Having invested much of my time in leadership training, I’ve realized that inclusivity is a significant factor in ensuring a business thrives amid challenges, changing demands, and evolving environments. In this day and age where diversity is encouraged — almost obligatory —  in most business settings, it can be easy to get confused and have many false assumptions about the concept. 

Inclusive leadership development is more than just ensuring all races and genders are represented in your organization. It’s more than just a numbers game. True inclusivity is about making everyone feel equally involved and supported in the workplace regardless of who and what they are. 

Let’s take a closer look at what true inclusivity and diversity in the workplace are all about and why these can easily be confused with simply welcoming everyone from all walks of life into the organization. We’ll also discuss the benefits of fostering authentic, inclusive leadership and how this can help your business grow, thrive, and succeed in a demanding and dynamic environment. I will also give pointers on effectively promoting inclusivity in your leadership style. 

Inclusive Leadership Development Defined

Inclusive leadership development refers to training leaders to adopt and influence an open, engaging mindset where new ideas and perspectives, even the most divergent ones, are always welcome. Inclusive leaders are aware of their personal biases, inclinations, and philosophies, yet they continuously and intentionally work toward playing these down to give way to diversity and rule out discrimination.  

Misconceptions on Inclusive Leadership Development

What comes to mind when you hear the word “inclusivity?” Most people will probably say it refers to gender and race. They’re not entirely wrong, but these aspects are mere pieces of a whole pie. 

A common misconception about inclusive leadership is that everyone is welcome and encouraged to join the organization. Some companies even go as far as ensuring all genders, nationalities, races, and ethnicities are represented. They see this as a good indicator of inclusivity, so they set off deliberately searching for people to contribute to this notion of an inclusive workplace. 

However, this concept of inclusivity is flawed. When businesses fall into this inclusivity trap, they risk having incompetent, ineffective people in their workforce. As a business owner, you wouldn’t welcome a Hitleresque leader into your company, would you?

The reality is inclusivity and diversity encompass many more aspects, such as:

• Age
• Sexual orientation 
• Physical abilities (and disabilities)
• Political affiliation 
• Educational background
• Cultural background
• Mindset

Benefits of an Inclusive Leadership Development Plan

The foundations of inclusive and diverse leadership are humility, compassion, and empathy. They encourage their team members to get involved and be more invested in various business functions. This promotes a positive work culture where everyone feels like an integral part of the team, valued and appreciated, and where they can be their true selves. 

An inclusive leadership plan unveils many benefits for the business, including: 

• Increased motivation 
• Better job satisfaction
• Low employee turnover (20% of an employee’s inclination to stay in the company is due to an inclusive work culture)
• Quicker and smoother adaptation to change
• Increased employee engagement
• Increased efficiency and productivity 

Inclusive Leadership Development Best Practices

Here are some great pointers on how you can foster and promote inclusivity in your organization:

1. Promote Social Awareness and Self-Awareness

The best way to start inclusive leadership development training is through social awareness and self-awareness. You can begin by identifying conscious and subconscious biases or blind spots for each participant. Start with these questions:

• What are your thoughts on inclusivity?
• What factors contribute to an inclusive workplace?
• Do you believe inclusivity is essential in an organization?

You can then move on by targeting participants’ emotions through healthy dialogues and self-reflection:  

• Have you experienced discrimination in the workplace? How did it make you feel?
• Can you identify exact workplace scenarios where prejudice or discrimination were unchecked?
• Have you ever allowed your personal biases to get the better of you? How do you think the other person felt?

Storytelling is a great way to break the ice and encourage more people to share their insights. Here are a few tips to go about it:

1. Prepare a box with small index cards inside. Each card contains a word, phrase, sentence, or scenario about inclusivity in the workplace. 
2. Arrange everyone in a circle. You can use chairs or sit on the floor. 
3. Draw a card from the box. Read the words aloud and ask participants if they have anything to share regarding the topic.
4. Encourage everyone to talk. Digression is certainly allowed since this encourages free-flowing, stimulating discussions.  

2. Build Your Network

Building your network allows you to create unique connections and strong bonds with people who can encourage, strengthen, and support your career. However, remember that networks are 2-way streets — you must reciprocate and offer them the same assistance and commitment, too. If you have a strong network, you will most likely receive the help you need when you need it. 

On the other hand, not having a solid network, especially in today’s dynamic, demanding business environment, might make you feel isolated and vulnerable. 

Create diverse connections by being open to different perspectives, backgrounds, and profiles. This is also a great way to break cultural barriers and eliminate your personal biases. When exposed to diversity, you’ll realize the value of having access to unlimited information and outlooks. 

3. Transparency in Decision-Making

Making decisions for the team shouldn’t be a privilege exclusively for higher management. You must involve your team in decision-making to foster trust, accountability, and inclusivity. 

This also promotes cognitive diversity — the variety of ways people process information, perceive the world around them, and make decisions. When people in a team think differently, you can foster new methods of thinking, challenge assumptions, question biases, and open opportunities for innovation. 

This calls to mind a friend’s story from when she briefly worked in Japan. She became friends with a next-door neighbor who owned a chain of restaurants in their vicinity. My friend was pleasantly surprised one day when her neighbor invited her to dinner and began asking for her opinions on the dishes being served. 

