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4.2.1 What are we developing in our transport and logistics leaders?

There is no one prescription for the development of leaders in transport and logistics. How leadership development is shaped will be guided by how we answer the following question. What attributes are we trying to develop? This may seem a very basic question, but it is one that many fail to ask when planning and implementing development programs for professional or project leaders. As we examined in the early chapters leadership may vary not only in definition, but also in how we define leadership. What is it we intend to develop? Is it:

Quite simply, how we describe the leader of transport and logistics operations will affect how we structure development programs.

Figure 3 The dimensions of individual development

Figure 3 The dimensions of individual development
© Working Futures 1998, with permission

The above dimensions impact not only the design of leadership development programs, but also how such programs will impact and should be configured for each individual, as with the old adage, 'one size does not fit all'. Even if we design a leadership development program with sensitivity to all variables affecting design, we still can ignore individual needs. Where the inspiration and capacity to lead comes from within the individual this can be a critical oversight in the development of leadership programs.

Figure 3 depicts three dimensions:

Dimensions 1-Human Functioning: The dimensions that impact the performance of leadership by humans.
Dimensions 2-Leadership Characteristic: The dimensions that impact how we describe leadership.
Dimensions 3-Variables Impacting the Individual Leader: The dimensions that detail how an individual leads within a given context.

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