Comparing the Perceived Relevance of Informal and Formal Learning in Skill Acquisition in a Leadership Development Program

Abstract

Leadership development is at or near the top in importance to senior executives within organizations. In the criteria for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, leadership has the second highest weighting, behind only business results but ahead of customer focus, measurement, analysis, knowledge management, workforce focus, process management, and strategic planning. Corporations in the United States spend an estimated $20-30 billion per year in leadership training and there is a question of whether the learning that takes place outside the classroom, informal learning, is more relevant than formal learning. Learning within organizations is vital to success. It is the lifeblood that grows and sustains human capital. Many methods for the measurement and evaluation of the impact of formal learning and performance improvement programs in organizations have been introduced in the past decade but measuring and evaluating the value of informal learning that filters through patterns of relationships in organizational networks has been elusive. Very few studies have attempted to address the effects of informal and formal learning in management or leadership training. The objective of this study was to compare the perceived relevance of informal learning and formal learning in acquiring leadership skills in a leadership development program. This study attempted to compare the perceived relevance of informal learning versus formal learning in skill acquisition in a specific leadership development program. This was done using data from McKesson Corporation‘s McKesson Center for Learning Lead the Way program. This study provides insights into the perceived relative importance and relevance of informal and formal learning. Using paired-samples t-tests, the study analyzed the perceived relevance and importance in a leadership development program.