Her neighbor humbly confessed that he was considering exploring fusion cuisine in a new restaurant and wanted her take on certain dishes since she grew up in a Western culture. My friend was flattered that a seasoned chef would consider her opinions and perspectives. 

She soon realized that this was her neighbor’s secret weapon for entrepreneurial success — he valued diverse opinions and varied perspectives in his work, and that’s why his dishes were always well-loved by many. 

4. Diversify Your Team

Workplace diversity is not just about skin color, race, and gender. In reality, these traits should not matter — these are all merely circumstantial factors that make up the totality of a person. Having this mindset where the goal is to represent genders, races, and skin colors in your organization only makes the concept of inclusivity in your organization inauthentic and meaningless.  

True workplace diversity and inclusivity allow businesses to benefit from a broader range of skill sets, varying perspectives, and divergent experiences. People should be allowed to think differently and be free to communicate their thoughts in the workplace. They must feel comfortable and safe when voicing their perspectives, no matter how much they differ from the majority.

5. Listen and Learn!

Listening is a powerful tool in leadership. It shows your authenticity as a leader and allows you to foster trust, respect, and integrity in the workplace. You must practice active listening to keep communication lines open, encourage your team members to engage and commit to the business, and support them in achieving their full potential. 

Active listening is a skill and discipline crucial in effective and inclusive leadership. You must focus your efforts and attention on striving to understand the other person while temporarily ignoring your own needs, biases, and perspectives. 

Here are some tips to promote active listening:

• Focus on the message. Avoid considering personality traits or physical characteristics in formulating biases or prejudices against the speaker. 
• Pay attention to body language. Gestures and posture can communicate deeper meanings within the conversation. 
• Acknowledge the speaker’s critical points. This lets the speaker know you’re listening and striving to understand the message. A simple “Uh-huh” or “I see” will encourage the speaker to share more. 
• Don’t interrupt. Interrupting the speaker might convey disrespect and impatience. 
• Maintain eye contact. This conveys authenticity and your eagerness to understand the message. 
• Avoid evaluating and prematurely passing judgment. Withhold your conclusions and criticism until after the speaker has aired the entire message. 

Key Takeaways

Inclusive leadership development paves the way for workplace creativity, innovation, and diversity. A business that fosters inclusivity opens doors to a broader client base, loyal customers, and increased profits. It also helps improve employee retention and attracts top talents from across the industry. 

At Sancus Leadership, we help businesses take concrete, practical steps toward promoting inclusive leadership. If you’re keen on adopting this revolutionary approach to leadership, book us a free leadership call, and we’ll help design a program tailor-fitted to your business’ unique needs.

I’ve flourished in various industries in my professional life, from joining the military as an Army Officer to being an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team leader to being a sports coach, logistics manager, and instructor. Through all these, and especially now as a business owner and entrepreneur, leadership development remains one of my advocacies. Leadership development ensures business longevity, especially when measured accurately.

To measure leadership development, you must be specific and direct when asking for feedback. You must also be precise when measuring the benchmarks you’ve set. These are how you can determine if any adjustments need to be made, tactics to be abolished, or if you need a total revamp.

Let’s discuss further what benefits you can gain from accurately measuring your leadership development programs and what mistakes you should avoid. We will also talk about ways you can measure leadership development by focusing on key factors, including relevance, engagement rates, success in advancing key leadership competencies, productivity, and return on investments.  

The Biggest Mistake in Measuring Leadership Development

Measuring leadership development may seem like a simple task. After all, how hard could it be to find out if the program was effective or not, right? Don’t you just have to ask your leaders and employees for feedback?

This may be true to some extent, but will merely asking your organization for feedback provide accurate information on what kind of impact a leadership development program had? Shouldn’t you be more clear-cut to gather the exact information you need?

The biggest mistake when measuring leadership development is sending out a generic questionnaire or survey. The results you’ll get won’t be explicit and won’t provide you enough valuable data that might be helpful in the future. 

It’s like asking your child, “How was school today?” Time and again, you’ll get the same reply, “It was okay.” But if you tweak your questions to, “Who did you eat with at lunch today?” or “Did you get to read your story aloud in class?” you’ll get a more detailed, satisfying, and enthusiastic reply. 

Why It’s Essential To Measure Leadership Development

Accurately measuring leadership development is crucial to any business because this helps you determine whether or not your efforts are instrumental in achieving organizational goals. In leadership development, the end goal is to develop well-rounded, proficient, and top-tier leaders to help ensure your business will always be in good hands. 

Let’s take a look at the benefits of measuring leadership development:

• Allows you to gather feedback on the program’s effectiveness from the perspective of leaders and employees. 
• Helps increase satisfaction rates with regard to continuing education.
• Helps promote a sense of security for employees keen on working on their career path. 
• Contributes to reducing employee turnover rates.
• Aids in pinpointing Leadership skills and KPIs that need to be focused on. 

Ways To Measure Leadership Development 

It’s not enough to just deploy a leadership development program for your business. You must also ensure that you accurately measure its effectiveness and impact. 

