A framework for the facilitation of accelerated leadership and management capability development in the workplace

The cost-effective development of capable organizational leaders and managers remains a mainstay of organizational learning and development investment. Traditionally, much of the investment in leadership and management learning and development has focused on structured courses and programs such as MBAs and facilitated leadership courses; however, formal training programs have increasingly been criticized for not developing the leadership and management capabilities individual managers need and can apply to business operations. Increasingly, organizations are adopting strategies that promote leadership and management development within the working environment, such as experiential, action or project-based learning, and executive coaching. In the world of work where change is constant, there is a need to create flexible, holistic approaches to leadership and management learning to meet the challenges of the changing organizational environment. Reviews of the literature note myriad unanswered questions about how to develop leaders effectively and efficiently, and that it remains unclear which interventions are most reliably associated with positive outcomes in certain sectors. The authors conclude there is no integrated, robust evidence-based framework for guiding professional practice in this field. The research aim is to present an integrated framework for HR practitioners and professionals to support the design, delivery, and evaluation of leadership and management programs to accelerate leadership and management capability development of individuals and groups in organizations. A secondary aim is to provide greater construct definition to support research in this area. The framework applies to intentional leadership and management program interventions, be they group-based or individual, and incorporates both formal learning and experiential workplace learning approaches. It focuses on structured, facilitated learning interventions, distinguishing it from self-directed or solely experiential learning models. The framework draws on adult learning theories including ESC (emotional, social, cognitive) competencies and self-directed learning, experiential learning, reflective practice, and meta-learning. The framework focuses on the proximal development of specific competencies rather than longer-term leader maturation. It comprises propositions defining relationships between learning inputs, learning processes, and learning outcomes at individual and group levels, and considers practical implications for facilitation of accelerated leadership and management capability development. Before presenting the framework and propositions, the following section reviews the literature relating to the three defining and distinguishing features of the framework: (1) development of competencies underpinning effective leadership and management; (2) facilitation of workplace learning and the role of external support processes; and (3) workplace learning processes that enable leadership and management development, particularly meta-learning processes.

The paper integrates multiple adult learning theories as foundations for a leadership and management learning framework. Central is the development of emotional, social, and cognitive (ESC) competencies (Boyatzis, Bonesso et al.), which are predictive of performance and can be developed through interventions such as experiential learning, reflective practice, role plays, coaching, and simulation. While competency approaches have been criticized as reductionist, the authors position competencies as measurable descriptors of performance that provide a common language for development and assessment, without claiming they are sufficient alone for effectiveness. Facilitation is defined as a partnership between learner and facilitator, emphasizing critical reflection, negotiated goals, and active guidance. The facilitator plays multiple roles—guiding reflection, orchestrating group learning, providing models and tools, inspiring confidence—and supports an iterative continuous learning process comprising assessing needs, planning, metacognitive processing, learning and applying, and evaluating. This process is distinct from Kolb’s cycle by its explicit focus on competency mastery and the facilitator’s role across all phases. The paper elaborates workplace learning processes with emphasis on meta-learning. Metacognition is awareness, monitoring, and regulation of one’s cognition; meta-learning is the metacognitive process of selecting and applying learning strategies aligned to motives and context; meta-skills are higher-order capabilities enabling effective workplace learning (openness, feedback seeking, emotional regulation). Deep approaches to learning (versus surface) align with reflective practice and action learning in workplace contexts. Reflective practice methods (e.g., Gibbs, London et al., Kegan & Lahey) and deliberate practice can develop social competencies, including charisma, when coupled with modeling, feedback, and reflection. Action learning fosters deep, reflexive approaches. Psychological safety is critical for high-quality group learning. The framework delineates six interrelated constructs across inputs, processes, and outcomes at both individual and group levels: Organizational Learning Environment (OLE) and Individual Learning Characteristics/Capabilities (ILC) as inputs; Group Learning Processes (GLP) and Individual Learning Processes (ILP) as processes; and Organizational Learning Outcomes (OLO) and Individual Learning Outcomes (ILO) as outcomes. The literature supports relationships among these constructs, leading to six propositions tested in future research.

