DEVELOPING GLOBAL LEADERS VIA ACTION LEARNING PROGRAMS: A CASE STUDY AT BOEING

Organizations are faced with the growing challenge of increasing the capabilities of their leaders with less time and financial resources (Bennis & Nanus, 1997; Dotlich & Cairo, 2002). A new and wider array of skills and competencies are needed by leaders in the 21st century (Marquardt & Berger, 2000). Most leadership development programs, whether corporate or academic, have been ineffective and expensive (Pfeffer & Fong, 2002). Mintzberg and Gosling (2002) opine that "contemporary business education focuses on the function of business more than the practice of managing" (p. 28). As a result, organizations are beginning to look at new, less traditional ways for training their managers. More and more companies around the world are turning to action learning as the most effective and powerful tool to develop its leaders (Keys, 1994; McNulty & Canty, 1995; Inglis, 1994, Pedler, 1996; Dotlich & Noel, 1998; Yorks, O'Neil, & Marsick, 1999, Marquardt, 1997a, 2001, 2004). However, except for Hii & Marquardt (2000), most of the research on action learning and leadership development is anecdotal and focuses on advocacy rather than evidence.

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