The Global Leadership Forecast of 2018 found that only 18% of businesses measure the impact of their leadership development programs. This data suggests an imbalance between the goals these businesses have set and what they have actually realized. 

Remember, measuring leadership development should never be just an afterthought. It should be part and parcel of the program because the defined metrics will provide you with crucial information for future leadership decisions. 

These questions for program participants might serve as helpful guides when measuring leadership development:

Are you satisfied with how the leadership development program was conducted?

Did you learn something new and useful?

Have there been changes in your mindset and behavior that resulted from what you’ve learned?

How did the program impact the way you accomplish your tasks?

Measuring leadership development programs is simply about acquiring proof of the results. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can illustrate the outcomes:

1. Measure the Response

It would be great to find out how leaders and employees responded to the leadership development program. Some aspects you might want to look into might include:

• Level of engagement. How involved were the participants in contributing to the learning experience and exchanging of ideas in the program?
• Timeliness/Relevance. Do the participants think the program dealt with issues relevant to the current situation? Will they be able to apply their acquired learnings to real-life business scenarios?
• Participation rate. Was the program able to tap the majority of the target participants?
• Completion rate. What percentage of the participants pulled through until the end?
• Degree of motivation. Were the participants, particularly the leaders, invested in the program?

2. Measure Learnings and Behavioral Changes 

Your leadership development program won’t make much of a difference in your business if your participants do not assimilate the facts, strategies, and practices discussed. All the time, energy, and resources spent on training will be wasted if the learnings remain mere concepts and ideas rather than translated into spoken words and actions. 

The best way to measure the absorption of learnings from leadership development programs is by applying the concepts discussed. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and leadership skills need to be enforced and put to good use for the benefit of the business and can be clearly seen through behavioral changes within the team. 

Here are some revealing aspects worth observing to measure the effectiveness of your leadership development program:

• Interpersonal skills. Note changes in how participants interact with one another in the workplace. Ideally, behavioral changes should result in better collaboration, engagement, and productivity.
• Communication skills. Having the ability to accurately deliver information and express ideas is essential in ensuring business success. When the lines of communication between leaders and team members are always open, problems are quickly addressed, opportunities are maximized, and there is always a healthy exchange of insights to benefit the business. 
• Creative thinking. Innovativeness is one sure sign that your leaders and employees are engaged, inspired, and driven. Any business will thrive and grow with creative thinkers at its helm.
• Decision-making. Making decisions as a group is one of the secret ingredients in a collaborative, synergistic team. Transparency in decision-making can be promoted in many ways, including using tools like decision trees and influence diagrams. 
• Resourcefulness. The ability to come up with clever ways to address workplace issues and present viable solutions to the most pressing persons is a telltale sign your leaders and employees are engaged, productive, and united in working toward common goals.  
• Sense of diversity. Organizations these days thrive in diversity, and leaders and employees must learn to flourish in this kind of environment and culture. They must be capable of working efficiently together regardless of gender, nationality, and sexual orientation. 
• Openness to change. In any organization, change is inevitable, and one of the marks of a highly productive team is its ability to embrace change. 

3. Measure the Results 

What better way to measure the effectiveness of a leadership development program than by studying the bottom-line results? At the end of the day, the impact must be felt in crucial business aspects, particularly those concerning productivity and revenues. 

Take a look at some of the most vital aspects you can utilize to measure a leadership development program’s success: 

• Turnover. Employees and leaders alike will not want to stay with a company that doesn’t make them feel appreciated, valued, and secure. A reduced employee turnover rate indicates that more people trust your business and are confident they’re in good hands. 
• ROI. For instance, in businesses where sales is the driving force, the return on investments can be easily calculated based on the cost of the leadership development program and sales increase documented thereafter. 
• Productivity. This can be measured by comparing the number of set goals versus the number of goals that have actually been achieved. A 

Key Takeaways

Developing new leaders is a critical need for most organizations. As your business grows, employees will leave, others will retire, while others will choose to stay. Leadership development is one way to ensure your business thrives amidst challenges and to keep your employees motivated, inspired, and engaged.

When you’re ready to take your leadership development programs up a notch, book us a call at Sancus Leadership. We’ve helped tailor-fit leadership development programs for countless businesses, and we can’t wait for you to experience how this can positively affect your organization, too!

Training future leaders has always been one of my favored pursuits, from my 12-year military career to my current entrepreneurial pursuits. I’ve always believed that leaders are the lifeblood of any organization, and they can directly influence its success or collapse. That’s why a good leadership development program with specific, tailor-fitted goals is a great secret weapon any business owner should have. 

The goals of a leadership development program generally incorporate developing the best leaders for the business, ensuring a healthy leadership pipeline, and boosting profitability. These goals will help you grow, retain, and attract the best managers in the industry.

This article talks about the general goals of an excellent leadership development program and why setting the right goals is crucial to your business’ growth and success in a demanding, dynamic business environment. We will also discuss the value of setting SMARTER goals for leadership development, and the pitfalls you must avoid to ensure your leadership development plan becomes a crucial tool in ensuring business longevity and success. 

The Biggest Mistake in Goal-Setting

Sometimes, goal-setting is misconstrued as an opportunity to lay out everything you envision for your business. When you start out with this type of mindset, it could get pretty chaotic and overwhelming. 

