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29.03.2024 01:53:56
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11.11.2016Leadership Development

HEAT-MAPs: the essential tool for defining leadership development landscapes and programmes

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Playing snooker looks so easy! If you’ve ever tried to play, however, you will know how difficult it is to shoot a ball from one side of the table into the pocket of the other. You know that you have perfected a skill when things you do, while looking easy to others, are actually difficult to perform.

HEAT-MAPs follow the same logic. They are simple to watch and difficult to do; they are necessary, however, for designing successful and professional Leadership Development Programmes.

HEAT-MAPs can be described as matrices that allow the discussion

1.of possible programme content,

2.the emphasis for a specific target group,

3.required objectives (what should the target group do differently?), and

4.methods for achieving the designing of professional Leadership Development Landscapes and Programmes.

CLP derives Leadership Development Programmes and Landscapes from an organisation’s strategy and desired corporate culture. So, a HEAT-MAP is a strategic instrument for building leadership interventions.  HEAT-MAPs require a thorough debate among key players of an organisation on what topics and skills are important today and which will be important in the future for leaders of a different hierarchical level.  CLP observes that often HR and L&D professionals struggle to follow executive boards’ logic and strategic approach that drive the organization. A very common challenge to which HEAT-MAPs can contribute is the translation of strategic goals into leadership requirements.


ExampleBased on their current organisational strategy, an organisation realises that a deep knowledge and skills in innovation management are required for all its leaders.
Many questions emerge:
-What content is required for which target group and to what extent?
-What should e.g. top-leaders know about innovation and what should middle managers know?
-What innovation behaviours should e.g. these two target groups perform to drive corporate strategy?
-And what possible methods make sense to train leaders in innovation management?


Before beginning to create HEAT-MAPs that ultimately define Leadership Development Programmes, we have to start with the actual organisational strategy. Leadership Development Programmes shouldn’t be initiatives that tap into leaders’ deficits, with the aim to remedy their weaknesses. Also, Leadership Development Programmes are not meant to build on leaders’ strengths to make them even stronger! (And I am sure that many of my colleagues would disagree!) Leadership Development Programmes enable leaders to execute and embrace their organisational strategy, thus the actual content should be based on it.

The figure below shows an exemplified HEAT-MAP for two target groups, Level 1 and Top-Talents, and the chosen topic of digitalization. Logically, digitalization means different things for different target groups. For Level 1 leaders, digitalization is prioritized in the high end and strategic, while for Top-Talents digitalization can be prioritized as middle. Thus, digitalization requires different emphasis, content, objectives and methods that can be displayed and discussed in the HEAT-MAP below.

Figure: snap-shot of HEAT-MAP for two target groups, showing topic of Digitalization

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If you want to know more about HEAT MAPs and their use, or to discuss how to design LD Programmes and Landscapes, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours,

Dr. Marcus Gottschalk

>> Get your 500 words in PDF here!


HEAT-MAPs play an important part in designing Leadership and Development Landscapes and Programmes. CLP is offering a Design Master Class, a unique two-day workshop focused on the process of building intelligent learning architectures. An important part of this Master Class is to practise HEAT-MAPS. Participants have the chance to build their organisation’s specific landscapes and programmes with the help of peers from DAX30 companies, SMEs and experts. Please find your Design Master Class invitation here.

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