Ed HoltonMessage from the Founder

Thank you for visiting the LDI website.

In 2012 I read some startling statistics: according to the 2012 National Leadership Index, 69% of Americans thought there was a leadership crisis in America and only 30% thought their leaders were doing a good job. Only four of eleven employment sectors received even a moderate rating on leadership quality.

Furthermore, according to Development Dimensions International Global Leadership Forecast 2011 study of 2,600 global organizations and over 12,000 leaders:

  • Organizations with the highest quality leaders were 13 times more likely out-perform their competition in key bottom line metrics.
  • Only 38% of leaders rated the quality of leadership highly.
  • Only 18% of HR professionals reported strong bench strength to meet future business needs.
  • Yet, only 1/3 of HR professionals and leaders rated their leadership development efforts as highly effective
  • About 1/2 of leaders are currently ineffective in the skills critical for the next three years.2

As Louisiana’s flagship university I considered this a call to action thus we subsequently created the LSU Leadership Development Institute.  As we told the Louisiana Board of Regents:

Through innovative discovery, curricula, programs and strategic partnerships with industry, the Institute will provide a science-based focus on developing sustainable and effective leaders for Louisiana and the nation.  It will link LSU’s expertise in leadership development with the critical need for strong leaders to grow our economy, communities and organizations. 

Strong leadership is fundamental to enhancing economic development in Louisiana.  Building a strong economy requires strong, effective leaders in all types of organizations and communities.  A new entity will allow us to focus energy and resources to enhance economic development through leadership development and research activities.  To the best of our knowledge, no such institute or center exists in Louisiana.

Unfortunately, little has changed today.  In the more recent 2023 Development Dimensions International Global Leadership Forecast3 only 40% of leaders report that their company has high-quality leaders.  The rest of this website documents the widespread scope of the leadership crisis today. 

Indeed, organizations, communities and economies have only grown more complex in the last decade. Strong leadership has become more imperative, not less.  The result is a perfect storm of an increasing leadership crisis while demands on leaders are increasing.

Our purpose and passion for leadership development has not changed. I urge you to ask yourself this fundamental question: Do you have the leadership talent to prepare your organization or community for today’s demands and for the future? If your answer is no, then we ask you to consider partnering with the LSU Leadership Development Institute to transform your leadership.  When you do, you will access world-class expertise for best-in-class leadership development.

We look forward to serving you!  Call or email today to discuss your needs and our services.

Ed Holton, EdD, MBA
Senior Director, Leadership Development Institute &
Special Assistant to the Dean for Leadership Initiatives 
College of Human Sciences and Education
Louisiana State University
Suite 206 Louisiana Emerging Technology Center
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
O: 225-578-3806
M: 225-936-5650
eholton2@lsu.edu 

[1] 2012 National Leadership Index, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
[2] (2012) Global Leadership Forecast 2011, Development Dimensions International.
[3] (2023) Global Leadership Forecast 2023, Development Dimensions International.

 

LSU