This is perhaps the biggest mistake in goal-setting — setting too many goals, especially if they’re vague and lacking definition and focus. 

Too many goals, particularly when they’re indefinite and seemingly perfunctory, will only lead to:

• Wasted resources and time
• Diluted focus
• Poor engagement
• Confusion and disorder
• Restricted productivity
• Unrealized objectives

Remember, “The more, the merrier” doesn’t apply to goal-setting. You must be deliberate and focused when setting goals for your leadership development program.

Why You Should Set SMARTER Leadership Development Goals

Setting the right leadership development goals is crucial to success. This gives participants a clear picture of what needs to be accomplished and how these should be executed. Furthermore, it lets you enjoy the power of tunnel vision so you can accurately center your resources and time toward all factors that can contribute to achieving these goals. 

Consider the SMARTER framework when setting leadership development goals:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Risky
• Time-keyed
• Exciting
• Relevant

Setting SMARTER goals for leadership development effectively engages, motivates, and pushes your participants to step out of their comfort zone. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Increased engagement  and productivity
• Better teamwork 
• Better formulation and implementation of leadership concepts
• Sustained momentum 
• Persistent progress in eventually realizing the goals
• Unified direction

Goals of a Leadership Development Program

From the initial leadership stages to senior leadership, your managers must be able to count on the organization to help them continuously grow. 

Generally, a business leadership development program aims to achieve these goals:

1. To Ensure a Healthy Leadership Pipeline

The advancement of a business largely depends on the advancement of its leaders. A leadership development program will be useful in this regard, instrumental in ensuring that your leaders, no matter what stage they’re in in their career, are continuously nurtured and supported. 

In a 2023 Gartner survey, where they tapped over 850 Human resources (HR) managers from different major industries across 60 countries, it was revealed that the top priority for the year is leadership effectiveness. 

HR managers struggle with leadership succession because they can’t fill gaps in the organization with the right leaders. Hence, the need to develop excellent leaders from within the company and attract the best from outside has become a top priority. 

This can be accomplished through a solid leadership development program that focuses on building critical leadership skills and competencies and ensuring diversity and proficiency in the leadership bench. 

2. To Develop the Kind of Leaders the Business Needs

Continuous education and exposure to relevant experiences and opportunities through leadership development are the keys to ensuring a healthy leadership pipeline. You must tailor-fit knowledge and skills to the company’s unique needs, expectations, and culture. You must also build critical leadership values and competencies relevant to the business, such as:

• Decision-making
• Self-awareness
• Resilience
• Critical thinking
• Problem-solving

It’s not enough that you have a long list of emerging, mid-level, and senior managers. The most important thing is that all your leaders are skilled and knowledgeable enough to get the job done. 

A friend used to work with a fast-growing pharmaceutical company focused on buying out smaller firms. As the organization grew, so did its need for driven, skilled managers capable and eager to lead their teams through various challenges and obstacles. 

However, despite investing significant funds in expansion, the company failed to invest in leadership development. The employees who managed to move up the corporate ladder were ill-equipped to handle the demands of leadership. Most senior managers were recruited by other companies, enticed by their lengthy and impressive experiences in the industry. 

In just over 5 years, the company began losing control, and product sales dwindled. They lost their footing in the industry ranking, and to make up for the large losses, they began reducing expenditure by letting go of their more tenured staff. 

It was too late, though. Unfortunately, the company succumbed to the rising market demands and tough competition. Today, the organization still stands, but it’s significantly smaller than when it started and is no longer one of the top companies in the pharmaceutical industry. All these are because of inefficient planning and implementation of leadership development. 

3. To Bring In Profit

Ultimately, the goal of leadership development is for the business to earn profit to continue functioning. A company’s profitability ratio — the financial benchmarks used to assess its ability to generate profit within a specific period — highly depends on its leaders since their actions and decisions can directly impact all business functions. 

Consider these business areas where leaders play a significant role in influencing profits:

Company Culture

Leaders are pivotal in establishing the beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes adopted and enforced by the entire team. The business’ efficiency and performance depend highly on how positive (or negative) a company’s work culture is. 

Leaders with the right vision can influence their team members to think and act in specific ways. They serve as role models worthy of emulation by their teams. As a result, team members will align with their vision, creating a work culture thriving in collaboration, synergy, trust, and unity. 

A great company culture begins with positive leadership and forges the way for productivity and profitability.

Employee Engagement

Engaged employees are eager to contribute toward achieving company goals and willing to do whatever they can to ensure the business’ success. They are committed to the team and clearly understand that their work directly impacts the business’ ability to thrive, advance, and generate income and profits. 

Based on a State of the Global Workplace report, 85% of employees are not actively engaged in their work. This staggering figure results in losses of approximately $7 trillion. These employees generally report to work simply to accomplish their assigned tasks — nothing more. Some report to work only for the sake of income. 

The best leaders can bring out the best in their people. When they’re able to motivate, inspire, and push their team members to excel and grow in their chosen field, productivity and profitability will thrive as well — that’s 17% higher productivity and  21% higher profitability, according to the same study.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are inevitable in any organization, but a leader’s ability to quickly and expertly manage conflicts will directly affect team motivation, engagement, and culture. When team members know they can count on their leaders to handle workplace conflicts judiciously, they will accept it simply as part of the job. After all, no 2 individuals can always agree on all matters, much less in a diverse, flourishing workplace. 

