their Edison Engineering Development Program, Digital Technology Leadership Program, or others throughout their aviation, power, and renewable energy sectors, their internal leadership development programs aim to develop a strong leadership pipeline to meet future goals and challenges.
3. Cigna: Tailored leadership development across 9 departments
Cigna’s leadership development programs or Cigna’s LDPs have a more departmental focus. They recruit individuals for nine different areas such as marketing, sales, technology, etc.
These individuals then have access to mentorship and a dedicated program manager who watches over their progress and growth, focusing on creating a leadership pipeline.
As part of the program, individuals work across a variety of positions, attend the Cross Program Summit – to expand their network and meet Cigna’s leadership – and benefit from other business-related seminars.
4. Allstate: Gaining cross-functional expertise with rotations
Allstate provides more well-rounded leadership training through multiple development programs accessed via rotation. For example, their Technology Leadership Development Program focuses on cross-functional learning through three rotations.
These examples of leadership development programs provide valuable experience and training in the departments of technology, finance, data analysis, and more. And all of these programs are designed to challenge participants so they can gain valuable insights, perspectives, and experiences through assignments, workshops, mentorship, and more.
5. Deloitte: Investing $300 million in future leaders
Deloitte launched Deloitte University (DU), their $300 million leadership and learning center in Texas, US. Through this learning center, they provide live and virtual classrooms, team-based learning, networking opportunities, and more.
The university aside, Deloitte strives to use L&D programs to boost inclusion efforts by using these leadership programs examples:
- Emerging Leaders Development Program (ELDP) – designed to help high-performing minority managers to progress in their career path
- Women’s Leadership Programs – set of intensive programs customized and built to boost the growth of high-talent women at different career levels.
- Career sponsorship and mentoring – embedded sponsorship opportunities for various development programs, and more.
6. IBM iX: Developing strong technical and people leaders
“Know and design yourself” is the motto of IBM iX’s Next Generation Leader Program, meaning participants are in charge of how they move through the program and become great leaders.
A standout aspect of this program is it doesn’t just focus on one leadership outcome. It can be tailored to the participant’s unique learning styles, technical skills and strengths, and goals. There are two paths they can take: expert leadership or people leadership. As experts, leaders take point on certain subject matter areas and take on more and more depth and complexity as they progress. Those on the people leader track manage teams and are responsible for developing and supporting those they oversee to create a thriving, high-performing workforce.
How to develop leaders: See the 4 different ways most companies choose
Organizations can choose from various leadership training and development programs to promote leadership development and boost employee participation. Here are four effective methods:
1. Third-party development programs
Organizations can hire or outsource leadership development to established third-party programs known for their successful results. These programs typically cover essential leadership skills, leadership training, coaching, different leadership styles, and company operations from strategy to finance.
Examples:
- Business schools: Comprehensive corporate leadership development programs from institutions like Harvard Business School, Yale (YGELP), and Wharton.
- Online boot camps: Courses from platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Emeritus, BetterUp, and LEADx.
Leadership development program examples:
- Global business management
- Women’s leadership programs
- Executive-level training
- Customized leadership training
- Project-based development
- Community involvement training
- Conflict resolution training
2. Internal leadership development programs
For a more tailored approach, companies can build internal leadership development programs. These programs connect emerging leaders with seasoned mentors, creating organic, cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Implementation:
- HR advisors: Enlist HR professionals to create and manage the program.
- Development programs software: Use tools like Together to manage all your programs in one place.
3. Personal leadership development programs
Empowering employees to take charge of their own development can be highly effective. Providing learning stipends allows employees to pursue education based on their interests and career goals, increasing their investment in the company’s objectives.
Benefits:
- Employees have agency in their career decisions.
- Personalized learning leads to higher engagement and retention.
4. Blended learning
The best companies offer multiple learning formats within leadership development programs. This means offering a leadership development track that includes learning through mentorship, networking, content, and more.
Benefits:
- Employees are able to learn through formats that work best for them
- Tools like Together help you easily launch corporate leadership development programs with all the tools and learning formats you need
Build stronger programs for greater impact
The foundation of successful leadership development programs requires two things: consistency and sustainability. Part of the reason many programs don’t reach the measurement stage is the lack of these two things. But, with the right foundation, you can build, launch, and continuously run valuable, impactful programs.
Using development programs software gives you that foundation. From building professional mentoring programs, to tracking tasks and participation, to integrating 3rd party development content—or building your own training resource repository, this software makes it so you can run all your programs from one place.
The result? More sustainable and impactful leadership development programs that truly set current and future leaders up for success.
Plan your organization's development strategy in one place
Together is the only software that allows you to manage leadership development programs with blended learning formats. With Together’s development programs software, you have every tool you need, including; mentor matching, events, content & resources, emails & comms, tasks, artificial intelligence, badges & certificates, and surveys & reporting.
Templates within the software allow you to launch the most common leadership development programs in just hours—and customize them to your organization's unique needs.
Interested in learning more? Book a 20 minute call to see how we can help.
FAQs
What are workplace leadership development programs?
Leadership development programs for companies help employees build and expand on leadership and management skills, both personally and professionally.
The goal of these programs is to encourage high-potential employees’ growth in their roles and within the organization.
Most leadership development programs are backed by research and run by HR or similar organizations within the company.
What should be included in a leadership development program?
Comprehensive leadership development programs for companies should include:
- Assessment and feedback mechanisms
- Customized training in leadership and functional skills
- Mentorship and coaching opportunities
- Soft skills development in areas such as communication and conflict resolution
- Networking opportunities
- Project management and time management skills
- Access to continuous education resources
- A focus on instilling company values and ethics
What is the purpose of a leadership development program?
The purpose of a leadership development program is to equip current and future leaders with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experiences to effectively guide their teams and drive organizational success.
These leadership development program examples listed above aim to enhance leadership capabilities, promote strategic thinking, improve decision-making, and encourage a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the organization.
