Proving the business impact of leadership development: how to measure real ROI

Despite significant investment, many organisations still struggle to evidence the return on their leadership development programmes. Measurement often happens only once the programme has concluded, without a clear baseline or meaningful comparison. This makes it difficult to demonstrate progress, secure ongoing support, or confidently link leadership behaviour to business outcomes.

A more rigorous approach needs to begin from the start. Unilever is an example of how embedding measurement into the design of leadership development, aligning outcomes with operational priorities and tracking progress throughout, can make impact visible and credible. This approach contributed to Unilever and Tack TMI being awarded Gold at the Brandon Hall Excellence Awards for their frontline leadership development programme. While every organisation’s context is unique, the underlying principles are transferable.

The five factors below outline how to move from assumption to evidence, ensuring leadership development delivers measurable behavioural change, performance improvements and tangible organisational value.

5 key factors for measuring real ROI in leadership development

1. Use tools to measure effectiveness

While measuring leadership skills can be complex, selecting the right metrics is fundamental to your success. At Unilever, increasing productivity and operational efficiency were integral aspects of its leadership programme. To measure the business impact, the company conducted a comprehensive analysis using the Kirkpatrick Model, incorporating overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) to assess how well its manufacturing processes operated compared to their potential, calculated using a combination of availability, performance and quality.

Another common tool that companies use for evaluating their learning and development programmes is NPS (Net Promoter Score). For example, by examining engagement levels before and after sessions in its leadership programme, Unilever tracked improvements in leadership effectiveness, using a score out of 10 to measure how training enhanced leadership skills and drove continuous improvement.

In addition, 360-degree assessments that focus on the competencies and behaviours that you are trying to change provide a valuable mechanism in leadership development. This can be achieved with pre- and post-interventions that help track behavioural changes and analyse how effectively training initiatives are influencing them.

2. Focus on leading indicators not just lagging results

A key factor in measuring real ROI in leadership development is focusing on leading indicators, not just lagging results. Lagging results, such as KPIs, monthly sales or profitability, reflect outcomes that come to light after  training has ended. While important, they offer little opportunity to adapt or improve training programmes during the process.

Leading indicators, by contrast, provide early, actionable insights to guide you along the right track. Metrics such as monthly organisational effectiveness (OE) progress or participation rates act as signposts. If you track these indicators at regular intervals, daily, weekly or monthly, you can make proactive adjustments, ensuring alignment between leadership actions and business outcomes, such as quarterly results.

3. Leverage existing metrics to prove impact

It’s important not to invent metrics, but to leverage those  already recognised within the organisation’s existing dashboards. Introducing unfamiliar measures can lead stakeholders to question the relevance of your data.

Aligning your desired leadership development outcomes with established metrics within the business, such as productivity, engagement or performance indicators,  reduces organisational barriers to acceptance and helps build credibility.

4. Engage across teams and regions to unlock insights

Engaging a diverse mix of sites, teams or regions provides a more balanced and meaningful understanding of progress when delivering leadership development initiatives. Mature sites may show smaller rates of improvement, but even modest gains can validate the programme’s effectiveness.

Gaining insight into improvement variations across different areas of the business can highlight where the greatest impact is being made. In Unilever’s case, comparing pilot sites, early adopters, and more mature sites revealed relative rates of improvement that strengthened confidence in the leadership programme’s effectiveness.

5. Partner with experts to deliver effective leadership programmes

Working with an experienced learning and development provider who truly understands your business context builds confidence and ensures training solutions are relevant and effective.

To find the right fit, look for practitioners who not only have demonstrable expertise but are willing to collaborate closely to understand your organisation’s needs. For example, as a global group, Unilever benefited from best practice with its provider Tack TMI, which deployed a  flexible, localised approach to ensure content was aligned with participant’s needs, allowing them to learn in their own language, culture and region.

A successful partner should provide ongoing feedback loops that track both leading and lagging indicators of progress. At Tack TMI, we often find that clients start  with assumptions about  their requirements but using our pyramid framework, we uncover deeper issues, allowing us to design more effective programmes. This collaborative approach ensures that training programmes deliver not only on agreed performance metrics but also on softer outcomes, including engagement and culture.

About the Expert

Veronica Luna, Global Learning & Leadership Development Supply Chain Lead, Unilever

Veronica Luna is Global Learning & Leadership Development Supply Chain Lead at Unilever, where she shapes the global learning strategy for manufacturing and supply chain teams across more than 260 factories worldwide. With over 17 years’ experience in capability building, leadership development and organisational change, she designs and delivers future-ready learning programmes aligned to operational excellence and business transformation. Veronica leads Unilever’s Manufacturing System learning agenda, champions experiential and gamified leadership development, and is recognised for embedding robust measurement frameworks that link leadership behaviours to business performance and ROI.

FAQ: Measuring the ROI of Leadership Development

Why is it difficult to measure the ROI of leadership development?
Because leadership outcomes are often behavioural and long-term, many organisations lack clear baselines, agreed metrics, and ongoing measurement during programmes, making impact harder to evidence.

What metrics can be used to measure leadership development effectiveness?
Common metrics include operational performance indicators (such as productivity or OEE), engagement scores, Net Promoter Score (NPS), 360-degree behavioural assessments, and organisational effectiveness measures aligned to business priorities.

What is the difference between leading and lagging indicators in leadership development?
Lagging indicators reflect outcomes after training has ended, such as financial results or KPIs. Leading indicators provide early insight into progress, such as participation rates, behaviour adoption, or monthly operational effectiveness trends.

How can organisations link leadership behaviour to business outcomes?
By aligning leadership development goals with existing business metrics and tracking behavioural change alongside performance data throughout the programme, organisations can demonstrate clear cause-and-effect relationships.

Why should organisations use existing business metrics rather than new ones?
Using familiar metrics builds credibility, reduces resistance from stakeholders, and ensures leadership development is directly connected to recognised business priorities.

How does ongoing measurement improve leadership development programmes?
Continuous tracking allows organisations to adapt programmes in real time, address gaps early, and ensure leadership behaviours are reinforcing desired business outcomes.

What role do learning partners play in proving leadership ROI?
Experienced learning partners help align leadership development with business strategy, design relevant interventions, and establish measurement frameworks that track both behavioural change and organisational impact.