Interested in a career in leadership development? There are
a lot of ways you can make a decent living and have some fun developing
leaders. Here are 25 that come to mind, in no particular order:
1. Mid-level or Senior Manager: managers developing the managers below them.
2. Leadership Trainer or Training Manager: conducting or managing leadership and management training
programs.
3. Executive coach: helping to unlock the potential within managers through
assessment, feedback, questions, etc…
4. Leadership Author: writing books about leadership.
5. Leadership Blogger: writing online posts about leadership.
6. Leadership Development Consultant: helping companies design leadership development systems,
processes, programs, etc…7. College Professor or Adjunct Instructor: teaching leadership and management courses in degree or executive development programs.
8. Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychologist: these are the PhDs that are often involved in leadership assessments
and assessment centers.
9. HR Generalist: coaching, succession planning, and training are often part
of the generalist role.
10. Pastor, Minister: teaching their congregations, youth groups, etc… about
leadership.
11. Sales or Marketing Manager: selling leadership programs and services.
12. Program Coordinator: managing the logistics for leadership programs and services.
13. Instructional Designer: designing and developing leadership courses (classroom and
online).
14. Leadership Guru: those that are quoted about leadership and can command
$10,000 and up for a keynote speech.
15. Leadership Researcher: conducts research about leadership models, best practices,
etc…
16. Leadership Speaker: giving keynotes, speeches about leadership. Road warriers.
17. Youth Leadership Development Coordinator: coordinates high school or college leadership programs.
18. Talent Development Manager: a role that often combines leadership development, recruitment,
and succession planning.
19. Succession Planning Manager: manages the identification and development of potential replacements
for key roles in a company.
20. Organizational Development (OD) Manager or Consultant: no one can agree exactly what OD really means, but they
sometimes do leadership development.
21. Chief Learning Officer (CLO): “C” level training manager job – often directly responsible
for leadership development.
22. Human Resource Executive: high level HR role, often directly involved in executive development
and succession planning.
23. Assessment Administrator: administers 360 and behavioral assessments.
24. Project Manager: manages large, complex organizational leadership development
programs and systems. Not always subject matter expert, but gets things done.
25. Executive Recruiter: somethimes gets involved in leadership assessment,
onboarding, and coaching leaders.
Many of these roles are only available in mid-large size companies, and many can be done independently. Many independents will combine 4-5 of them, e.g., writer, blogger, speaker, trainer, and coach. A few require advanced degrees and/or certifications (professors, I/O Psychologists), and some are entry level (Program Coordinators, Bloggers).
Did I miss any?
What leadership development roles could there be in 10 years that don’t exist today?
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