Contextual leadership: the missing ingredient in development programs

In the evolving landscape of leadership, the need to integrate context into leadership development has never been more critical. Leadership is often imagined as dynamic individuals guiding organizations to success, but the way leadership development programs are designed, researched, and implemented frequently neglects a vital component: context. Without this key factor, such programs risk becoming generic solutions that fail to address the unique challenges leaders face, ultimately limiting their long-term impact and relevance. By embedding context in how leadership is understood, organizations ensure that leadership development efforts are not just best practices, but the right practices for their unique environment.

Why contextual leadership matters

The notion of context is a pertinent topic to researchers and practitioners alike. In a recently published academic article¹, researchers introduce the idea of “zombie leadership”, which they describe as the manifestation of outdated leadership practices that persist despite being proven ineffective. The authors argue that these outdated ideas often focus too much on individual leaders—their traits, decisions, or charisma—without considering the bigger picture: the environment they operate in and the people they work with. For example, the belief that “leaders are born, not made” ignores the fact that great leadership depends on how leaders are able to adapt to the unique situations and challenges presented to them. By clinging to these outdated ideas, the risk is that leadership development programs will teach approaches that are too generic to work in today’s complex world. These researchers argue that leadership should be viewed as a group effort, shaped by relationships and the environment, rather than something defined solely by individual traits.

A review paper of the context deficit in leadership² further highlights how leadership research often overlooks context by rarely considering the circumstances and environments where leadership happens. Instead, leadership research tends to focus on leader behaviors or qualities, like being inspiring or decisive, without asking how these behaviors interact with things like team dynamics, company culture, or industry challenges. Many leadership theories sound great on paper but fall short in real life because they don’t account for the unique situations leaders face. For instance, while being a “transformational” or “servant” leader may work well in some situations, it won’t be effective everywhere unless it aligns with the specific needs and pressures of the organization or team.

To solve this problem, leadership development programs need to make context a key focus if they are going to drive effective leadership within their unique milieu. This means helping leaders understand how to assess their environment, adapt to changes, and work effectively within different settings. Practitioners should consider the value of using real-world examples, storytelling, and tools that show how leadership works in practice, not just in theory.

SuccessFinder’s context-forward approach

At SuccessFinder, context is not just an afterthought, it is a cornerstone of our approach to leadership development. Our framework for understanding employees’ unique context breaks this broad concept down into five layers—Job Role, Work, Team, Leadership, and Culture—each playing a crucial role in shaping the behaviors required for success. By giving attention to these layers in our leadership development solutions, we enable organizations to align people with expectations in a way that maximizes impact and fosters leadership excellence.

Job role

SuccessFinder’s context framework is structured as a series of nested levels because each layer builds upon and influences the ones within it. At the Job Role level, we identify the fundamental aspects of an individual’s position, such as their title, job function, and responsibilities. These core elements shape the opportunities, skills, and experiences the individual is exposed to, yielding a novel pathway for development. Consider the key behaviors relevant for a sales team lead. Sales leaders face constant rejection from prospective clients, they must motivate their team, negotiate deals, and convince internal stakeholders (e.g., product or finance teams) to support sales initiatives. Since sales performance is highly measurable, leaders must analyze data to adjust strategies, optimize pricing, or improve team effectiveness. These are a few examples of why developing leadership in this context may require focussing on unique behavioral competencies core to this job.

Work

True behavioral agility emerges when we move beyond job titles to understand the Work itself, including the nature of tasks, the pace, complexity, and the way employees interact with data, clients, or teams. For instance, to take our sales team leader example, a work context that involves the leader being frequently in client-facing calls and influence large enterprise accounts where relationships with key stakeholders is key may need to focus much more on developing negotiation and relationship management skills. Therefore, understanding the true work characteristics beyond the job title is useful to determine when certain behaviors are pivotal to success.

Team

Next, the Team level further contextualizes the type of work someone does by considering team dynamics, collaboration, and the group composition. Important leadership behaviors may differ depending on whether someone is leading individuals, leading other leaders, or collaborating in a peer-driven structure. For example, someone leading a team of technical experts may need to emphasize clear communication and decision-making, whereas leading leaders might require stronger coaching and strategic alignment skills. Same thing if a leader is managing a newly formed team ready to conquer the world versus a disengaged team that has experienced major setbacks recently, the team state will require different leadership behaviors.

Leadership

The Leadership layer extends this perspective, factoring in an organization’s leadership expectations, the scope of influence, and the broader goals or leadership mandates that cascade down to impact teams and individuals. For instance, if upper leadership is focused on industry disruption and expansion, the individual may need to prioritize innovative thinking, agility, and the ability to manage change across multiple levels of the organization. If on the hand the company is looking to drastically lower expenses and differentiate through a low-cost strategy, the leader may require to often analyze financial data to pinpoint inefficiencies and implement strategies to streamline operations.

Culture

Finally, at the highest level, Culture establishes the overarching behavioral expectations—whether reinforcing existing values or shaping an aspirational culture for the future. Culture plays a pivotal role in shaping which leadership behaviors are deemed important within an organization. The values, norms, and expectations embedded in an organization’s culture influence how leaders are perceived and what behaviors are encouraged or discouraged. For instance, in a culture that prioritizes innovation and risk-taking, leadership behaviors such as creativity, agility, and the ability to inspire change are highly valued. Conversely, in a culture that emphasizes stability and consistency, behaviors like meticulous planning, adherence to protocols, and risk management become more critical. Understanding the cultural context allows leaders to align their behaviors with the organization’s values, thereby enhancing their effectiveness and fostering a cohesive work environment. By integrating cultural considerations into leadership development programs, organizations can ensure that their leaders are equipped with the behaviors necessary to thrive in their unique cultural landscape.