Final Thoughts

Developing excellent leaders within your organization should be among your primary objectives as a business owner. This is a great way to ensure your business is always in good hands. This Is also a great strategy to retain top talent and attract the best leaders in the industry. 

Sancus Leadership can help you develop a unique leadership development plan that addresses your most pressing needs. When you can set some time aside to brainstorm on creating a tailor-fitted leadership plan for your business, reach out to us, and we’ll be eager to help!

My years as an Army Officer taught me the value of investing in people with potential. In the army, we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year developing the skills needed to effectively lead a team through different challenges and obstacles. We make sure to tap the right people for the job so we always stay ahead in the game and succeed in our missions. 

The most successful companies spend billions of dollars each year on leadership development. They prioritize developing leaders and ensure a healthy leadership succession. Excellent leadership can help ensure your business grows and thrives amidst these challenging times. 

This article discusses why leadership development is crucial in business and what benefits you can enjoy with a healthy leadership bench. We’ll also talk about the biggest mistake you can make as a business leader — not investing enough in leadership development — and what you risk losing. Finally, we’ll discuss how much companies worldwide spend on leadership development so you get a clear grasp of its enormous impact and relevance. 

Why Some Businesses Fail to Maximize Leadership Potential

The lack of adequate resources and reluctance to invest in intangible concepts often hinder some business owners from establishing a solid leadership development program, resulting in leadership gaps within the organization. 

According to the 2023 Global Leadership Forecast, there is a shortage of quality leaders equipped to fill critical organizational roles. In fact, only 12% of the companies surveyed were confident in the strength of their leadership bench. 

Businesses that have a robust and reliable leadership bench are:

• 6 times more likely to engage and retain their top talents 
• 3 times more likely to deliver maximum financial performance 
• 5 times more likely to positively address issues on employee burnout

If business owners don’t invest enough resources in leadership development, they risk losing top talents and suffering the adverse effects of not having a strong leadership bench.

Why Successful Businesses Invest in Leadership Development

Investing in leadership development is crucial to ensuring a business grows and thrives despite challenges in a dynamic and demanding environment. Some business owners may be daunted by the additional expenses this entails, but it’s vital to understand that the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Leadership development helps boost employee engagement and reduce employee turnover, leading to more opportunities to build a healthier leadership pipeline. 

Take a look at these statistics:

Individual Enhancements

• Leadership training participants show a 25% increase in learning and a 20% improvement in overall job performance. 
• The same study revealed a 28% increase in leadership behavior application and an 8% improvement in overall team performance.
• An 88% behavioral improvement was also noted after executive coaching.

Organizational Improvements

• A 22% increase in organizational activity was noted after the completion of leadership training. 
• Companies that promote inclusive leadership development were 4.2 times more likely to financially surpass those that didn’t. 

How Much Do Companies Spend on Leadership Development?

Companies are estimated to spend as much as $50 billion per year on leadership development. Establishing a solid succession pipeline is among the top priorities of successful business owners, along with retaining high-potential employees and fostering creative thinking and innovation.

A Chief Learning Officer survey in 2017 gave us a more concise picture of how much companies generally spend annually on leadership development per person: 

As well, this data from the Training Industry paints a clear picture — companies are committed to prioritizing and spending on leadership development because they know the best leaders can help ensure growth and success: 

*Note that the slight dip in the training market expenditure in 2020 can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now, let’s look at the latest data from The Business Research Company’s Corporate Training Global Market Report 2023. From $363.26B in 2022, the training market is expected to rise to $380.70B by 2023. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%, the global training market is expected to reach $460.04B by 2027. 

How Much Do Leadership Development Programs Cost?

Leadership development programs vary in style, format, and activities offered, and the costs largely depend on these. However, it’s important to remember that higher costs do not always guarantee quality and effectiveness. What’s crucial is that your business’ leadership development plan is tailor-fitted to your unique needs, circumstances, and goals.

Depending on your budget, needs, and preferences, you can search for a program designed to provide accurate solutions to your organization’s leadership concerns. 

Let’s take a look at some ballpark figures:

1. In-house Leadership Training

In-house training is great for targeted groups with specific needs. You can customize the program based on where the business currently stands and what you aim to achieve given a specific period. Essentially, you can control the plans of action, training styles, desired outcomes, and the profiles of the participants and instructors. 

In-house leadership training programs generally cost $2,000 – $4,500 per day, or about $250 – 400 per hour for a group of 15-20 participants.

2. One-on-One Leadership Training

One-on-one training provides opportunities to work closely with senior leaders for a more direct approach to sharing knowledge, enhancing skills, and enriching experiences relevant to leadership. Coaching and mentoring are the usual action plans here, where the coach or mentor can identify the learner’s unique strengths and weaknesses, allowing for a more customized approach to leadership development. 

One-on-one training typically costs $250 -$350 per hour, but rates can increase to around $500 per hour if you work with a top executive or a seasoned coach. 

