Depending on the decade, there seems to be widely divergent definitions of leadership development.  Based on the research and my experience in what works in this new millennium, I define Leadership Development as a deliberate and systematic process to:

• Identify critical leadership competencies,
• Identify pools of high-potential candidates at all levels of the organization,
• Accelerate the development of mission-critical leadership competencies through intentional development, and,
• Regularly measure progress.

This definition is very close to my definition of succession management.  That’s no coincidence. I view them as strongly linked talent management processes.  (Go here for more information on building a robust Succession Management Process.) Want to read more?  Here’s a free whitepaper that further describes the components of 21st Century Leadership Development