Starting a new leadership development program is an exciting time for an organization. Your team is on the cusp of discovering new leaders within your ranks, seizing new business opportunities, and planning for a successful future for many decades to come.
Why Preparing for Your Leadership Development Training Program is Important
It’s vital for your team to be well prepared in the right frame of mind when beginning a leadership development training program. According to the ICF’s Global Coaching Client Study, 86% of companies were able to calculate their ROI after implementing leadership development training. The return on investment for these companies ranged from 10 to 49 times, with the median being 700%. This means that your investment in a leadership training program was worth seven times what you spent on it. Investing in leadership development training is a great way to attract and retain the best talent and drive better performance.
Of course, it’s also a time of stress and apprehension for many of your employees. A new leadership training program can bring uncertainty about what’s ahead or even cause people to worry about losing their jobs.
Let’s look at three things your company can do to prepare for leadership team development and to get the most out of the process. Here’s how to set the stage for success.
Show Support at All Levels
An important first step is to demonstrate clear support for your new leadership coaching program from the very top of the organization. Through company communications and meetings, make it obvious that the program has the full backing of your company’s top dogs, including the CEO, C-suite executives, board members, directors, and all levels of managers.
This starts your leadership development program with a boost of positivity and shows everyone that ongoing education and skill-building are part of your organizational culture. When it’s time to launch the program, employees will feel more mentally prepared because their bosses have already shown so much support for it.
Help your employees picture the success of the company with their upcoming leadership training program in place. Encourage them to picture their individual role in the future of the company using their newfound knowledge and talent.
Stay Flexible and Keep an Open Mind
Many people view change with suspicion. Your entire company may have a longstanding habit of putting up resistance to change, particularly if previous leaders have instilled negative feelings like fear, anxiety, and defensiveness.
Before your new leadership development program begins, welcome your employees to open up about their anxieties and fears about the process. Reassure them that it’s part of human nature to be concerned about the future, but help them understand that change doesn’t have to be a negative experience.
Focus on positive outcomes like greater success, better morale, and less stress in the future. Encourage them to rely on their new leadership coach to help them address their worries about the process and its potential results.
Create a Definition of Success
As the old saying goes, “You can’t hit a target you can’t see.” It’s important to clarify your company’s target goals and establish exactly what you’re trying to accomplish.
What are your desired outcomes for this process? What does success look like? How will you know when you reach it? How will you acknowledge and praise your hardworking employees?
Common goals for leadership training programs include:
- Developing or refining leadership soft skills
- Creating efficient and effective teams
- Expanding communication skills and improving collaboration
- Enhancing emotional intelligence
- Building a growth mindset
- Inspiring and creating momentum for greater success
As the leadership development program begins, you can refine and clarify your end goals with the help of your leadership coach. This is an essential part of what’s known as “leadership coaching for results,” which involves a Success ChainTM of stacking wins on top of wins to achieve desired outcomes.
The Next Step: Join the Accelerate Leadership Program
When your company is ready to initiate leadership team development, Leadership Resources is here to help. Our Accelerate Leadership Program (ALP) helps participants expand their leadership knowledge, talent, and confidence.
Each participant in the ALP program builds the essential skills it takes to motivate people and make progress toward company goals. With the help of a leadership coach, each member of the team experiences an individualized program that supports the learning process.
Don’t just train them! Develop your leaders. Experts say it’s most effective to implement a robust leadership development program that involves coaching and support, not just training.
Leadership Resources’ leadership development process goes far beyond basic leadership training courses. We incorporate a proven guided process, leadership coaching, customized coursework, peer connections, learning software, and more. ALP keeps everyone engaged as they work together to pursue success!
