70-20-10 says most leader development happens on the job, not in a classroom. The exam tests the ratio, its owner, and the arithmetic.
The ratio
The Center for Creative Leadership's 70-20-10 rule distributes leader development as:
- 70% challenging experiences and assignments
- 20% developmental relationships
- 10% coursework and training
The single most common error is inverting it — putting 70% on coursework. The second most common is swapping the 70 and 20 categories while keeping the 10 right.
Where it comes from
- The rule emerged from CCL's Lessons of Experience research, spanning more than 30 years of study into how executives learn, grow and change.
- Not Kirkpatrick (that is the four evaluation levels, a different model with a different owner), not the Uniform Guidelines, not SHRM benchmarking surveys.
The arithmetic
Percentages apply to the total development budget. Multiply the total by 0.70, 0.20 and 0.10.
Worked example, 120 development hours:
- 0.70 x 120 = 84 hours of challenging assignments
- 0.20 x 120 = 24 hours of developmental relationships
- 0.10 x 120 = 12 hours of coursework and training
The classic misread treats 70, 20 and 10 as hours rather than percentages. Watch also for an answer with correct arithmetic but 84 hours attached to coursework.
Applying it
When a plan puts all development into classroom workshops with no change to assignments and no mentoring, the most effective action is to restructure the plan so stretch assignments carry most of the development, supported by developmental relationships, with coursework the smallest share.
- Switching workshops to e-learning changes the medium and leaves the mix just as course-heavy.
- Approving the classroom series locks in the 10% channel as the whole program.
- Withholding development entirely does not fix the design flaw.
Rebalance toward the 70 and the 20.