We knew it wouldn't have an impact.

A client said that to me recently. Unprompted.

They'd commissioned large-scale development for leaders from a well-known provider. Hundreds of people went through it quickly. Plenty of reaction data. Lots of ticks in lots of boxes.

They knew, before it started, that it wouldn't really change anything. Nobody got challenged on using that particular provider because they are seen as the safe option. Nobody questioned the decision and as a result nothing really changed in the business.

What nobody in leadership development wants to admit is that the safest option is usually the most expensive one, when you count the cost of nothing changing.

One thing I'm sure of after 20 years of doing this. Leadership development absolutely can be measured. Promotion rates. Performance against peers. The commercial value of projects built into the programme itself. We've seen cohorts where 50-70% of participants were promoted. We've seen embedded projects generate millions in measurable business value.

One client tracked performance data across three groups: ours, an accredited alternative, and no development at all. Ours won.

But that kind of measurement only happens when the person commissioning it is willing to do something different. To say "Let's work out how we prove this worked."

The clients who get those results aren't the ones who played it safe. They're the ones who were brave enough to do something different and bold enough to measure it.

You already know what great leadership development could look like in your organisation. The question is whether you're ready to commission it.