Instead of business case studies, Korn Ferry’s leadership development programs are built around real problem solving in the business, interaction with organizational leaders, and issues crucial to the strategy. To test the effectiveness of our approach, we surveyed participants from 35 such customized programs conducted at eight client organizations, as well as the managers of those participants.

In 60-day follow-up surveys, the bosses reported an average increase of 35% in participants’ on-the-job performance and attributed 42% of that improvement directly to the leadership development program. And within six weeks, 91% of the participants said they were using what they learned on the job.