I’ve worked with countless businesses in my entrepreneurship journey, and I’ve come to the conclusion that leadership development is one of the factors that can singularly fuel an organization’s growth, stability, and longevity. The ability to retain great talent and attract the best people from outside the organization ensures the business is always in good hands.
A good leadership development program must have clear goals, so participants know exactly how it can fuel their leadership journey. It must also offer multiple methods of learning to maximize potential. Moreover, it must be accurately evaluated to keep track of progress and determine success.
This article will talk about the key elements of a solid leadership development program, including clear, concise goals, diversity in learning methods, and accurate, consistent evaluation. We’ll also discuss some of the biggest mistakes to avoid when designing a leadership development program for your business and what benefits you can enjoy when you invest in your leaders. Let’s start!
Big Mistakes In Designing Leadership Development Programs
Leadership development is essential in ensuring business growth and longevity, but many organizations struggle to create and implement solid programs that fuel the outcomes they need.
Here’s why some leadership development programs fail:
- Lack of a clear vision
- Lack of organizational alignment
- Lack of variety in learning methods
- Lack of rigorous evaluation of long-term impact
Poorly designed leadership development programs force the business to lose money on investments, waste company resources, and risk losing top talents.
Benefits of Well-Designed Leadership Development Programs
An organization’s’ leaders’ quality dramatically impacts all aspects of business functions. Poor leaders will quickly drag the business down, while excellent leadership can swiftly take the company to new heights.
Here’s a closer look at what you can gain from investing in leadership development:
- Improved retention rate of top talents
- Reduced attrition (a 2018 Randstad survey revealed that 60% of US employees quit their jobs because they don’t like their leaders)
- Improved recruitment of the best talents in the industry
- Ensured leadership continuity within the organization
- Enhanced employee engagement and productivity
- Improved skills and competencies
- Promotes a better organizational culture
- Higher ROI and profits
Key Elements of Leadership Development Programs
“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.” – John Maxwell
Training current and upcoming leaders is crucial to spurring growth and ensuring success for your business. A solid leadership development program will help you attract and retain the best talents so you have the most proficient people working together toward achieving your set goals.
Leadership development does not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Each business has to tailor-fit their program to fit their unique needs, circumstances, and visions. However, there are basic elements inherent in the best programs in the industry.
Let’s take a look at some of them:
1. Well-Defined Goals
A good leadership development program must be defined by clear objectives and goals that can be used as a measure of success. Plot milestones for easier monitoring of short-term objectives and view them as steps leading you closer and closer to your primary goals.
Identify the right key performance indicators (KPIs) and leadership skills you need to work on. As a leader, take note of your strengths and weaknesses so you can strike a good balance between polishing skills you’re already adept at and striving to improve on the flaws and shortcomings you’ve noted so far in your leadership style.
As you progress up the leadership ladder, you’ll notice that your needs and focus will shift. Here’s a quick guide on which skills you would need to work on as you go through different leadership levels:
New Leaders
- Goal-setting
- Communication
- Task delegation
- Team motivation and empowerment
- Conflict resolution
Mid-Level Leaders
- Team goal-setting
- Team collaboration and cross-functionality
- Strategic thinking
- Negotiation
- Decision-making
- Team delegation and project management
Senior Leaders
- Strategy development
- Shaping a positive organizational culture
- Promoting growth and development of emerging leaders (usually through coaching and mentoring)
2. Multiple Methods of Learning
An effective leadership development program offers multiple learning methods for different types of leaders with varying needs, personalities, and goals. We all process and absorb information differently. Some may do well with just online learning, while others would need face-to-face interactions. Some might need visual aids, while others might thrive in discussions, sharing relevant stories, and healthy debates.
One of the most popular leadership development structures involves the 70:20:10 rule, which suggests that participants acquire:
- 70% of their knowledge from experiential learning
- 20% from developmental relationships (such as coaching and mentoring)
- 10% from formal training
The bottom line is leadership training should be exciting, fun, relevant, inspiring, and challenging. It should fuel each participant’s desire for self-improvement and excellence.
Here are some of the most popular and effective methods for leadership training:
- Formal training. This traditional leadership training style utilizes lecture-type classroom setups where information is freely exchanged. However, the limitation is the lack of opportunities to check if the learnings acquired will translate into actual workplace scenarios.
- 360-degree feedback. This method provides participants a full-circle feedback perspective regarding a given task. They’ll gather feedback from their peers, team members, and superiors. The crucial factors here are the participant’s eagerness to discuss feedback (whether positive or negative), openness to change, and willingness to modify behaviors and practices.
- Developmental task assignments. This immersive method frequently comes after formal training, where participants can apply their learnings in actual workplace scenarios.
- Coaching and mentoring. These are intense, one-on-one leadership training methods where participants will be privy to the teachings and guidance of more experienced leaders.
- Independent learning. This self-directed approach to leadership training employs leaders’ discernment in choosing which skills to work on and what strategies to adopt. It’s a lot like homeschooling, where learners work at their own pace with very little intervention from others.
3. Evaluation
Proper tracking and evaluation of your leadership program is vital to ensure your goals are accurately and efficiently achieved. Without adequate monitoring and assessment, you’ll render it futile and might make your employees feel apathetic toward any future leadership development ventures.
Imagine a family’s dream home being built, and you’re the architect. Naturally, you won’t make your presence felt only during the project’s planning stages. You’ll be there every step of the way, assuring the family they can count on your support and expertise to meet their needs, expectations, and desires. You’ll also be there even after the completion of construction to ensure every aspect is working according to plan.
Develop metrics to ensure your program is on the right track. Consider these examples:
- Number of participants
- Percentage of employees tapped
- Number of training methods available
- Number of senior leaders eager to participate and contribute
- Program timeframe
- Resources and investments needed (assign financial values whenever possible)
Post-evaluation is just as important, too. These questions might already sound familiar to you:
Are you happy with how the program was conducted?
Can you apply your learnings to actual workplace scenarios?
Has this program made a difference in how you view leadership?
These questions might be helpful, but the answers they generate are typically too vague to be of significant value. Instead, consider questions like:
What are the new concepts that you learned from this program?
How do you intend to use these new learnings?
Which part of the program do you think was most relevant?
Which part of the program could you have done without?
With regard to business impact, consider these questions:
Which leadership KPIs did the program successfully target?
Were there noticeable performance changes in the workplace a month after program completion?
Were the program participants able to fuel positive changes in the workplace?
What is the return on investments (ROI) for this program?
Final Thoughts
If your business doesn’t have a solid leadership development program, it’s as if you’re leaving your future to chance. Remember, leaders come and go. You may feel satisfied with your current roster, but soon enough, some of them will look for greener pastures, especially if they see minimal opportunities for career growth within the organization.
At Sancus Leadership, we help businesses develop a stable leadership pipeline to ensure the best leaders are always ready to step up to the plate. Book a call with us today so we can start planning a more stable, brighter future for your business.
