Leadership Capability Blueprint | Burns Leadership Consulting
Burns Leadership Consulting

Leadership L&D Capability Blueprint

A rigorous diagnostic for organizations ready to assess the depth and maturity of their leadership development system — and identify exactly where to build next.

6 Core Dimensions
36 Assessment Elements
5-pt Rubric Scale
~20 Minutes
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Why this assessment matters

Most organizations invest in leadership training. Far fewer have a genuine leadership development system — one that is aligned to strategy, built to sustain, and measured for impact. The gap between the two is where most L&D investments quietly fail.

This Blueprint assesses your organization across six dimensions of leadership development capability: Strategy, Assessment, Content, Delivery, Infrastructure, and Culture. For each dimension, you will score your organization on a 1–5 rubric and identify where the biggest gaps exist. The result is a clear picture of what you have, what is missing, and where to build next.

You choose which dimensions to assess. All six create the fullest picture, but even completing two or three will generate actionable insight. Your scores will be sent to your email for your records.

1

Enter your information

Name and email required. Organization context helps tailor interpretation.

2

Choose your dimensions

Assess all six or skip dimensions less relevant to your current focus.

3

Score each element

Rate 1–5 using the rubric. Add open-ended observations where useful.

4

Receive your results

Your scores are sent to your email. You will hear from Dan Burns with next steps.

