Offering leadership training for your employees can be an extremely effective way to increase the return on investment (ROI) for your business and strengthen your company as a whole. Most corporations know this, but many have challenges implementing effective Leadership Development. In fact, Leadership Development is facing a crisis. Studies have shown that only 25% of all leadership development is retained (Beer et al., 2016). If we want our leaders to be well prepared and our companies to have supportive and trusting cultures, something has to give.
By investing in your employees through leadership training, you help to ensure that your business now has the tools, knowledge, and leadership necessary to succeed. Leadership training can also provide a better understanding of how your team works, what motivates them, and how to collaborate to create a more positive work environment. By learning the valuable skills that leadership training teaches, your team can improve time management, better understand the resources available to them, and increase productivity levels. Greater efficiency leads to greater ROI for your business, happier employees, and a better work environment overall.
Leadership training is especially valuable because it aids in fostering an attitude of sharing and collaboration among team members. Effective training guides employees in how to communicate effectively and work together towards common goals. This can also help to increase morale, leading to higher levels of engagement, improved performance, and productivity. Effective leaders are better able to recognize potential problems before they arise and take proactive steps toward solving them quickly and efficiently, which saves both time and money for your company.
Quality leadership training provides your team with everything necessary for professional growth and can also help with personal development skills like helping to build confidence and increase self-esteem. These skills not only benefit your individual employees but also your organization as a whole, which helps to foster a culture of success aimed toward driving long-term ROI. Some or all of this might be obvious, yet it’s always good to reflect at a foundational level in order to remind and ground ourselves in the state of affairs before looking at potential solutions.
How to Maximize ROI in Leadership Training
Good leadership training always begins with a solid foundation and a well-planned vision. Here are five ways to maximize the ROI of your leadership training:
Start by Setting Clear Objectives
Always begin by setting clear objectives for what you want to achieve, both for your business as a whole and your employees on more individual levels. Planning ahead helps ensure that your training is tailored to meet all specific needs and goals.
Focus on the Long-Term Vision
Leadership training should always be focused on developing long-term skills, rather than short-term wins and success. This means focusing on learning and growth within your organization itself, rather than trying to get quick results by speeding through a leadership program. It’s also critical not to focus on too much at once. Studies like “Teaching Surgical Skills: What Kind of Practice Makes Perfect?” (Moulton et al., 2006) and books including Make it Stick (Brown et al., 2014) have shown that focusing on one topical area at a time (and over a long enough period of time) is a major key to retaining any powerful training and development.
Be Sure To Track Your Progress
Tracking the progress of your leaders and high-potential managers is vital! Without a way to measure progress, it will be difficult to ensure your program is achieving the desired results. It’s also a smart idea to track individual performance metrics (like engagement levels or employee satisfaction). Perhaps the most critical measure of positive results is through observer feedback. It’s one thing to do a self-assessment (which certainly can be a valuable input), and it’s even more illuminating to gain feedback about a leader from their peers and direct reports. Finally, field research, like a randomized controlled trial, or a scientifically crafted and implemented study can give incredible data and insights into the efficacy of your programs. These can be expensive and time intensive and often require the assistance of a skilled third party, but well worth the efforts when feasible! All of these measures will allow you to determine how effective your program has been.
Leverage the Available Technology
Technology, like online resources and e-learning platforms, should be utilized in a mindful and thoughtful manner. Online learning platforms offer modalities and interactive tools to help your leaders stay engaged with their learning materials, as well as increase flexibility for completing the programs. The keys to leveraging technology properly are two parts: 1. Selecting the right platform and 2. Designing, implementing, and measuring effectively to leverage that platform well. We’ll share a bit more about this below 👇🏼.
Don’t Forget to Evaluate the Results!
It’s critical to evaluate the results of your leadership training program once completed. Taking the time to examine the results allows you to identify areas where improvements could be made or where additional investments may be necessary. Don’t forget to also gather feedback from both participants and instructors too!