3. Distance Learning Leadership Courses

With the latest technological advances and enhancements efficiently accomplishing tasks, online courses are appealing alternatives for many leaders and organizations. They allow you to learn within a convenient time, at your own pace. 

Distance learning is perhaps the most inexpensive alternative. Free leadership courses are available online, while at the other end of the spectrum, some programs can cost as much as $5,000 or more.

4. Continuing Education Leadership Courses

Colleges and universities offer leadership training courses, which are great alternatives for your leaders, especially if you’re keen on not disrupting work schedules and dynamics. These courses are generally designed for working professionals, so classes are typically conducted after work hours or on weekends. 

Continuing education courses offer undergraduate and MBA programs. Depending on the type and duration of the program, these instructor-driven courses range from $8,400 – $33,000 per year. 

5. Experiential Leadership Training

Businesses from around the globe invest billions of dollars annually for leadership development, but sometimes, these investments go to waste because the programs fail to deliver the results they promised. 

If you don’t effectively link learnings to specific actions and practical applications, the impact of your leadership development program will be lost. 

Experiential training offers a more exciting and impactful approach to leadership development. Participants are exposed to high-stakes environments where they are compelled to exercise critical leadership skills through meaningful experiences. 

It’s similar to learning how to drive a car. Did you learn how to drive by watching videos, browsing through articles, and listening to lectures? Of course not! You learned by hopping behind the wheel, revving that engine, and driving away. Sure, your first few attempts were probably hair-raising, not to mention fraught with danger because you likely made numerous mistakes, but that’s how you learned.

As the saying goes, “Experience is the best teacher,” and this is precisely the mantra behind experiential training in leadership development. 

At Sancus Leadership, we can customize training programs to address your specific concerns, needs, and goals. We’ll take you to the most fascinating locations where you can exercise crucial leadership skills while you take in the beauty of nature and learn to adapt and react to varying environments and conditions.

Here are some outdoor leadership activities that help with leadership development:

• Camping: teaches collaboration, task delegation, and communication
• Mountain climbing: teaches resilience, strategic thinking, and time management
• Rock climbing: teaches critical thinking, self-leadership, and decision-making

Book us a free leadership call today to learn more about how we can help you develop the kind of leaders your business needs!

Key Takeaways

Leadership development is crucial in business because it allows you to develop the potential of your top talents so they can become the leaders you need in the future. Remember, your business will not remain exactly the way it is today, no matter how successful it is, nor will the market. You need to be capable of adapting to change, identifying opportunities, and executing strategies to stay ahead in the game.

Investing in leadership development today is the best way to ensure your company thrives in a demanding and dynamic business environment. 

One of the many things I learned during my 12 years in the military was that missions and projects don’t commence on the last day of the specific activity. Rather, it stretches into the evaluation phase, where observations, insights, and data will be gathered. This final stage ensures the program is effective so that investments related to it will always be maximized.

Evaluating leadership development programs is a vital aspect of business functions. It lets you target the most crucial key performance indicators (KPIs) and helps you stay on track with regard to achieving set goals. Evaluations let you know whether or not the program is effective.

Let’s talk about why it’s important to always evaluate leadership development programs and what benefits you can enjoy if you don’t skip this crucial step. We’ll also talk about why you must avoid making the same mistakes many businesses commit when it comes to program evaluations. Then, I’ll give some tips on how you can accurately evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of your leadership development program.

Why Evaluate Leadership Development Programs?

The biggest mistake businesses can make is not accurately and promptly evaluating their leadership development program. Proper evaluation is the only way to know whether or not the goals were met and if changes are necessary to make the program more effective. If you don’t properly evaluate your leadership development program, investments (both time and money) will go to waste. 

Take a look at all the benefits you can enjoy if you promptly and accurately evaluate your leadership development program: 

• Determines the effectiveness of the program
• Helps ensure the program objectives are aligned with company goals
• Helps ensure the program objectives are aligned with the career growth needs of employees and leaders
• Gauge whether or not your set goals were met
• Helps determine what changes need to be made to make future programs more effective
• Determines how much value was added by the program to your leadership roster and various business functions
• Determines the impact on critical business aspects, such as employee turnover, engagement, costs, productivity, profits, and return on investments

How To Evaluate Leadership Development Programs

Your leadership development program assessment can be broken down into 4 levels so you can focus on pertinent aspects at a time. 

Here is a quick guide …

1. Participants’ Feedback 

This is the most basic way to evaluate a leadership development program. Typically, “smile sheets” are utilized here to determine participants’ satisfaction levels with the program’s different aspects. 

However, note that this technique merely gathers reactions and may not give you more in-depth data on which program factors are more effective, which ones need modifications, and which ones you might as well do without. It may also not give you a clear picture of whether the business benefits from the learnings acquired from the program. 

That being the case, gathering reactions and feedback from program participants will still provide valuable information. To help make the data you collect more useful, consider asking open-ended questions, such as:

• Is the program relevant to your current responsibilities and tasks in the workplace?
• Did you like the learning process? Can you highlight specific aspects you liked best?
• Did you acquire new information from the program?
• Will you recommend this program to others?
• Which aspects of the program need to be improved?

