The idea that our management capability impacts on our productivity might encourage us to invest in the next new leadership development programme, but is this investment creating results? We will all have an opinion on the six areas of focus that Greg Whittred puts forward as opportunities for New Zealand's economic growth (NZ Herald, Business Section 13/02/12: Greg Whittred: Let's not lose sight of the big picture). Greg says that small improvements in management capability can have a significant and far greater impact on productivity than gains we may achieve by addressing issues such as improving access to capital for small and medium sized businesses. He suggests New Zealand models for building this management capacity are needed.
I am often faced with organisations who have committed large resources to "off the shelf" overseas programmes of leadership development. We can be blinded to the talent and capability we have in New Zealand with the ability to create our own models that work for our organisations and our leaders - is this another example of "it must be better if it comes from overseas" syndrome? 
When we look at how important values are in defining an organisation and creating a sense of purpose, meaning and well-being among employees we can begin to see why using New Zealand models has the potential to create better results. While it is agreed there are some universal values (e.g. honesty, social justice, equality), the level of emphasis and the mix can be different across nationalities. New Zealand companies, their leaders and their people have a unique blend of values. Any leadership or management development needs to take these values into account; this is the starting point for any development activity. Who are we, what do we stand for, what are the principles that will guide us (especially when it comes to the tough, conflicting decisions)? The next step is to define the behaviours that make up those values. How do we behave around here - toward customers, new staff, colleagues, direct reports? How often do organisations and individuals profess to have a particular set of values but their behaviour and actions don't support those values? Organisations and individuals need to be primed to pick up these inconsistencies and to act on them. Maybe the value has changed over time or we have made it difficult for people to live that value; there are no role models no reinforcement for the behaviours that demonstrate the values.
At the same time as tailoring development to fit and to promote organisational values, aligning development to the needs of the individual based on their capabilities and their personal values is important for outcomes. Assessing the 'developmental readiness' of participants for any development activity may involve psychometric testing, reviewing performance data, focus interviews or other activities to identify their values, motivations as well as their needs; what drives them to perform and to want to grow and develop.
Yes, we need to create our own models to develop leadership and management capability, maybe we have some already. Models that use values as the foundation and target real behaviour change that will bring results and help New Zealand to create the workplaces where people are committed, productive and can reach their potential.
New Zealanders are the masters of innovation, we have the capability to use our environment and the resources around us to create new and improved ways of learning. We can develop learning that is embedded in the work environment where it makes sense and can address capability needs in the moment; learning that acknowledges that each individual is unique and learns in different ways; learning that addresses not just the mind or the intellect but the heart, the essence of that makes relationships and leadership work .