The Twenties: The Golden Years of Leadership Development

This article highlights the importance of the twenties as a key developmental decade for leaders. The authors’ research found that the best leaders have key developmental factors and milestones occur in their twenties, whereas average and weak leaders experienced much of their key development in their thirties. The article notes that the lead author, Liz Wiseman, has studied and written about for more than 15 years, her research that “identified leaders she called “Multipliers,” who amplified the intelligence and capability of their organizations. It also identified leaders who were “Diminishers”–managers whose behavior shut down others and caused employees to use less than half of their available intelligence and capabilities.” The authors describe “ways to help the young professionals, whether they be your employees or your children, get their professional lives off to a great start.” In their words, they are (1) Be a great leader; (2) Take a chance on a young professional; (3) Celebrate early career successes; (4) Help people recover from mistakes; (5) Put your best leaders on the front lines.