2. Learnings

It would be great to find out what skills the participants learned or developed because of the leadership development program. The learnings acquired and skills enhanced will be instrumental in developing leaders who will take your business to new heights and spearhead efforts toward achieving set goals. 

Consider these questions:

• Did the program teach you new skills relevant to your job?
• How was the program instrumental in enhancing the leadership skills you already possess? 
• Do you feel confident about applying these new learnings and skills in the workplace?
• Are there any additional skills you would recommend future programs to focus more on?

Think about conducting a capstone project for your leadership development program. Use this as a culminating experience for program participants, where they will be given a chance to demonstrate the learnings and skills they acquired in simulated workplace scenarios. 

Typically, this would be a group activity where participants study a specific scenario commonly encountered in the workplace. They will apply the skills and techniques they learned from the leadership development program by writing an essay describing their chosen action plans and their rationale. Then, they will brainstorm on possible results, finally analyzing each of their decisions and inferred outcomes. 

A capstone project is similar to writing a dissertation before graduating from university. Its aim is to challenge learners to be critical thinkers and provide solutions for complex yet realistic problems, thus demonstrating their readiness to thrive in their chosen field. 

3. Workplace Application

Proper application and implementation of the knowledge and skills learned during leadership development training is the best way to evaluate the program’s effectiveness. Through this type of evaluation, it can clearly be seen what value the program has added to the business. 

Some of the most crucial questions at this point are:

• Were you able to apply your learnings and skills to real-life workplace scenarios? How?
• What behavioral differences did you notice in your behavior in the workplace that can be attributed to the program?
• Are the behavioral changes sustained?

4. Business Impact

This level of evaluation aims to assess the impact of the leadership development program on various aspects of the business. Ideally, it should have positively impacted the most crucial facets, so much that the effects can be felt at the bottom line — productivity and profits. 

You can utilize business performance measures, as well as the set goals, in determining the program’s effectiveness. Here are some questions that might be useful at this level:

• Which key performance indicators (KPIs) are relevant to this evaluation?
• Are there significant differences in costs and productivity resulting from improved team collaboration and efficiency? 
• Does leadership development have an impact on the company’s employee turnover rate?

Other Ways To Evaluate Leadership Development Programs

Aside from the survey-type methods discussed above, there are other ways you can evaluate the effectiveness of a leadership development program. Here are some of them: 

• Observation. Since observations are conducted as the program unfolds, you can gather accurate information as they occur. This technique offers real-time feedback and flexibility to make adjustments as soon as problems arise. 
• Interviews. Use this to go deeper into participants’ feelings and insights. However, interviews may take up much time and produce highly subjective results. 
• Focus group discussions. Two heads are better than one — that is, in exploring various relevant topics related to the leadership development program. Participants can share their experiences, observations, and insights freely. 

Final Thoughts

Evaluations are meant to determine the effectiveness of a leadership development program and whether or not participants find value in how the learning and skills they acquire will impact their work. 

At Sancus Leadership, we can help you design accurate, relevant, and practical evaluation techniques for your leadership development program. Book us a free leadership call when you’re ready to discover how a tailor-fitted evaluation plan can significantly boost the impact of leadership development in your business. 

I’ve been an army officer, sports coach, and HR manager. Now that I’m a business owner, I’ve reached the resolve that early career leadership development is crucial to one’s success in building a solid unit. It’s also one of the most strategic ways to challenge and push yourself to continuously work toward achieving your full potential. 

An early career leadership development program does not have a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s never too early to start since it’s a great way to ensure a healthy leadership pipeline. A good program has clear goals and specific metrics and is tailor-fitted to a business’s unique needs. 

Let’s discuss how early career leadership development can make a difference in your business and why you should invest in this strategy early on. We’ll also discuss the biggest and most common mistakes related to it so you can avoid falling into the same traps. Then, I’ll share some tips on developing your own early career leadership program.

The Biggest Mistakes in Early Career Leadership Development

Career advancement is challenging and daunting for most people. A friend recently talked to me about her niece, who was hesitant about signifying her interest in a vacant leadership position in her company. Despite my friend’s encouragement, her niece decided to pass on this opportunity, thinking she should let others who have been in the company longer than her first take a stab at it. 

This is perhaps the biggest and most common mistake in early career leadership development — waiting for the perfect time to take that first step. The thing is, that “perfect” time may never really come. Someone else you think is more deserving will always be there. You may never possess all the traits expected in excellent leadership. Juggling your time between family and work may never become easier. 

Truth be told, these are all just excuses holding you back from working toward reaching your full potential. 

Remember, it is never too early to start. Leadership skills won’t magically appear the longer you stay in your current position — you must actively work on them. What better way to do that than to commit to an early career leadership development program?

On the other hand, many businesses also commit the same mistake — waiting to invest in early career leadership development. Some organizations wait until someone is promoted to a leadership role before they launch a leadership development program. This wastes time — your new leader will have to juggle their work responsibilities and commit to the program instead of just focusing on crucial leadership tasks.

Your business will profit more if your new leaders hit the ground running rather than having to spend the first few weeks or months in a leadership development program.   