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S&A
1. Strategy & Alignment
Is leadership development tied to where the business is going?
⌄
The most common L&D failure is disconnection from business strategy. Before any program is designed, there should be a clear, explicit answer to: If leaders completed this development, what specific business outcome would improve? This dimension assesses whether your organization has made that connection deliberately and measurably.
Business Context Linkage
Leadership development is explicitly connected to the organization's top business priorities for the next 12–24 months. Leaders can draw a direct line between their development and business outcomes.
Not addressedFully integrated
Leadership Vision Clarity
Effective leadership is clearly defined for this organization. Expectations are documented, communicated, and understood by leaders at all levels. Leaders can cite examples of those expectations in practice.
Not addressedFully integrated
Values-Leadership Alignment
Organizational values actively shape leadership development. Leaders are expected to model and reinforce those values. Gaps between stated values and actual leadership behavior are identified and addressed.
Not addressedFully integrated
Scope & Sequencing
There is a clear rationale for who is included in leadership development (executives, managers, high-potentials, emerging leaders). Phasing and sequencing are deliberate, not accidental.
Not addressedFully integrated
Impact Metrics & Success Definition
The organization has defined what leadership development success looks like — beyond participant satisfaction. Business outcomes (retention, execution, alignment) are identified and tracked.
Not addressedFully integrated
Strategic Observations (Optional)
Describe the key gaps or wins you see in this dimension.
Section average: —
A&D
2. Assessment & Diagnostics
Do you know where capability actually sits?
⌄
Designing development without diagnostic data is guesswork. This dimension examines whether the organization has mechanisms to understand current leadership capability, identify root causes of gaps, and track improvement over time. A strong diagnostic approach uses multiple data sources — surveys, assessments, organizational health metrics, and structured feedback — rather than assumptions.
Current State Inventory
The organization has a clear picture of what L&D already exists, what is working, what is not, and where the gaps are. Existing efforts are evaluated, not just assumed to be working.
Not addressedFully integrated
Capability Diagnostics
Assessment tools or methods are in place to reveal where leaders are strong and where they struggle. Data from these tools informs development planning — it is not collected and ignored.
Not addressedFully integrated
Organizational Health Metrics
Organizational metrics (engagement scores, retention rates, promotion readiness, team alignment) are used as indicators of leadership effectiveness. Patterns in the data inform where development is most needed.
Not addressedFully integrated
Root Cause Analysis
When leadership gaps appear, the organization diagnoses the cause rather than assuming. It distinguishes between skill gaps, knowledge gaps, confidence gaps, accountability failures, and systemic barriers.
Not addressedFully integrated
Feedback Mechanisms
Leaders receive regular, actionable feedback on their effectiveness. Feedback is multi-source (manager, peers, direct reports, data) and frequent enough to actually inform behavior change.
Not addressedFully integrated
Diagnostic Observations (Optional)
What assessment tools or methods do you currently use? Where are the biggest gaps in your diagnostic capability?
Section average: —
C&C
3. Content & Competencies
Do leaders know what is expected and how to develop it?
⌄
Competency models are only useful if they are visible, specific, and tied to actual business requirements. This dimension examines whether leadership expectations are clearly defined across levels, whether content is addressing the right gaps, and whether a strengths-based approach is woven into how development is designed.
Competency Model
A defined leadership competency model is in place, aligned to strategy, documented, and communicated. Leaders across the organization understand what is expected of them at their level.
Not addressedFully integrated
Tier-Specific Requirements
Development content and expectations are differentiated by leadership level. What first-line managers need is distinct from what senior leaders need, and those differences are reflected in how development is designed.
Not addressedFully integrated
Behavioral Standards
Competencies are defined at the behavioral level. Leaders can point to concrete examples of what success looks like. Expectations are specific enough that someone outside the organization could recognize them in practice.
Not addressedFully integrated
Gap Identification & Prioritization
The biggest capability gaps are identified and ranked by business impact. Development resources are directed toward the gaps that matter most — not spread evenly across all competencies.
Not addressedFully integrated
Content Quality & Source
Development content is evidence-based, credible, and relevant to the organization's context. The build vs. buy vs. blend decision is made thoughtfully, not by default.
Not addressedFully integrated
Content Observations (Optional)
What is your current competency framework built on? What content areas most need strengthening?
Section average: —
D&L
4. Delivery & Learning Architecture
Is development sustained or just episodic?
⌄
A single workshop does not build capability. Effective learning architecture combines multiple modalities — workshops, coaching, peer learning, experiential application — in a deliberate sequence designed to increase transfer. This dimension examines how learning is structured, who delivers it, and whether the architecture is designed to sustain behavior change beyond the program event.
Learning Modality Mix
Development uses a mix of modalities (workshops, coaching, peer learning, digital, experiential, on-the-job) based on evidence and learner needs — not just what is easiest to schedule.
Not addressedFully integrated
Sustained vs. Episodic Structure
Development is structured for sustained engagement over time, not delivered as isolated events. Leaders progress through a designed journey with a clear beginning, middle, and follow-through — not a single-event model.
Not addressedFully integrated
Facilitation Capability & Credibility
Those who deliver development have the skills, depth of knowledge, and credibility to be effective. Leaders view facilitators as valuable, not as compliance requirements. Facilitators are developed and evaluated.
Not addressedFully integrated
On-the-Job Application & Transfer
Development is explicitly connected to real leadership practice. Leaders have structured mechanisms to apply what they learn. Application is tracked and reinforced — not left to individual motivation.
Not addressedFully integrated
Peer Learning & Accountability
Peer learning is intentionally built into the architecture — cohorts, learning communities, peer coaching structures. Peers hold each other accountable, not just the program facilitator.
Not addressedFully integrated
Delivery Observations (Optional)
How is your current development delivered? What parts of the architecture are strongest and which are missing?
Section average: —
I&S
5. Infrastructure & Sustainability
Is the system built to last beyond the next program cycle?
⌄
Many organizations build great programs and then watch them disappear when the champion leaves or the budget tightens. Sustainability requires clear ownership, stable resources, defined governance, and a deliberate plan to transition from external support to internal capability. This dimension examines the organizational scaffolding that keeps L&D running after the initial build.
Ownership & Governance
Accountability for leadership development is clear. A defined owner (person or team) makes decisions about priorities, resources, and direction. There is a governance structure that prevents it from being eliminated when business conditions shift.
Not addressedFully integrated
Budget Stability & ROI Tracking
L&D investment is funded at a level sufficient to achieve its goals. The budget is stable — not the first line cut in a downturn. ROI is tracked and used to justify continued investment, not just reported as participation data.
Not addressedFully integrated
Roles, Processes & Workflow
Roles and responsibilities for delivering development are defined and filled. There is a clear process for nomination, enrollment, delivery, and follow-up. The workflow is documented, not just understood by one person.
Not addressedFully integrated
Technology & Data Systems
Technology systems (LMS, tracking, feedback tools) support — not impede — the development process. Leaders can access what they need. Data is captured in a way that enables improvement decisions.
Not addressedFully integrated
Sustainability & Transition Planning
There is a plan to move from external dependency to internal ownership over time. Knowledge transfer is deliberate. Development does not collapse when one person leaves or a vendor contract ends.
Not addressedFully integrated
Infrastructure Observations (Optional)
What systems and roles support your L&D work? Where is the infrastructure most fragile?
Section average: —
C&C
6. Culture & Commitment
Does the organization actually believe in development?
⌄
Even the best-designed program fails if the culture does not support it. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership identifies executive sponsorship as the single largest predictor of whether development sticks. This dimension assesses the organizational beliefs, behaviors, and commitments that make development real — not performative.
Executive Sponsorship & Modeling
Senior leaders visibly champion development. They participate in it themselves, reference it in business decisions, and connect it to promotion and succession. People see executives taking development seriously — not just endorsing it in words.
Not addressedFully integrated
Learning Culture & Psychological Safety
Leaders see development as expected and valued — not optional or remedial. There is psychological safety to try new behaviors, make mistakes, and talk openly about what leaders are learning and where they are growing.
Not addressedFully integrated
Manager as Developer
Direct managers see developing their people as core to their role — not an HR responsibility. Managers are equipped and held accountable for the development of those they lead. Most development happens in the day-to-day manager relationship.
Not addressedFully integrated
Accountability for Application
Leaders are held accountable for applying what they learn. Follow-up mechanisms exist. Behavioral change is measured and connected to performance expectations. Non-application has consequences — real ones.
Not addressedFully integrated
Time, Permission & Priority
Leaders have protected time for development. The organization does not crowd it out with operational demands. Development is treated as a strategic priority — not something squeezed into whatever time is left.
Not addressedFully integrated
Culture Observations (Optional)
How committed is leadership to development — in practice, not just in words? Where does culture most undermine development?
Section average: —
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