Why leadership development may be your most important investment right now!

In my conversations with senior leaders and business owners I ask them to consider the time and money investment they have been making for customer lead generation and leadership development recently, and answer which of the two they felt was more important in the long run and potentially had the biggest return.

For many, sales are the oxygen that a business needs to survive. But with the promise of revenues comes the expectation of fulfilling the products and services ordered. Without the right people to fulfill those orders and service your customers, there is a risk of disappointing those customers and losing out on those – and future – sales.

So, it’s no surprise that practically all these leaders felt that the most important investment for their business right now is in developing the front-line managers that lead the employees, that take care of the customers. These employees can become your biggest advocates and “salespeople” when they are engaged and aligned with your mission.

But how do you as a leader help your people feel engaged? Start by making them feel valued and appreciated. Continue by showing them where they fit in to the bigger picture and how their role impacts others. Provide them with clear expectations and the support they need to feel successful and contribute to the team. Finally, create opportunities for them to learn and grow within your organization, so they don’t need to look elsewhere.

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A-C-T to create more learning opportunities.

Historically, organizations have used knowledgeable and skilled team members to mentor and coach more junior staff. Apprenticeships are still popular – especially in the trades – as a way to teach workers new skills and prepare them to fill needed roles. And formal training and workshops are a great way to deliver information and increase knowledge across large groups in a consistent and standardized way.

An example of how to diversify and maximize learning opportunities is to use a simple 70-20-10 formula, for assignments, coaching, and training.

• 70% of learning can happen on-the-job through effective delegation and monitoring of assignments and tasks, and a thorough explanation of why and how work should be performed.
• 20% of learning can happen through mentoring and coaching of staff by skilled peers and leaders.
• 10% of learning can happen through formal and structured workshops and training events.

No matter how organizations choose to develop their people, they will benefit from a well-thought out and targeted approach, since the resources they can dedicate are finite. As a professional in the field for more than 30 years, one of my commitments to the organizations I serve is to be a good steward of those resources, making sure that every dollar, euro, or yen spent, will benefit the program participants, and generate a meaningful return for the organization.

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Enlist your managers and leaders at all levels.

If our organization is more than a dozen people, chances are there is a hierarchy that allows for better management and administration of people, resources, and workflow. As the business grows and scales beyond that number, the more we need to create teams and layers of management to further organize and execute the work.

With every jump in staffing, however, the ability for a senior leader or business owner to reach every person becomes harder and more impractical. That’s why the ability to create more leaders at all levels of the organization becomes so critical. It is through those team leaders that we will be able to now reach and engage our entire workforce.

Furthermore, the work environment seems to be constantly changing, whether we are working in-person, virtually, or any hybrid variation in between. Technology is changing at a whip-lash pace. The demands of today’s jobs are evolving. Very often we expect people to just evolve with them, without any sort of (development) plan. These compounding changes can leave workers feeling exhausted, uncertain, and even anxious as they try to find ways to be successful in a restless workplace.

Forward-thinking organizations, however, look to prepare their people for the changes in their work before they even happen. Every day presents an opportunity for workers to learn and perform better on the job. This is a reality that senior leaders can embrace to help their people grow and be at their best. But they can’t do it alone. They need to enlist their front-line managers to spearhead the efforts to engage and develop those on their teams.

For each employee, their manager is the face of the company and the one they will look to for direction and support. That relationship determines to a large extent , how engaged each employee will feel about their work and the company, because according to recent studies, front-line managers and team leaders can directly impact up to 70% of their employees’ engagement levels. That is why investing first and foremost in developing better leaders throughout the organization will seed the organization with champions willing to drive commitment and performance to higher levels.

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Making the most of your training investment.

The investment that an organization makes in the leadership development skills of their front-line managers can directly and positively impact employee engagement. In turn, we can draw a clear line of sight between employee engagement and important performance drivers such as productivity, retention, sales, profitability, innovation, etc. These managers can then use on-the-job training assignments, coaching / mentoring, and formal training (such as workshops) in a comprehensive and structured way to support the business strategy. But if we are to use our resources and financial investment in employee training and leadership development wisely, how can we get the most from our training dollars?

To make the most of the training investment, here are some proven best practices:

• Start by focusing on the training content and approach that will develop the specific skills, knowledge, and abilities the participants need. Create a direct connection between the learning topic and success on the job. That way the participant will be motivated to learn and apply the learning.
• Studies show that our memory is strongest during the training, but over time our memory fades. When we do a single training, we run the risk of not remembering the information when we need it. So, deliver the training as close to the implementation of the skills as possible (just-in-time training). Then follow up after the training with reinforcement, feedback, skills practice, and performance support systems (job aids).
• Deliver additional related training to create further links and implementation opportunities on the job. Create a progressive framework for managers to strengthen their abilities, while providing opportunities for them to practice and apply those skills. Having success with new skills reinforces the desire to apply and master these skills. As behavior changes, so will outcomes and performance.

What are your organization’s best practices when it comes to developing your people? If you need help creating and delivering learning and development solutions to engage and retain your workforce, let’s talk.

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