Investing in leadership development programs can reap enormous rewards as leaders contribute to the growth of their organizations, mentor the younger generations of the workforce, and drive innovation.
To develop a strong leadership team, you need to create an internal leadership training program, with a foundation of sound business practices and principles. According to the 2016 McQuaig Global Talent recruitment report, companies with influential leaders are few in number, but those companies experience a positive impact on recruitment and retention of the best talent because their leaders were trained well. In this post, we will discuss five key elements to include in your leadership development program.
Instructors with Years of Experience Leading
Effective leadership training programs include a strong central leader and a secondary leader who both have multiple years of experience and outstanding instruction skills. When you are starting your own leadership development program, look out for such leaders within your organization. These leaders should not need training in their field in order to develop other good leaders– they should already be examples of outstanding leadership in your company.
Different Methods of Learning Leadership Concepts
Even with a perfect leadership training program, every employee has a different method of learning new concepts and grasping information. This is why it is important that as you train your leaders, you develop a multi-media training program that incorporates all forms of learning, from written materials to participation in conferences. On top of meeting your employees’ learning needs, ensure that the leadership training program that you develop keeps all the participants excited and motivated. This way, you will have engaged employees who are able to grasp the information in the way that best suits them.
Small, Focused, and Supportive Leadership Groups
When you start a leadership development program, create a core group of about twelve people who are already in leadership roles to form the foundation of the program. You want to keep this core group small because small groups can better connect with each other and allow individuals to get more attention.
These leaders can also give you feedback on what is working for the development program and what isn’t and will help you lead new employees through the process..
Clear Goals and Milestones for All Leader Participants
Whenever you start a development process, it is always best if you know where you are trying to go. This is why people participating in a leadership development program should sit down with a mentor to decide on short- and long-term goals. In addition to that, there should also be a way to measure success, with milestones. Generally, adult learners want to acquire practical knowledge that improves their skills, facilitates their work, and boosts their confidence. So, when an employee reaches a certain level of leadership skills or understanding, you can use that as a milestone.
Retention Program to Preserve Leaders
After they have completed the training program, leaders should meet with their small groups every month. You have invested in these leaders and are hoping that they will transfer their learned skills to the workplace. The best way to ensure that this happens is to give new leaders the support of the team that was with them and guided them through the development process. By doing this, you improve the probability of leadership retention.
Final Thoughts
To create a leadership development program that delivers optimal results, you must think about your audience and the purpose of the training program right from the beginning. If you do that, combined with the five essential elements listed here, you can bring potential leaders forward and turn them into better leaders for your organization.
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