Debate Training Can Help You Achieve Leadership Goals
Leadership development is big business. Organizations and individuals annually invest billions in training programs, executive coaching, and leadership workshops. Despite these massive investments, many leadership programs are not based on scientific evidence, and are either ineffective in achieving desired outcomes or do not measure their effectiveness in any meaningful way. Therefore, whether you are an individual looking to develop and pursue your own leadership ambitions or an employer striving to cultivate leaders within your organization, it is important to look to evidence-based approaches.
With this in mind, I wanted to share some fascinating new research that provides compelling experimental evidence for debate training as a pathway to leadership advancement. The experiments, conducted by Jackson G. Lu (MIT), Michelle X. Zhao (Washington University in St. Louis), Hui Liao (University of Maryland), and Lu Doris Zhang (MIT) find that individuals who receive debate training are significantly more likely to achieve formal leadership positions in organizations and emerge as informal leaders in group settings.
Why debate training? There are undoubtedly many ways to develop leadership skills. The scholars who conducted this research theorized that debate training would be effective for developing leadership capability because it inherently encourages behaviors that promote assertiveness, defined as "an adaptive style of communication in which individuals express their feelings and needs directly, while maintaining respect for others." Specifically, debate pushes individuals outside of their comfort zone to assert their views in groups that include people with different beliefs. In training for debate, individuals also develop confidence and learn persuasive communication skills through techniques like vocal modulation, strategic emphasis, and reinforcement of key points. This training also teaches them to maintain their position respectfully in disagreements without either dominating conversations or being dominated, a key feature of assertiveness. Additionally, the time constraints inherent in debate help individuals learn to communicate essential points clearly and concisely.
Based on this reasoning, the researchers conducted two experiments to test whether debate training could increase leadership emergence. The first study was a longitudinal field experiment at a Fortune 100 company where employees were randomly assigned to either receive a 9-week debate training program or not.
The debate training itself used Public Forum Debate as its framework, which is designed to enable participants to discuss current events in an accessible, conversational format. In a 9-week program, participants met weekly on Zoom for two-hour sessions. Each session began with instruction on debate knowledge and skills, followed by paired practice in breakout rooms, and concluded with questions and answers.
What makes this research particularly valuable is its experimental design, which allows researchers to establish a causal relationship between debate training and leadership achievement. Many leadership development studies rely on correlational evidence or lack proper control groups, making it difficult to determine what actually causes leadership advancement. In contrast, this research used random assignment and control groups to isolate the effect of debate training specifically.
In addition, to examine the potential role of assertiveness in increasing leadership achievement, the researchers measured this agentic component with self-report questions about speaking up appropriately, engaging in constructive disagreement, and standing one's ground in discussions. They measured this before the debate training (Wave 1, baseline), eight weeks into the training (Wave 2), and 18 months after the training (Wave 3).
When the researchers looked at promotion data from the company eighteen months after the training (Wave 3), they found that those who received the training were significantly more likely to have advanced in leadership level than those who didn't.
The researchers also found that assertiveness increased among those in the debate training group from Wave 1 to Wave 2, and remained elevated at Wave 3. And they found statistical evidence that this increase in assertiveness mediated the effect of debate training on leadership achievement. That is, debate training increased assertiveness, which predicted leadership advancement.
The second experiment focused instead on informal leadership in a group setting and involved a condensed 30-minute debate training session designed to also focus on assertiveness building principles. Instead of measuring assertiveness with a self-report questionnaire, external observers rated participants' behavior for assertiveness using items like "This person spoke up and shared his/her own views when appropriate" and "This person was able to stand his/her ground in the discussion." For leadership emergence, the researchers had group members evaluate each other after completing a collaborative task together, rating one another on items such as "I view this person as the leader of our group," "This person acted like a leader," and "I think this person possesses leadership qualities." This peer assessment created a clear measure of who naturally emerged as leaders during group interaction.Â
In this experiment, the researchers found that even a brief 30-minute debate training session made participants more likely to behave assertively and emerge as informal leaders in subsequent group activities.
For individuals looking to advance their leadership careers, debate training offers a practical, evidence-based approach. Even if you don't plan to engage in formal debate training, you can adapt ideas from debate training to improve communication skills in everyday life. Remember, there is a difference between being assertive and aggressive. The key is developing comfort with confidently, clearly, and constructively expressing your views.
For organizations seeking to develop leadership talent, debate training could provide a cost effective, scalable intervention with measurable outcomes. The research demonstrated that debate training can be effectively delivered via Zoom, making it accessible for remote or distributed teams. In addition, the effects appeared consistent across different demographic groups, including men and women, U.S. and foreign born individuals, and various ethnic groups.
It's worth noting that effective leadership encompasses far more than assertiveness alone. Truly impactful leaders demonstrate a constellation of qualities such as emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, ethical decision making, cultural awareness, and the ability to empower and inspire others. The researchers themselves acknowledge this complexity, noting that "assertive individuals are more likely to emerge as leaders in the U.S. workplace, they are not necessarily the most effective leaders."
For those with leadership potential or aspirations, however, assertiveness remains a critical threshold skill that often determines whether your other leadership qualities will ever be recognized or given the opportunity to flourish. Without the willingness to speak up and advocate for your ideas, even the most brilliant strategic insights may go unheard and unimplemented.
Leadership emergence isn't just about competence. It's also about how you communicate that competence. This research provides compelling evidence that debate training deserves a place in your leadership development toolkit. By cultivating assertiveness through debate training, you can increase your chances of being recognized as a leader and advancing to leadership positions.
Have a great weekend!
Clay