Getting the Most from Leadership Training

A Good Investment?

Leadership training has a mixed reputation. Does it actually work and is it worth the investment of time and money? My answer is that it depends on what you want and how you do it. If your goal for training is limited, say a specific skill that’s easily identified and measured, then it’s not that different from any other basic skill training. Just go do it.

On the other hand, if your goal is to see a substantial shift in your workplace culture and the long-term benefits that come with this, then you’re facing a challenge of a much greater magnitude. Now you’re dealing with established cultural norms and longstanding habits and changing these requires a more comprehensive approach. But it absolutely can be done.

Here are a few componets I’ve found to be necessary for success…

Commit to a Process

You’ll need to count the cost of improving your organizational culture before you begin. No one likes the “flavor of the month” approach to workplace change but if you don’t commit to a process beforehand this is what you’ll get. It takes time and consistent effort to shape human behavior in any substantial way, hence why “change management” is a thing in organizational development. This doesn’t mean you keep paying a consultant or training company; they have their place in the process, but the lion’s share of the work belongs to the organization’s leadership. (FYI…a mark of a good consultant is how they equip leadership to do this work long after they’re gone.)

The Facilitator Matters

Leadership training is far more than imparting information.  For it to be effective, each leader in your organization needs to feel personally compelled through the training process to take an honest look at themselves and make sometimes difficult changes.  Otherwise, it’ll be just one more hoop employees reluctantly jump through. 

The authority of the facilitator is paramount in creating this kind of environment. In fact, I’d say it’s the essential element. For a facilitator to be effective, they have to do a number of things well. They need to be a subject-matter expert who’s worth listening to. They need to create an environment where conversations can be honest and address real issues. They need to manage diverse personalities and draw out those who might be reluctant to participate. They need to be inspirational and have the ability to connect personally with a diverse and sometimes skeptical audience. All of these hinge on their ability to build trust. Good content is important, but it’s the delivery that brings it home.    

Sponsorship, Sponsorship, Sponsorship

Sponsorship means that the organization’s senior leadership is active in promoting the change process. They make attendance at trainings mandatory. They talk a lot about the new direction they want to go. They actively encourage and empower everyone in leadership to help create the new normal. They change policies if needed. Whatever the case, nothing will stick if those at the top of the org chart don’t champion it first.

It Starts at the Top

Effective senior leaders understand that positive change begins with them. Organizational authority gives you influence and when those with this authority commit to their own development and then put that into action, it sends a powerful message to everyone downstream that this is what it means to be in leadership here. When this happens, there is truly no ceiling to what your organization can achieve.

Keep it Actionable

Good training balances the conceptual with the practical. It’s easy to talk about “leadership principles” since they are one-size-fits-all truisms that generally apply to everyone. But what do they look like in real life? How do I do this tomorrow morning? That’s the hard part. A change in workplace culture only happens when actual behaviors change. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of good ideas…literally. Effective training equips participants to actively diagnose themselves and their actual work setting in order to make the practical shifts needed.

Include the Personal

Effective training deals not only with the external behaviors that characterize good leadership but also with one’s internal posture, what we call the intrapersonal. How often has fear, jealousy, territorialism, insecurity, passivity, or something similar derailed an important project…but no one wants to talk about it (or knows how to)? While you can’t exactly legislate motives, you can make them part of the conversation. Once you accept the negative impact they have—and that all of us are susceptible—it’s not unreasonable to call each other to a higher level of self-awareness and accountability.

Don’t Forget Non-Managers

It’s true that any positive workplace change begins with leadership. That said, everyone in the organization ultimately contributes to making your workplace culture what it is. When all employees share a common understanding of important workplace expectations in areas of effective communication, boundaries, managing strong emotions, problem-solving, avoiding triangulation, etc., you have the foundation for a culture of high mutual accountability.

Keep Talking About It

One of the basic strategies for any change process is repeating the message in as many ways as you can. To this end, the more people are encouraged to talk about and interact with training content, the more it gets through. I’ve seen organizations do all sorts of cool things: brown-bag lunch sessions focused on reviewing content, peer group cadres where colleagues can talk through real situations, senior leaders openly discussing their own leadership journey, time set aside in meetings to discuss leadership challenges, and so on. The possibilities are truly endless.

Let me help you engineer your best workplace ever.