Leadership Development is a Team Sport

Many companies and organizations have internal or use external Leadership Development programs. And, no matter how great these programs are, how much skill building occurs during the sessions, workshops, or micro-learning events, it is not enough.

I believe that developing leaders is a team effort!  The participant, the trainer, and leaders within the organization have the responsibility to help make training stick. Each party has to ensure the skills necessary are not only learned but that the participants can consistently demonstrate those skills.

Developing leaders requires a sincere commitment by all parties and a clear pathway outlined to achieve the intended outcomes. This pathway must include all training events, skill-building experiences, 1:1 coaching, and requires results for each. I have found that a blended approach better enables participants to build the necessary skills as well as to retain them. 

As an organization, you must be willing to put in the time and energy to ensure your programs are successful.

Step 1: Identify the skills and behaviors.Leaders and the Training Team must determine the skills and behaviors necessary for your organization’s upcoming leaders – those that are in alignment with the company vision and strategic plan. Most companies will find essential leadership skills to be the same. However,  some may discover they need to deepen specific areas that will support their leaders in being more effective based on the culture and company services. Ask: what leadership skills and behaviors are required to be successful in our organization today? In the future?

Step 2: Measure Skills and Behaviors. Determine how you will measure the skills and behaviors required like testing, real-time demonstrations, 360 assessments, etc.  Answer - How will we know that this person is successfully and consistently demonstrating the skill and behaviors required?  What methods will help us to measure these outcomes? 

Step 3: Identify  Learning Mediums.The best learning is a blend – one in which participants experience the same skills and behaviors in various ways. Some mediums include:

·      In-classroom learning sessions with highly interactive activities and discussions. Within these sessions plan to do some training, but mostly facilitate discussions and activities around what the participants are learning to deepen their critical thinking and objective reasoning skills. 

·      Micro-learning to create continuous learning events that support what was learned during the in-person session or possibly just building on additional skills that support all other learning events. Degreed.com provides a multitude of learning content that can be successfully used to develop skills. 

·      Create team projects to support the development of leaders from different areas in the company working together to achieve collective outcomes. These projects may use a platform similar to online degree programs provided by Universities. However, the most impactful will be using that platform or another to support the team engaging in in-person/virtual meetings and work functions to achieve the goal.

·      Using relevant articles, books, and videos that support developing the skills and behaviors identified above.

Step 4: Explain and Implement the program.Launch the program pathway and fully explain the purpose and desired outcomes behind the program design and expectations. Ensure the participants are committed to the time and energy it will take to build the necessary skills and behaviors to be a successful leader at your company. 

Step 5: Follow-up and Reinforce: Leaders of participants must be fully engaged in the efforts to develop their team members into leaders for the organization. Commitment requires consistent follow-up and reinforcement of skills and behaviors needed. Leaders should be having regular 1:1’s with team members in which they incorporate conversations about how the participant is applying what they are learning. Ask questions similar to - what have you learned?  How have you used what you have learned? What have been your wins using what you learned? What is your evidence of success? Where are you failing? Why do they think you are failing? Ask how I can best support them?

Step 6: Create a Safe Learning Environment.  Learning requires an environment in which participants feel comfortable openly discussing what they don’t know, asking questions to clarify information, sharing failures or successes, etc. If people think they will be judged for not knowing something, making a mistake, or failing, they will not open up and be honest. Thus,  the organization will experience a negative impact on the learning objectives and will more than likely no achieve desired results.

Step 7: Consistently review your Program’s Impact.In today's everchanging, technology-driven, multi-generational environment, leaders must consistently evaluate the leadership program for effectiveness and sustainability of the skills and behaviors needed. Leaders and the training team must work together to identify gaps, develop new areas to support the organization's strategic goals, and benefits versus the time and money invested. It is essential to know if the program's achieving intended targets.

Developing leaders requires the investment of time, energy, and money, and demands the full cooperation and commitment of all parties involved.  The Senior Leadership Team, leaders of departments, the HR/Training team(s), and the individual contributors, those with the desire to develop into future leaders of the organization, all share the responsibility. Think about it – Michael Phelps didn't win 28 Olympic medals – 23 of them gold – all by himself. He did the physical work, and his coach, family, and friends all contributed to his success through guidance, training, and support vehicles. No one does it alone - it takes a team to make it happen!