Benefits of Early Career Leadership Development

Early career leadership development offers many benefits, especially for small businesses eager to boost their chances for success in a demanding, dynamic industry:

• Ensures a healthy leadership pipeline
• Fills potential leadership gaps in the organization (due to retirement and resignations)
• Helps build the kind of leaders the organization needs
• Encourages employees to strive to reach their full potential
• Helps improve business results, such as engagement, motivation, collaboration, and productivity
• Helps build strong business networks, especially with senior leaders eager to mentor or coach emerging leaders
• Easier recovery from mistakes since they won’t be as damaging to your early career than if they occurred later on

Tips for Early Career Leadership Development 

Here are some great tips I’d like to share with you on developing a successful early career leadership development program:

1. Define Your Goals

All types of leadership development programs need well-defined goals. You must also ensure that these are aligned with organizational needs so you can provide solutions to different issues. 

Consider these questions:

• Are there leadership gaps in any departments, or are there any unfilled leadership positions?  There may be vacant management posts needing immediate attention or a need to create new leadership roles for certain departments or business functions. 
• Are you expecting dramatic changes in your leadership roster? Some leaders may be retiring soon, or others may have signified their intent to leave the organization. You must ensure these vacancies are quickly filled to prevent disruptions and adverse effects on workplace efficiency and productivity.
• What kind of leaders does your organization need? Some companies require hands-on leaders, keen on being at the forefront of business operations, while others prefer visionary leaders who are highly effective in inspiring others to reach their full potential. 

It’s important to know exactly where your organization stands, where you want to be at a given time, and what you need to do to ensure you get there. 

2. Identify Your Potential Leaders

Whether you’re looking for emerging, mid-level, or senior leaders, you must clearly identify strong candidates for the leadership positions that need to be filled. Developing specific leadership competencies will effectively help accomplish this task. 

The most critical leadership competencies can be categorized into 3 groups:

Leading Others

• Effective communication
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Conflict resolution

Leading Oneself

• Integrity
• Work ethics
• Leadership stature
• Adaptability
• Self-awareness 

Leading the Organization

• Ability to affect positive changes
• Pivotal decision-making  
• Innovation and risk-taking
• Strategic thinking
• Defining visions and missions

3. Personalize Your Approach

For leadership development to be truly effective, you must consider each individual’s unique needs, goals, and personality. Tailor-fit your approach to maximize their potential and make the most out of your early career leadership development program. 

Match your training techniques with the leadership level of your participants. For emerging leaders, coaching, mentoring, and leadership workshops may be your best bets in enhancing critical leadership skills. 

Consider the 70-20-10 framework in leadership development where:

• Experiential learning makes up 70% of leadership development (outdoor training, immersive experiences, work-based tasks)
• Social learning makes up 20% of leadership development (coaching, mentoring)
• Formal learning makes up 10% of leadership development (structured training programs, seminars)

Complex, multi-faceted early career leadership development programs are encouraged for enhanced learning transfer and on-hand experiences in proper application of learnings to actual workplace scenarios.  

4. Communication Is Key

Be clear and concise when relaying messages so participants know exactly what they’re getting into and what’s in store if they commit to the program. Consider sharing stories to further enhance the experience. 

Stories quickly rouse interest, accelerate relationship-building, and increase engagement. They also help boost memorability, establish stronger connections, and build trust, making them surprisingly exceptional tools in business. 

Have you ever met someone you quickly warmed up to simply because you could easily relate to them? They probably shared a story about a childhood experience or a recent incident — something you can easily understand and empathize with. 

In business, you can share personal stories, too, as long as they feel natural and genuine. It’s a great way to break the ice and quickly establish connections. 

5. Establish Leadership Values 

Early career leadership development programs are great ways to influence and establish core values in your leaders. It’s also an excellent strategy to shape promising individuals into the type of leaders your business needs. Values are what determine how leaders execute their tasks and responsibilities.

Here are some core leadership values you should foster early on:

• Accountability
• Respect
• Integrity
• Authenticity
• Transparency
• Empathy
• Passion
• Resilience
• Commitment

6. Evaluate Your Results

A leadership development program doesn’t end on the last training day — the last stage is the evaluation phase, where you measure the program’s results. You must ensure that the learnings acquired during training are effectively translated into the workplace. 

Additionally, keep track of the program’s progress by regularly checking in with the participants while the program is ongoing. Uncover possible issues and determine whether or not the strategies you’re employing are truly effective and relevant. Constant monitoring allows you to make adjustments when problems arise long before they balloon into complicated dilemmas. 

Here are some metrics you can utilize to determine the effectiveness of your early career leadership development program:

• Number of participants
• Number of participants who utilized each of the available training methods
• Number of participants who were promoted to a leadership role after the program
• Comparison of the participants’ skill levels before and after the program
• Total cost of the early career leadership development program
• Return on investments for the business

Final Thoughts

Investing in early career leadership development can make a significant difference in your business. Well-designed programs bring about enhanced team engagement, improved efficiency, and higher productivity. Furthermore, when a company helps its employees and leaders reach their full potential, they end up with driven people eagerly working together to achieve common goals. 

At Sancus Leadership, we have helped countless businesses develop leadership development programs tailored to their unique needs. If you’re keen to know how an early career leadership program can make a difference in your company, book a free call with us, and we’ll happily guide you through it!