This article was written by Tony McGaharan, Founder, People Playbook

Leadership development has never been more important. It has also never been easier to get wrong.

Across organisations of all sizes, leaders and managers are being asked to do more with less, move faster, navigate uncertainty, retain great people, build inclusive cultures, embrace new technology and somehow keep everyone motivated along the way.

That is a big ask.

And yet, when we look at how leadership development is often approached, it can still feel surprisingly flat. A slide deck. A few models. A long day in a room. A burst of inspiration that slowly fades once people return to their inboxes.

I believe leadership development needs to work harder than that. It needs to be designed with care, delivered with energy, and connected to the real work people are doing every day.

At People Playbook, we often describe our approach as purposeful, practical and playful. It sounds simple, but those three words have become a useful test for designing learning experiences that actually make a difference.

Purposeful: Start With the Real Problem

The first mistake many organisations make is starting with the content.

“We need a workshop on communication.” “We need a programme on leadership.” “We need our managers to be more strategic.”

Those might all be true, but they are not yet specific enough.

Good leadership development starts with a better question: what needs to change?

Do managers need to have better performance conversations? Do senior leaders need to align around a new strategy? Do teams need to rebuild trust after a period of change? Do emerging leaders need more confidence to step up?

The clearer the purpose, the stronger the development experience becomes.

Without purpose, learning becomes generic. People might enjoy it, but they struggle to apply it. With purpose, every activity, discussion, and tool has a reason for being there. Participants understand why the work matters, and the organisation can see how it connects to performance, culture, and growth.

For business leaders, this means resisting the temptation to “do training” simply because it feels like the right thing to do. Instead, start by diagnosing the business need. What behaviour would we love to see more of? What conversations are not happening? What decisions are getting stuck? What would success look like three months from now?

That is where meaningful development begins.

Practical: Give People Something They Can Use Tomorrow

The second test is practicality.

People are busy. Managers, in particular, are often squeezed between senior expectations and team needs. They do not need more abstract theory that sounds impressive but is hard to use.

They need tools, language, habits, and frameworks that help them lead better in real situations.

That might mean practising how to give feedback clearly and kindly. It might mean learning how to run a better one-to-one. It might mean having a simple structure for decision-making, prioritisation or storytelling. It might mean helping leaders translate strategy into conversations their teams can actually understand.

The best leadership development gives people something they can use almost immediately.

This matters because confidence is built through action. People rarely become better leaders by listening alone. They become better leaders by trying, reflecting, adapting, and trying again.

In a well-designed learning experience, participants should not just leave thinking, “That was interesting.” They should leave thinking, “I know what I am going to do differently.”

For organisations, that is the difference between learning as an event and learning as a catalyst.

Playful: Create the Conditions for People to Engage

The word “playful” can sometimes be misunderstood in a business context. It does not mean childish. It does not mean silly for the sake of it. And it definitely does not mean avoiding serious work.

For me, playful means creating the conditions where people feel energised, curious and safe enough to participate. That belief is shared across our team of Playmakers at People Playbook. While every Playmaker brings their own style, experience and personality to the work, we are all united by the same approach: purposeful, practical and playful development that helps people connect, think, practise and grow.

Leadership development often asks people to do vulnerable things. Reflect honestly. Admit what is not working. Practise a new skill in front of others. Give and receive feedback. Challenge their own assumptions.

That takes courage.

A playful approach lowers the emotional temperature in the room. It helps people connect. It creates movement, variety, and energy. It encourages people to experiment rather than perform. And when people are more engaged, they are more likely to remember, apply, and share what they have learned.

Some of the most powerful moments in development work happen when people are enjoying themselves. Not because the work is light, but because the environment allows them to be open.

In a world where many people are tired, distracted, and overloaded, we should not underestimate the power of designing learning experiences that people actually want to be part of.

What This Means for Leaders

If you are responsible for developing people in your organisation, whether as a founder, senior leader, HR professional or people manager, I would encourage you to use these three questions:

Is it purposeful? Are we clear on the real change we want to create?

Is it practical? Will people leave with something they can use in their work straight away?

Is it playful? Have we created an experience that people will genuinely engage with?

When all three are present, leadership development becomes far more than a training session. It becomes a shared experience that builds confidence, connection, and momentum.

And that is what organisations need right now.

Not more leadership theory for the sake of it. Not another forgettable workshop. Not a tick-box exercise.

They need leaders and managers who are equipped to have better conversations, make better decisions, build stronger teams, and lead meaningful change.

That does not happen by accident. It happens when development is designed with purpose, rooted in practice and brought to life with a sense of play.

About the author

Tony McGaharan is the Founder and CEO of People Playbook, a Belfast-born learning and development consultancy powered by a global team of Playmakers, creating purpose-built development experiences for managers, leaders and teams around the world.

Connect with People Playbook

• LinkedIn: People Playbook linkedin.com/company/peopleplaybook
• Instagram: @peopleplaybook
• Tony McGaharan
  • LinkedIn: Tony McGaharan — linkedin.com/in/tonymcgaharan
  • Instagram: @tony.mcgaharan