By integrating these layers in our approach to leadership development, we create contextual self-awareness, helping leaders and employees understand their unique environments and develop the agility required to excel. As a result, leaders at all levels are empowered with the insights they need to navigate complexity, drive performance, and cultivate leadership excellence. One striking example of this approach is evident in our partnership with a leading Canadian wealth services provider. This client faced significant organizational growth and needed to nurture a leadership pipeline capable of navigating this change. SuccessFinder became a pillar of their leadership development strategy, integrating tailored assessments that aligned with their organizational culture and goals.

Key elements of the SuccessFinder approach with client included:

• Tailored leadership debriefs: First-time managers participated in group debriefs, while executives received personalized coaching to align their development plans with their roles.
• Behavioral benchmarks: Using the SuccessFinder Ladder of Leadership framework, the client identified specific contextual leadership needs for different organizational levels.
• Team analytics: Talent analytics were used to uncover the unique team strengths, challenges, and opportunities for enhanced collaboration and effectiveness. Taking into account the different dynamics of their teams, managers were able to tailor development plans and strategies for increasing team effectiveness.

This context-sensitive strategy empowered this organization to elevate employee engagement, improve retention, and create more agile and effective leaders.

Reimagining leadership development

Addressing the challenges of modern leadership requires a shift from one-size-fits-all solutions to frameworks that embrace the complexities of leadership in real-world environments. Below are several strategies for adopting a context-forward approach in leadership development initiatives. To further illustrate how these strategies can be implemented, we’ve drawn from SuccessFinder’s partnership with a client organization in the energy industry.

1. Use data-driven assessments to identify contextual fit

Behavioral assessments, like those provided by SuccessFinder, can help organizations measure leadership potential within their unique context. Instead of relying on generic leadership traits, companies should analyze the behavioral patterns that lead to success in their specific environment and use these insights to tailor development plans.

This client recognized the critical need for strong leadership to effectively navigate industry complexities. Given technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and market changes, investing in leadership development was deemed essential for maintaining their competitive edge. To address these challenges, this client sought out SuccessFinder as an assessment tool that could offer real-time data supporting leadership selection and development decisions while providing insights at the organizational level.

2. Define leadership expectations at multiple levels

Leaders operate within different layers of context—team, function, and company-wide. Organizations should establish clear, context-specific leadership competencies that align with the realities of their business, industry, and culture. For example, frontline managers may need to focus on execution and team motivation, while senior leaders should emphasize strategic thinking and change management.

The client’s leadership development program was designed with scalability in mind. On an annual basis, they wanted to expand the program to assess top talents, from individual contributors to executives. With that in mind, they wanted to build behavioural benchmarks with SuccessFinder to reflect the competencies needed for talented leaders across different functions and leadership levels.

3. Align leadership development with organizational culture

Culture shapes how leadership is perceived and practiced. Organizations should ensure that leadership training reinforces cultural values, whether it’s innovation, collaboration, or customer-centricity. This alignment helps leaders act in ways that resonate with their teams and drive engagement.

To ensure integration into the organizational culture at this organization, leadership principles and practices promoted within the program were aligned with the organization’s values and strategic goals. Continuous reinforcement and support mechanisms were also put in place to sustain leadership development efforts over time.

4. Incorporate real-world scenarios and coaching

Leadership programs should include context-specific training, such as case studies, simulations, or on-the-job coaching that reflects actual challenges leaders face in their roles. Mentorship programs can also pair developing leaders with experienced executives who understand the organization’s unique dynamics.

In this client’s case, they were focused on ensuring they had a steady pipeline of high-potential employees. Once these individuals were identified, they were organized into cohorts for a series of development workshops and coaching sessions aimed at enhancing leadership capabilities and self-awareness. The sessions were developed using insights from the SuccessFinder assessment and tailored to align with participants’ future roles within the organization. SuccessFinder insights incorporate a broad range of data, including someone’s approach towards solving problems, how they get their work done, their motivational factors and vocational incentives, as well as coping strategies, just to name a few. Participants were invited to assess in which context their baseline behavioral would support their goals and in which situation, they would need to flex a different muscle and demonstrate different behaviors that would better fit their context. Managers were invited to join to gain deeper insights into their team members for future performance reviews. They discussed why the participants were selected for the program, debriefed on their SuccessFinder results, and provided guidance to build an effective development plan.

Conclusion

In an era of complexity and change, the effectiveness of leadership hinges on its ability to resonate with context. By moving beyond outdated paradigms of zombie leadership and addressing the context deficit, organizations can create leadership development programs that are not only relevant but transformative. The future of leadership lies not in universal solutions but in the ability to adapt, evolve, and lead within the unique tapestry of each situation.

At SuccessFinder, we believe in empowering leaders to unlock their potential by tailoring their development to the environments they navigate. By embracing the power of context, we can create a new paradigm for leadership—one that is as dynamic and diverse as the challenges it seeks to address.

Ready to see how contextual leadership can transform your leadership development programs? Book a demo today and discover how our solutions adapt to your organization’s unique challenges, ensuring real-world impact for your leaders!

¹ Haslam, Alvesson, and Reicher (2024); Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us.

² Johns (2024); The context deficit in leadership research.