A week in the life of: A Leadership Development Manager

Summary

This article presents a first-person account by Andy McConville, Leadership Development Manager at ResQ, describing the day-to-day responsibilities of a contemporary leadership development role within an outsourcing organisation. The author argues that leadership capability development is undervalued in the outsourcing sector and frames his role as a privileged opportunity to address this gap. The account covers two contrasting week types: delivery-focused weeks centred on phased leadership workshops addressing complex conversations, and non-delivery weeks involving content design, stakeholder consultation, embedding activities, and trainer development. Key evidence is experiential, drawn from 20 years in learning and development, with McConville noting a personal evolution from reluctant designer to consultative content developer. Additional responsibilities include contributing to an external learning function, implementing a Learning Management System, mentoring L&D professionals, and international delivery. The article concludes with observations on the breadth of the LDM role, the importance of research and validation in content design, and the personal satisfaction derived from facilitating learner application of knowledge.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths: The article provides an authentic, granular view of the operational realities of a leadership development role, including tasks the author finds unrewarding (documentation, admin), which adds credibility. The reflective tone and acknowledgement of past mistakes (content overloading, passive embedding) suggest genuine practitioner insight. Limitations: The article is entirely anecdotal with no quantitative or qualitative evidence of programme outcomes, learner performance improvements, or organisational impact. There are no citations, benchmarks, or comparative data. The account is tied to a single organisation (ResQ) and one practitioner's experience, limiting generalisability. Bias: The piece is inherently self-promotional in character — published in a professional trade journal and written in first person — which means it presents the LDM role and the author's approach in a consistently positive light. Critical perspectives on leadership development ROI, stakeholder resistance, or programme failure are absent.

What this implies

The article reflects a trend toward embedding L&D accountability within operational cycles rather than treating it as a standalone intervention. The move toward a commercial external learning offering by an outsourcer signals a potential market pattern where internal L&D capability is being repositioned as a revenue-generating service. The emphasis on phased delivery and research-validated content design points to growing expectations for evidence-informed practice within practitioner-level roles.

Key points

• Leadership capability development is described as underinvested in the outsourcing sector, making dedicated LDM roles relatively rare in that context.
• The author identifies a systemic flaw in earlier embedding practices where operational teams were blamed for programme failure rather than the L&D function accepting shared accountability.
• Phased programme delivery is used deliberately to allow content embedding between sessions, rather than delivering learning in single continuous blocks.

What to take away

• Facilitators practising content aloud prior to delivery — including checking alignment with learning outcomes — is presented as a quality assurance habit within this practitioner's workflow.
• Involving non-L&D stakeholders in content design is described as broadening perspective and increasing consultative rigour in the development process.