This is a conceptual, integrative framework paper. The authors synthesize and integrate foundational adult learning theories (ESC competencies, self-directed learning, experiential learning, reflective practice, meta-learning) and organizational learning literature to propose a holistic framework for facilitated leadership and management capability development. They define six core constructs across input–process–outcome levels (OLE, ILC, GLP, ILP, OLO, ILO), depict relationships among them (Figures 1–3), and articulate six testable propositions supported by prior studies. No empirical data were collected or analyzed; the work proposes constructs, mechanisms, and implications to guide program design and future empirical validation.

- The paper presents a holistic Leadership and Management Learning Framework that centers on competency development (especially ESC competencies), intentional facilitation, and workplace meta-learning processes to accelerate capability development. - The framework specifies six constructs across input, process, and outcome levels: OLE, ILC, GLP, ILP, OLO, ILO, and posits directional relationships among them. - Six propositions are advanced: 1) Individual Learning Characteristics (ILC) strongly influence Individual Learning Processes (ILP). Evidence includes impacts of cognitive ability, personality, culture, metacognitive ability, EI, self-concept, learning goal orientation, goal ownership, openness to feedback, and willingness to change. 2) Organizational Learning Environment (OLE) strongly influences ILP. 3) OLE strongly influences the quality of Group Learning Processes (GLP). Literature links supportive, innovative, and developmental cultures and psychological safety to stronger learning processes; hierarchical or mistrustful cultures impede learning. 4) GLP influence ILP and ILP influence GLP, reflecting reciprocal effects between group context and individual strategies, moderated by meta-learning capabilities and leadership influence. 5) ILP determine the quality of Individual Learning Outcomes (ILO). Deep and strategic approaches, reflective practice, coaching, feedback cycles, and deliberate practice are associated with higher competency attainment. 6) The quality of GLP determines the quality of Organizational Learning Outcomes (OLO). Organizational learning capabilities mediate links between HR practices and firm performance; programs may develop collective knowledge, trust, and processes that improve collective leadership capacity. - Four theoretical contributions: (i) an integrated, facilitation-centric framework for accelerating ESC competency development; (ii) explicit modeling of facilitation processes; (iii) positioning meta-learning as a central mechanism explaining effectiveness of facilitation methods (e.g., coaching); (iv) six testable propositions defining constructs and relationships. - Five practical implications for HRD practice: the value of intrinsically motivated/self-nominated learners; the necessity of organizational commitment and psychological safety; centrality of meta-learning skills and facilitator support; importance of high-quality facilitation with applied projects, reflection, coaching, and feedback cycles; and the critical role and skill of facilitators in guiding reflective practices. - The framework provides actionable guidance for program design, delivery, and evaluation aimed at accelerating leadership and management capability development.

The framework addresses the research aim by providing an integrated, evidence-informed structure that links program inputs to outcomes through mediating learning processes and learner preferences, filling a gap in prior models that overly emphasized inputs/outputs while neglecting process mechanisms. It emphasizes facilitation as an active, intentional partnership that scaffolds a continuous learning cycle and places meta-learning at the core of how individuals select and regulate effective strategies. By articulating how OLE and ILC shape ILP and GLP, and how these processes drive ILO and OLO, the framework clarifies leverage points for practitioners (e.g., cultivating psychological safety, aligning projects with organizational priorities, embedding reflective and deliberate practice) and provides a basis for more rigorous evaluation (competency attainment for ILO; collective capabilities and process improvements for OLO). The propositions offer a roadmap for empirical testing, potentially advancing theory on causal mechanisms in leadership development (e.g., meta-learning as a mediator of coaching effects) and guiding the tailoring of strategies to specific competencies and contexts.

The paper proposes a holistic framework for planning, facilitating, and reviewing accelerated leadership and management capability development in the workplace. Unlike prior models focused primarily on inputs and outcomes, it foregrounds the mediating roles of learning processes and learner preferences, emphasizes competency development, the central role of facilitation, and workplace learning processes—particularly meta-learning. It advances four theoretical implications and five practical applications, and offers six propositions to guide future empirical research and inform the design, delivery, and evaluation of leadership and management development programs.

The study is conceptual and presents no empirical data. The framework and its six propositions have not yet been field-tested and require empirical validation. Future research should examine the causal mechanisms (e.g., meta-learning as mediator), identify which facilitation strategies suit specific competencies, and test the relationships among OLE, ILC, GLP, ILP, ILO, and OLO across contexts using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods designs.