How a Tailored Platform Can Help
A tailored platform can help maximize your ROI by providing a customized learning experience for you and your team. A customized platform allows you to create a personalized curriculum, as well as provide access to supplemental resources such as videos, articles, and webinars, as well as provide feedback for each participant. Though often difficult to find, the right tailored learning platforms can also nudge leaders with support and social accountability. They can also track individual and overall progress across a range of key topical areas, something very challenging to do with the typical approach of finding a smattering of offerings across a range of delivery modes and technology platforms. Ideally, having one homebase for all of your programs with the right features for Connection, Practice, and Reflection is what will drive the best results. By utilizing a tailored platform for leadership development, your company can ensure its leadership training and coaching yields the maximum ROI possible.
Key Factors of Great Leadership Training Programs
When considering what elements to incorporate into your leadership training programs, be sure to include the following:
Increased Flexibility
Any successful leadership program should be flexible enough to accommodate different learning styles and the individual needs of the participants. It should also be tailored to your company’s specific goals, objectives, and culture. Identifying these overarching goals ahead of the training — and how they tie to your company’s strategy, as well as each leader’s needs — might be one of the most important things to do! Your program should preferably include theoretical and practical components (like role-playing exercises, case studies, and lectures), as well as provide opportunities for participants to practice their new skills in real-world scenarios, along with peers and with a coach.
At DSD, our interactive Leadership Development Platform allows participants to incorporate the format of response that works best for them, like text, video, audio, files, images, Google Docs, and Google Doc Templates. Our flexible technology allows users to harness their unique learning capabilities and better engage with the material as they learn. Learners will be empowered to find their voice and express themselves through a wide range of multimedia options.
Experiential & Interactive Learning
Experiential and interactive learning are key components of any successful leadership training program. Interactive learning allows your team to gain hands-on experience with decision-making, problem-solving, communication, and team-building skills. Experiential learning assists your employees in their understanding of what it takes to be successful in a leadership role, as well as equips them with practical tools to use within your organization. DSD offers a streamlined mobile app experience with videos, images, text, and more, so learners can complete assignments on-the-go and enjoy 24/7 access to resources. Our platform also has features to support peer learning and coach guidance, as well as dynamic dashboards and customizable roles and permissions. Leaders are able to immerse themselves in the experience with proper nudging, minimal friction, and strong motivation and support. Experiences on DSD are designed to dovetail with a leader’s practical work streams, as well as their unique needs and goals as individuals, across a range of key topics.
Follow-Up Support as Needed
A quality leadership training program doesn’t end once all the modules have been completed and all the boxes checked off. Good training provides follow-up support both during training and after the program has been completed, so your team can continue to develop their leadership skills. Possible follow-up support options could include one-on-one coaching sessions or even group workshops where employees can share their experiences. This allows your team to further refine their professional skills, as well as network and team build with each other.
DSD’s platform DNA is designed to automatically show learners important content, as well as their activities, supportive comments on their work from others, and upcoming events. This makes it easy for leaders to stay organized while learning, providing a supportive and easy-to-use platform. Notifications can also be set to encourage employees, share messages and reminders, and much more, which makes it easier than ever to stay connected with the whole team. Flexible and interactive learning, as well as an effective support system aid in creating an effective space for developing strong leaders who can bring about positive change within your company.
Dream See Do
At Dream See Do, we are revolutionizing learner engagement by providing an interactive, state-of-the-art learning environment. Our human-centered platform encourages each learner to explore their ideas, ask questions, and interact with the rest of their team. Our platform’s goal is to support a more meaningful tailored learning experience that is designed to build great leaders.
Our leadership training platform helps increase your company’s ROI by providing topical areas from thought-leading providers across the globe, in one unified and proven experience. All resources and programs can be tailored to match your company’s goals. We provide all the tools needed to help professional learners develop the skills they need to become successful leaders. By utilizing Dream See Do’s leadership training platform, your organization can be confident that your team is receiving the best possible leadership development experience, while maximizing your return on investment.
References
Beer, M., Finnström, M., & Schrader, D. (2016, October). Why Leadership Training Fails and What to Do About It. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/10/why-leadership-training-fails-and-what-to-do-about-it
