What are the most effective ways to mitigate risk in a leadership development program?

Leadership Development Programs are invariably undertaken by organisations for select leaders with an alignment goal in mind. Since every individual would have their own viewpoint, alignment is best achieved by a combination of Coaching and Training. Measurement of base levels of alignment and proficiency in the areas of the planned leadership development program are necessary through a survey, before and after the program. For the results to be accepted, the target audience should preferably be people who the individual leaders trust. Therefore, a different set for each leader. Ideally, a follow on program is desirable to understand individual journeys and bring in further refinement of leadership behaviour as needed.

it’s crucial to take a proactive and comprehensive approach and aligned with organizational goals and individual leadership gaps. Establish clear objectives and success metrics to track progress and impact. Engage stakeholders early and often to ensure buy-in and relevance. Incorporate diverse learning methods to cater to different learning styles and reinforce key concepts. Regularly review and adjust the program based on feedback and outcomes, ensuring it remains adaptive to changing organizational needs. Finally, provide ongoing support and follow-up to reinforce learning and facilitate the practical application of new skills.

Alignment of leadership development programming with organizational objectives means identifying the critical connections between leader behaviors and team performance. The two factors that impact performance are motivation and inspiration, both of which are in the domain of leadership. Next era leadership development programming will focus on team-level competencies associated with continual discernment of emerging business challenges, combined with ongoing community building to ensure team and staff readiness for action.

Part of aligning with the organizational goals is understanding what the program is meant to accomplish, and how those outcomes will be measured. If there are no specific outcomes and no measures, it's impossible to know if the training was effective. Depending on how long the training program takes, you can set up milestones and checkpoints to measure progress, but most outcomes for leadership development are meant to bear fruit months or years down the road.

Taking part in a leadership development program can be a great way to improve your skills, but it comes with its own set of challenges. In my experience, aligning the program with your organization's goals makes it more relevant & easier to justify the investment. Choosing the right format can make a big difference, I’ve found blended approaches to be really effective. It’s crucial to assess skill gaps beforehand & tailor the program accordingly. Don't forget to check in halfway to see if you’re on track & make any needed adjustments. Feedback from participants is vital for continuous improvement. Post-program support & ongoing evaluation can keep the momentum going. Lastly keep a close eye on the budget to ensure you're getting good value.

Effective delivery goes beyond content and facilitation; it is directly proportional to the learning experience and environment where leaders can explore, reflect, and grow. Five sure ways to enhance experience include: 1. Leverage behavioral assessments to customize delivery by leaders' learning styles. 2. Respect the leaders' time and space for session time to get better buy-in and attention. 3. Incorporate experiential learning - projects, shadowing, interactive panels, simulations, etc. to learn and reflect outside comfort zone. 4. Provide coaching & mentoring for continuous feedback & encouragement that accelerates the learning journey. 5. Enlist the support of internal C-suite leaders as core speakers to enhance commitment.

I was told that the real genius is not in building a course. The real genius is in getting the course used. There are a variety of delivery methods, and one may be better than another given the situation, but what “getting it used tactics” are being employed to maximize the successful implementation of the course. Are you sure that the participants are making the investment needed to successfully participate in whatever delivery method so that it becomes a proactive rather than a reactive learning experience or no learning experience at all?

A great facilitator who can employ table top exercises creates an environment that produces quality leadership development. By having leaders walk through probable scenarios that could affect them, their teams, and the organization - they are getting first hand practice identifying the problems, gaps, resources, persons responsible, and action steps necessary for resolution. When the probable situation becomes an actual one, your leaders will be calm, capable, and confident to handle the issue.

One of the opening gambits is creating a secure and robust safe container. A former client when faced with the fact of a much needed LD journey. Set a budget aside to do one thing only… That was for every department to have time to socially interact and party! To build the relationship bridge and celebrate anything they could. This went one for 6 months. This is still one of the most beautiful human preparations I have observed. The surface level relationships that had become the default setting and ceiling were shattered, allowing for the deeper work of their human development making way for a more generous, empowering leadership dynamic. I believe to win hearts you must first give yours. And finally celebrate every breakthrough.

When examining the methods of delivery to mitigate risk you need to consider your audience and the overall learning objectives for the program which is too often missed in the preparation of a leadership development program. To gain the most out of a leadership development program or forum you need to focus on enhancing the interaction of the participants by allowing a safe space to openly share practical work experiences. This will help set the environment for an effective leadership learning experience.

There are a few factors to consider when evaluating leadership development programs: Define clear business objectives for the program -develop future leaders, enhance specific skills, retention, etc. Design valid and reliable pre- and post-assessments (custom 360s, retention quizzes & assignments) to capture learning delta. Don't ignore mid-point assessments to capture ongoing feedback. Include formal coaching sessions for a dedicated time period to discuss feedback and learning challenges for the learners. Map ROI to business objectives and impact - retention, promotion, lateral movement, and cost savings. Spotlight success stories - impact numbers and anecdotal evidence to promote the program's impact.

