Companies are spending more on leadership development than ever. Mordor Intelligence projects the corporate leadership training market will reach $39.73 billion in 2026, growing to $57.64 billion by 2031. Mid-level managers account for the largest share of that demand because they sit at the center of execution and organizational change. The money is real. The question is whether the capability is.
The evidence suggests it often is not. INSEAD Knowledge reports that global spending on leadership development is estimated at around $100 billion a year, and that McKinsey found only 11% of executives strongly agreed their leadership interventions achieved and sustained the desired results. Michael Beer and colleagues at Harvard described the pattern as the "great training robbery". The capabilities built in classrooms rarely translate into behavioural change. The programme ends. The old environment resumes. The new behaviour evaporates.
