Not everyone is cut out for leadership development, and trying to force leadership growth on the wrong person is like throwing fertilizer on plastic plants. Nothing is going to bloom.
Here at The Metiss Group, we’ve been developing leaders for 30 years. We’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and, more importantly, who leadership development is actually valuable for. The reality is some people simply aren’t a good fit.
Before you invest time and money, let’s break down who should sit this one out:
- The person who thinks they’re already perfect
- The team member who is only into leadership for the money
- The person you’re about to fire
- The team member who isn’t motivated by leading others
- Companies who can’t afford leadership development right now
1. You Can’t Develop Those Who Think They’re Already Perfect
You can’t coach someone who thinks they’ve already mastered the game. Some people — typically egotistical or just plain stubborn — genuinely believe they have nothing to learn. They don’t see flaws, weaknesses, or blind spots. They think leadership development is for other people.
These team members will rarely sign up for coaching in the first place, but sometimes, executives try to force them through it. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.
What do you do if this person is already on your team? If their arrogance makes them impossible to work with, regardless of how good they are at their job, you might need to accept their long-term cost to company culture is higher than their short-term performance wins.
2. Some Team Members Are Only Into Leadership For The Money
I see this all the time: A great individual contributor gets promoted to leadership not because they’re passionate about leading, but because they want the raise.
Maybe they’re experts in their field. Maybe they’re technically brilliant. But leading people is not necessarily something they dreamed about their whole life.
Their lack of interest shows. They "no-show" scheduled coaching sessions. They’re “too busy” for development meetings. They act like they’re engaging, but when it comes time to implement, nothing changes.
If leadership wasn’t their goal in the first place, no amount of development would make them passionate about it.
3. Don’t Waste Time Developing Someone You Want to Fire
Leadership development isn’t a last-ditch effort to save an underperforming employee. If someone is already on a performance improvement plan (PIP), the problem isn’t their leadership potential — it’s their inability to meet expectations.
Think of leadership development like going to the gym: It’s for people who are willing to put in the work to grow stronger. If someone can’t (or won’t) carry their weight now, then no amount of coaching is going to magically turn them into a good leader.
If someone’s performance is the issue, address that first. If they turn things around, then you can start talking about leadership development. But if you’re already considering letting them go — that’s your answer.
4. Not Everyone Is Motivated By Leadership
Not everyone wants to lead. Don’t force these people to go through leadership development.
You can actually measure this using certain assessments. There are six types of motivators:
- Theoretical: Motivated by knowledge
- Utilitarian: Motivated by money
- Aesthetic: Motivated by creativity and harmony
- Social: Motivated by helping others
- Individualistic: Motivated by control and influence
- Traditional: Motivated by order and structure
Leadership usually appeals to those driven by control (a desire to influence and lead) or social motivation (a desire to help and guide others).
If someone scores low on individualistic motivation, they likely have no natural drive to lead others and take charge. If someone isn’t motivated to lead, no amount of coaching will make them love it.
Instead, you can consider growing these team members in another way. We had one client who offered two different career paths for high performers: a leadership track and a specialist track. Both had similar compensation and high expectations but attracted different team members. Not everyone is cut out for leadership, and having options helps avoid putting someone in a position for failure.
5. If You Can’t Afford Leadership Development, The Timing Isn’t Right
Leadership development isn’t cheap, and if your company is struggling to stay afloat, it might not be the best time to invest. If every dollar spent feels like a cost instead of an investment, you’ll constantly question whether it’s “paying off” fast enough.
Leadership development isn’t an instant ROI kind of thing. It’s a long-term investment. You won’t see results overnight. If your company is in survival mode, your instinct will be to cut anything that doesn’t have an immediate impact.
Rule of thumb is leadership development investment is around 10% of one’s salary. If you’re not in a position to invest that amount, focus on stabilizing the business first, then come back to leadership development when you can commit to doing it right.
The Bottom Line
Leadership development works, but only when it’s delivered to the right people at the right time.
If someone is closed off to growth, only in it for the paycheck, already failing at their job, or completely unmotivated to lead, then leadership coaching won’t work. If your company is in crisis mode, effective leadership development might need to wait.
Here at The Metiss Group, we help organizations like yours develop their team members so you can get more ROI from the people you already have on your team.
Now that you understand who isn’t a good fit for leadership development, the next step is to compare two of our most popular leadership development services: Strategic Leadership vs Leadership Essentials.
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