The transition from merely monitoring employee attendance at training to actively assessing their learning progress is a significant transformation. A couple of years ago, we were stuck with limited tools, mainly focusing on SCORM compliance. But now, things have taken a turn. We've got better data tracking and easy report generation. These stats not only help us see how effective the training is but also assist in planning for our business's skill needs. In simple terms, it's moving from just ticking boxes to making real, meaningful progress for both individuals and the organization.

From a pragmatic and experienced point of view. What I read are the perfect what should happen and what should be done in delivering an excellent development program. Having worked in the real world delivering thesed programs in 23 countries, in reality the baseline is what an organizastion is prepared to pay for a quality leadership course. Often with competitive tendering and other significant variables they are asking for lowest price highest delivery quality. This is not possible hence the high failure rates.

Something else to consider is who actually is attending the sessions. I always want to be sure everyone in the program is fully committed to moving into a formal leadership position. If not, there are many other options, this program is not applicable.

When creating leadership development programs, it's important to include follow-up for the initial training. If not, skills can quickly be forgotten, reducing the effectiveness of the training. It helps to establish a strong follow-up and support system post-training to prevent this from happening. This includes coaching and mentoring, offering opportunities for leaders to apply new skills in real-world scenarios. Incorporate projects, where participants use their new knowledge in actual work situations. Additionally, regular refresher courses and online resources can help people maintain and deepen their understanding. This will help ensure that the training has a more lasting, positive impact on both the person and the organization.

In my experience the long-term consistency of coaching and continued relational development is essential for the success of leadership development programs. You must keep your finger on the pulse of your people and consistently reinforce the trained leadership values or they easily get lost in the pressure of the day to day. Content alone doesn’t make better leaders. The right content, at the right time, for the right person makes a better leader and these connections only come through consistent engagement with the individual to contextualize the program and ensure they are clear about the role they play in leading successfully.

Leadership is a way of life and, therefore, it requires daily practice. This mindset should be firmly established. We must remain open to learning every day because continuous growth is essential for effective leadership. It's not just a nice-to-have quality; it's the foundation that allows leaders to adapt, inspire, and guide their teams toward success. Without this commitment to continuous improvement, leadership can become stagnant and less effective over time. So, embracing learning as a daily habit is not just a suggestion but a vital aspect of being a successful leader.

???? Don’t let your leadership development program fizzle out like yesterday’s fireworks! ?? Implement a “Post-Program Power-Up Plan”– because support shouldn’t end when the applause does! ?? From coaching to peer learning, use a variety of tools to keep that leadership fire burning bright. ?? Let’s turn those ‘a-ha’ moments into everyday victories! ???? #Leadership #Development #SupportAndFollowUp #GameChanger

The biggest opportunity to improve leadership development programs is to incorporate sufficient follow up. Too often, organizations conduct a session and then move on to business as usual. Either the development session is wasted or the concepts are misapplied and problems occur. If you are going to develop people, it's not a one and done thing. Support the commitment with regular follow up engagements! It will pay off!

Ask not Assume. In Learning interventions; if this framework is in place; The focus remains on how to make the participants win Like our thumbprints every individual is different combination of their strenghts. So between the an overall framework , and an vivid end goal; the roadmap might face the need of tweaking. But if one does check ins; follow ups, action based learnings activities the participants either do it or ask for support. Assuming that everyone has got it the same way does not work. Keeping room for “asking” helps minimise the risk of going away from the goal post.

Make sure to choose a program that works on the leaders' mindsets. Harvard Business Review stated that 75% of leadership development programs are ineffective because they don't address mindset. Mindset is the true way to sustainable behavior change and becoming a better leader. Leadership is developed through understanding ourselves and architecting our mindset to make better choices that we did before. It's a big switch from taking a program that teaches you what to say which you end up forgetting in a week.

The single most important factor to consider is that the training objectives/goals have to be fully aligned to the company's strategic initiatives and that the employees are benefited by way of seeing a change effected in their behaviors (application of knowledge) at level -III of the Kirkpatrick model of training evaluation. When you evaluate, you check for the employee's impact on the business and then finally how much has the training affected their behaviour and performance.

Differentiators are critical for the execution of successful leadership development programs. Staying away from a canned, boxed approach to designing a program incorporating the business culture and language will ensure buy-in, active interest & participation. Ultimately, solving business problems with newly developed leadership skills is a win-win situation for both the business and learners!

It's important to ensure you know the profile of the groups and participants you lead in a leadership development program and adjust programs to suit. An off-the-shelf program can lack the agility of something you design for a specific group of people. I have made the mistake of assuming the physical abilities of people and building activities that render them unsuccessful. In short, the design should ensure that all participants are safe and challenged.