Does L&D really develop executives?

Last friday, I saw Marathi play Jawai Mazaa Bhala. It was a play depicting the transition of a relationship between a father and his daughter when she decides to marry. During the transition the father goes through the intense phase of seperation from his child whom he has nurtured while the grown-up daughter shows the rebellious streak of independence that is so reminiscent of a cub fighting for its independence. Both fight the transition. At the end both grow after they go through the fights and disputes on small matters, resolve the anger caused by repressed hurt, and negotiate the altercations sparked by emotional outbursts. The process of transition was captured beautifully by the director. Man goes through various transitions in personal life: from being a single to a married life, from being a husband to a father, from being a child of his/her father to being 'parent' to his/her aged father.

In corporate life, an executive also goes through various transitions: the transition from a performer to a manager, transition from relocation to another geography or to another company and above all the transition to the senior managerial position. None of these transitions are easy, and like the father, no executive has help in negotiating these transitions. I know of an executive who was summarily asked to report to another office ( and that too in another function) in 10 days.

No one can understand the uncertainity through which the executive passes during this transition. He/She cannot even ask for help from anyone because he/she does not understand the feeling of inadequacy that grips him/her. A family may help, out of ignorance,by providing him the much needed respite. If however she is unlucky, the sparks she throws in the family can lead to more unintended consequences. Many careers therefore get stalled if these transitions are not negotiated smartly. Some even get derailed.

Transitions can be facilitated when one can anticipate them. But more importantly, one can also cross utilise the learnings from a transition in a personal life to enable transition in corporate life. But surprisingly, Learning and development (L&D) does not cross utilise the learnings and neither do they help their executives in enabling these transitions. L&D is supposed to be responsible for developing their executives, but fails to utilise this crucial phase. L&D surprisingly ignores this transition phase completely. If your company's L&D is however helping you, you are a lucky one. Most others are simply unlucky.