Leadership training! What’s the point?
Jack Welch said:
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself.
When you become a leader, success is all about growing others."
Leadership ‘success’ is all about growth.
Leadership ‘training’ is all about growing yourself, and growing others.
Growing Yourself:
Personal Growth and Development
Leadership training makes us aware of our strengths and abilities so we know what we have to offer and how to perform in our roles with confidence.
More importantly perhaps, leadership training identifies areas for self-improvement to help us develop as a person and start tapping into the strengths we didn’t know we had before. Whether a born leader or not, we all have the potential to improve.
Several recent studies1 all relate ‘the lack of readiness and inability to adapt and learn’ as a key contributor to failure.
Life long learning on the other hand is a major factor attributed to excellent leaders, with research showing that top leaders are more able and willing to learn2.
As a leader, the ability to learn and develop – “the hallmark of effective leadership”3 – is an essential factor that will determine our leadership success.
Demonstrate initiative and commitment
Leadership training gives us an edge and helps us stand out from the crowd.
Employers are looking for people who:
- have the skills to do their job well
- show a commitment to their role
- add significant value
- have a strong work ethic
- are willing to take the initiative
- are effective communicators, and
- who have both formal training and hands-on experience
…employees are looking for these qualities from their leaders too.
To get ahead we need to demonstrate both the practical skills we have developed through experience as well as ongoing learning and development. We need to show that we never stop seeking opportunities for skills improvement.
Enhance your practical experience, keep up to date and get ahead
Leaders are expected to be on top of their game with thorough knowledge of current trends.
Leadership training provides valuable direction to those in the early stages of their leadership career as well as up to date information for experienced leaders to help sharpen their skills.
Leadership training and experience give us an advantage and we can show employers, peers and employees how we have developed and practised our skills.
A summary of modern research4 on leadership suggests that the world’s most effective leaders are:
- highly intelligent
- know their business
- are motivated to succeed
- have the necessary practical experience
- possess effective people skills, and
- are life long learners
Add to that, the need to:
- attract, retain and develop talented people
- bring out the best in others
- influence, motivate and inspire
- relate to diverse audiences
- communicate effectively
- read people accurately
- understand colleagues and peers
- adapt actions to the needs of others
- pass skills onto others
- handle difficult situations effectively
- learn new ways of thinking
- develop ways to do things better
- approach challenges from different angles
- find better solutions
… and the list goes on!
Leadership training gives us the skills to get on top of this challenge.
Growing others:
Identify, understand and consider individual needs
As a leader it is our responsibility to grow others yet it is difficult to achieve this without first earning respect and credibility as a leader.
This is what employees want from their leaders5:
- Tell me my role, what to do, and give me the rules … give me clear direction.
- Discipline my co-worker who is out of line ... hold people accountable; be fair.
- Get me excited ... about the company, the product, the job. Just get me excited.
- Praise me … leverage my strengths; don’t harp on my weaknesses.
- Don't scare me … it's not productive; just be fair and consistent.
- Impress me … strong leaders bring strength to an organisation.
- Give me some autonomy … something interesting to work on, and trust me.
- Set me up to win … don’t make me feel defeated.
Leadership training helps us learn how to deliver on our obligation to our employees.
And as an employer, is providing leadership training worthwhile?
Here are some facts:
The top 10% of leaders produce five times as much net profit as the bottom 10%, and twice as much as average leaders6.
According to Gallop Poll data7, only:
- 53% of workers feel completely satisfied with their boss or immediate supervisor
- 45% of workers feel completely satisfied with recognition received for their efforts
- 35% of workers feel completely satisfied with chances of promotion
- 30% of workers feel energised and engaged in their work
Overall, between January 2001 and January 2008, only 41% to 50% of workers felt completely satisfied at work.
That’s a lot of people who are unhappy and disengaged at work!
Gallup’s engagement ratio graph (above) shows that in average organisations only 30% of employees are actively engaged with their work. It is obvious that this must erode an organisation’s bottom line, while breaking the spirits of colleagues in the process.
As an example, Gallup estimates that within the United States workforce this cost to the bottom line is more than $300 billion in lost productivity alone.
World-class organisations that focus on employee engagement have 63% of their employees actively engaged in what they are doing, which greatly reduces the negative impact of those who are not engaged with their work.
As an employer, the notion that up to 70% of your employees are not engaged in their work is alarming, but it does show that there is enormous potential for growth.
The following elements all help employees engage with their work7:
- Knowing what is expected of them at work
- Having the materials and equipment needed to get the job done
- Having the opportunity at work to do what they do best every day
- Receiving regular recognition and praise for doing good work
- Knowing that their superiors care about them as a person
- Having someone at work who encourages their development
- Feeling that their opinions count
- The mission or purpose of the organisation makes them feel their job is important
- Their associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work
- Recently, someone at work has talked to them about their progress
- Having opportunities at work to learn and grow
And who is responsible for making all of this happen … Leaders!
The world’s top-performing organisations understand that employee engagement is a force that drives business outcomes, with research showing that engaged employees are far more productive. So, at the very least, as an employer, we need to ensure that we have the skills, and that our employees have the skills, to make it happen.
Leadership training is a part of what makes the difference. By providing the leaders who are responsible for employee engagement with more direction, by developing the skills of the aspiring leaders and by putting an emphasis on personal and professional development, leadership training makes the difference.
Earn more money
And finally, if all of the above doesn’t stir you … this one should.
Individuals with a higher level of training have greater income potential. Higher levels of education are found to have a large positive effect on wages8 - what that means is you earn more money!
So what is the point of leadership training?
…Increase your skills to support your experience, become an exceptional leader and advance your career.
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1 (Dottlich, 2003; Finkelstein, 2003; Bennis, 2002)
2 (Eichinger & Lombardo, 2004)
