Leadership development is a booming, multi-billion-dollar industry, with most organizations investing in some form of leadership training. Despite its popularity, little evidence exists for what actually works. In this study, researchers (Lu et al., 2025) introduce a novel intervention aimed at building leadership skills in organizations: debate training. Importantly, they tested its effectiveness in the real world.
DEBATE TRAINING PROMOTES ASSERTIVENESS
The researchers conducted two large-scale experiments testing the effectiveness of debate training. In the first experiment, over 400 employees were either assigned to participate in a 9-week debate training program, or to be in a control group that received no training. The training focused on building logical arguments, clear communication, and respectful assertiveness. After a year and a half, those who received training were more assertive and 12% more likely to have moved to a higher leadership role compared to the control group.
In the second study, groups of three worked together on a brainstorming task. One person per group was randomly assigned to either receive short debate training or be placed in a control group. Again, individuals who received debate training were rated by others as more assertive and leader-like. These effects held regardless of gender or race, indicating the training’s broad applicability.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
Debate training may be a promising, long-lasting strategy for promoting a key leadership trait—assertiveness. Organizations may benefit from incorporating it into leadership development programs as a cost-effective way to build essential leadership skills, such as confidence and effective communication. At the individual level, the researchers encourage starting debate training early in life (e.g., joining a high school debate team) to help cultivate assertiveness and leadership potential over time.
Lu, J. G., Zhao, M. X., Liao, H., & Zhang, L. D. (2025). Breaking ceilings: Debate training promotes leadership emergence by increasing assertiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 110(9), 1225–1239.
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