When Your Leadership Development Program Needs Developing
Front-line leaders make up nearly 60% of management on average, and are directly responsible for supervising 80% of the workforce. Naturally, this means that organizations want their leaders to be as developed as possible. A great leader encourages his team and helps produce results. But to do so, a leader must first be sculpted and trained in the culture, strategy and acumen of their organization.
This need for leadership development has given rise to many different business solutions and programs to develop leadership across all levels of the organization. And yet, over half of organizations (51%) say their leadership is still not at all ready, or only somewhat ready, to lead their business today. In addition, a recent survey shows that nearly 60% of employees are dissatisfied with their organization’s investment in leadership development activities, and 29% of the respondents were not even aware of their organization having any kind of leadership, coaching or mentoring program.
This means that if the development needs aren’t being met, and aren’t going away, than the offerings need to change. What is your leadership development program missing? Let’s explore three concepts that can tune up your leadership development and produce better results.
Make it Experiential
There is a reason live-action classroom training has not been overtaken by virtual training. It still works and is most effective to learn by “doing,” to learn by interacting. Learning and retention is more effective and possible when one can make decisions and take action and see consequences; to have an experience, not just a slideshow lesson. Reading books and the latest articles is a great way to gather information, but does it develop a leader’s behaviors and show them how to truly delegate? Don’t just give your developing leaders a lesson; give them an experience.
Make it Relevant
Connecting to the idea of giving your leaders a true learning experience, make sure that what they are learning is relevant to their needs. Training can take people out of their offices and away from projects for hours and days sometimes. Don’t you want your participants to come back remembering what they learned and able to apply it to their daily work life?
Make it FUN
That’s right; add some entertainment to the mix. Gamification has been proven time and again to be beneficial to training. Games get learners engaged and active, participating with each other, encouraging discussion and swapping ideas. It grows the learning culture and develops the room together as one.
Interested in learning more about making your leadership development programs impactful and effective? Download our eGuide: Accountabilities All Effective Leaders Need. CLICK HERE.