Developing Leadership: The integrative approach of Pro●Leader intervention program

The impact of leaders on organizational success has been widely documented,
and consequently, the leadership training industry has expanded over the past decades.
However, this investment has not consistently translated into better leaders. Leadership
intervention programs have received notable criticism, including (a) lacking individuali
zation (‘one size fits all’ approach), (b) an emphasis on pre-defined skills, and (c) insuffi
cient consideration of context, disregarding other members’ and organizations’ character
istics. This paper introduces and discusses Pro●Leader, an intervention program based on
the Leadership Efficacy Model (LEM), which aims to promote leadership through a com
prehensive approach to training. In essence, LEM proposes that leadership efficacy in
creases if leaders are congruent in how they intend to exert leadership (conceptual cycle
of leadership) and how they indeed implement the leadership (practical cycle of leader
ship), considering also the leadership behaviors they display when exerting influence
(leadership styles), as well as their own, team members’, and contextual characteristics
(antecedent factors). The Pro●Leader intervention program is structured according to the
LEM and trains participants across these three components: leadership cycles, styles, and
antecedent factors.
This research was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Psychology Research Centre—CIPsi/UM, reference UIDB/01662/2020; and Research Centre for Human Development, reference UIDB/04872/2020).