Leadership development
Development should change how leaders lead.
LeaderSim™ adds a skills assessment before and after development — helping organizations see what changed in how leaders actually lead.
Development happens between
Time 1
Behavioral baseline
Time 2
Behavior observed again
The evaluation gap
A good program can still leave one question unanswered.
How effective was the program in changing leaders?
Organizations already collect useful evidence about leadership development. Participant reactions, learning measures, self-assessments, 360 feedback and business outcomes all answer important questions.
But they do not answer the same question.
Reaction
How did participants experience the program?
Learning
What did participants understand or learn?
Behavior
What changed in how they lead?
LeaderSim™ adds a standardized skills assessment to the evidence organizations already collect.
The Persona 28 methodology
The ROI of leadership development
Measure behavior before and after development to show behavior change and skill acquisition.
01
Align
Define what the program is intended to change and what evidence will count as success.
02
Assess
LeaderSim™ Time 1 establishes a behavioral and skills baseline.
03
Develop
The leadership development experience occurs.
Any provider
Internal program · coaching · university · consulting · Persona 28 · other
04
Reassess
LeaderSim™ Time 2 measures leadership skills again.
05
Evaluate
Describe how leaders have changed and the ROI.
The strength of the claim should match the strength of the design.
Method note
The P28 Program Effectiveness Framework is an evidence-based method for determining the amount of behavior change and ROI in leadership development programs. We take the science behind our claims very seriously, and our claims will be grounded in the science. We work closely with clients on leadership assessment and program design to ensure impactful development programs.
Two ways to use LeaderSim™
Part of the development — or independent of it.
A
Part of development
Time 1
Feedback and development informed by LeaderSim™
Development
Time 2
Time 1 results can guide reflection, coaching and development priorities.
In this model, LeaderSim™ becomes part of the development experience.
B
Independent evaluation
Time 1
Development delivered independently
Time 2
Persona 28 can also evaluate a program delivered by your organization, coach, university, consulting firm or another provider.
The measurement layer remains separate from the development experience.
Evidence strength
Different designs support different conclusions.
Observed change and program impact are not the same claim.
02
Comparative change
Add a comparison or waitlist group measured on the same schedule.
Supports
Whether the program group’s change differed from change under similar measurement exposure.
03
Stronger attribution
Use randomization or a strong quasi-experimental design.
Supports
Stronger evidence that the development experience contributed to the observed change.
The evaluation question determines the design.
Measure the ROI of leadership development.
Start with a baseline of leadership skills. Develop what matters. Measure leadership skills again to determine program impact.
Persona 28 methodology whitepaper
From Intent to Evidence — A Behavioral Method for Evaluating Leadership Development