Training as Strategy for Effective Leadership Development in Business Organisations: Evidence from the Nigerian Banking Industry

Abstract

Training and Development (T&D) is one of the panaceas for developing sustainable leadership in both private and public enterprises. Such a disposition within the banking industry in Nigeria is akin to being pro-active for responsible managers in future. There is however some paucity of information on functional succession planning process in this sector of the economy which has to be documented. This study therefore examined the disposition of Training and Development (T&D) on the capacity for leadership enhancement in the banking industry of Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population of study was 4,345 which were all employees in selected three commercial banks in Nigeria. A stratified random sampling technique was used while the sampling size was 165 employees. The findings revealed that there was a significant (P<0.05) relationship between coaching and Leadership Development (LD) with an r value of 0.74. A weak but significant relationship existed between Job Rotation (JR) and LD with an r value of 0.33 (P<0.05). There was a high and positive relationship between On-The-Job Training (OTJT) and LD. It was concluded that on-the-job training should be practiced as a deliberate policy in the Nigerian banking industry in order to enhance productivity and leadership development. The study recommended that deliberate efforts should be made to implement & practice Training & Development in the banking industry as it enhance productivity among employees as well as LD The study also recommended .that coaching as a variant of on-the –job training should be encouraged within the Nigerian banking industry as it addresses employees specific skill gaps required to enhance capacity building of future leaders within the industry.