Reimagining Leadership Development
It is time to reimagine how we develop leaders. Many organizations are stuck in old, inefficient leadership development approaches. If you want to keep your best and brightest people, now is the time to change. One of the ways to elevate your organizational culture is to design leadership development programs.
The Bad News First
Sorry to break it to you, but your leadership development program may be obsolete. I have designed, developed, and managed dozens of leadership development programs for decades, and received feedback that the programs were effective and added tremendous transformational value, which led to higher levels of organizational performance, those same programs would not yield the same results in today’s workplace. The times are different. What worked yesterday does not work today.
To remain at the highest levels of performance, organizations need to continuously improve their learning and development programs to address the changes in society and the workplace. One way to begin making improvements and avoid getting left behind is to examine the ways that your organization develops its leaders.
Assess Your Existing Program
Here’s a quick way to check on how you are doing. Your leadership development program is obsolete if it…
Is position-focused.
It is only focused on managers and supervisors with leadership titles and not building leadership skills for all employees at every level. You need to reimagine your approach and apply it to all employees.
We all need the core leadership skills identified by the Center for Creative Leadership:
· Self-Awareness
· Communication
· Influence
Is proximity focused.
The content needs to empower everyone to thrive regardless of where they work. Specifically, how to lead yourself and others in a hybrid workplace should leverage what worked and didn’t work during the pandemic years of 2020-2021.
Does not promote psychological safety.
Ensure that your program is designed with elements that equip participants to create and sustain an inclusive workplace filled with courageous followers. I shared a few ways to check in on your organization’s psychological safety in a previous article.
Does not include the right balance for learning.
Learning and development programs need The Recipe for Increasing Learner Engagement as well as the right mix of presentation, application, and feedback. You could also conduct a Training Check-Up.
Now, The Good News
You do not have to reimagine your leadership development program by yourself. There are thousands of consultants who are ready to help you. Let me give you a tip to help you choose one that will be able to help you while avoiding imposters.
Whether you choose Concerning Learning or another consulting firm, please make every effort to partner with a professional who is formally trained in instructional design, organizational development, and performance consulting. We are here to help organizations perform better with a thriving culture.
Keep shining in your efforts to reimagine leadership development during your work culture elevation journey!
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