A significant stimulus for the shift toward more focus on experience-driven leadership development happened in 1988 with the publication of The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job, authored by Morgan W. McCall, Jr., Michael M. Lombardo, and Ann M. Morrison. The book became a catalyst, expanding the focus from what distinguishes effective leaders to how leaders are developed. As a result, experience-driven development emerged as a new focus for organizations and leader development professionals. The research continues to be replicated in increasingly diverse samples.

Here you’ll find in-depth information about the Lessons of Experience stream of research.

• Lessons of Experience Overview

  Interview with Cindy McCauley that was part of a Center for Creative Leadership MOOC.

• Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop On the Job
  Morgan W. McCall, Jr., Michael M. Lombardo, and Ann M. Morrison
  The book that started it all and has sold over 100,000 copies.
• Key Events in Executives’ Lives 
  Esther H. Lindsey, Virginia Homes, and Morgan W. McCall, Jr.
  The research report documenting the data that served as the basis for the Lessons of Experience book.
• Assignments – Other People – Coursework: Comparing Six Lessons of Experience Studies
  Cynthia D. McCauley
  Describes the connection between Lessons of Experience research and the 70-20-10 model of leadership development.
• Gender Differences in the Development of Managers Gender: How Women Managers Learn from Experience
  Ellen Van Velsor and Martha W. Hughes
  Compares the results of the original Lessons of Experience study and a replication with executive women.
• Key Events and Lessons for Managers in a Diverse Workforce
  Christina A. Douglas
  Examines the key events in the lives of African American executives, male and female, and compares those to the experiences reported in the original Lessons of Experience study.
• Developing Global Executives: The Lessons of International Experience
  Morgan W. McCall, Jr. and George P. Hollenbeck
  The Lessons of Experience research is expanded to the complex setting of leading in an international context.
• A Global Perspective on Lessons of Experience   Meena Wilson presents on the latest replications of Lessons of Experience research in Asia.

• Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today
  Meena Surie Wilson
  Based on the key experiences and lessons learned by senior Indian business leaders.

• Developing Future Leaders for High‐Growth Indian Companies: New Perspectives
  Meena Surie Wilson
  Research findings from Lessons of Experience research in India.
• Developing Chinese Leaders in the 21st Century
  Yi Zhang, N. Anand Chandrasekar, and Rola Ruohong Wei
  Research findings from Lessons of Experience research in China.
• Developing Public Service Leaders in Singapore
  Jeffrey Yip and Meena Wilson
  Research findings from Lessons of Experience research in Singapore.
• Developing Project Managers
  Robert Demare
  Research findings from a dissertation examining on-the-job development for IT project managers.