Introduction
Perhaps, the most popular and curious question about leadership is "Are leaders born or made?" Top executives know that a born leader may have a head start, but it doesn't guarantee sustained leadership. On the contrary, the world is full of examples of simpletons nurtured into global leaders by their ecosystem, experience, and leadership development courses. While ecosystem and experience are a matter of chance, here are five real-life lessons about good quality leadership and development course of immense value to professionals.
1. Real need and value of leadership team training
The Harvard Business Review (HBR) reported an "urgent" need for leadership training a year before the pandemic. Why - for leaders to adapt to volatile disruptions and navigate rapid changes. Forbes reported a 67% increase in investment spending for all employee training in 2022. The good news, especially for top management, is that it has become a competitive differentiator.
The lesson therein is that it is no longer about the top executives being leaders but the leadership skills being engrained across the length and breadth of organisations and teams. The best way to achieve it is through top-class leadership team training programs.
2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion drives success
Adaptation is the essential skill to survive and thrive for organisations. It took a pandemic to prove beyond doubt that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) best drives adaptation and success amidst disruption. DEI initiatives implemented in letter and spirit build balanced teams that can better adapt, mitigate risks, overcome unforeseen crises and identify opportunities. Moreover, DEI benefits were proven even before the pandemic, such as the one reported by Credit-Suisse.
The lesson is that business and team leaders must experience top leadership management programs that imbibe DEI. They will then better appreciate that DEI is not just a "nice-to-have" feeling but a business-critical aspect that drives success. Undoubtedly, DEI is vital, especially in challenging times that are gradually becoming a routine!
3. Leadership in future skills for a better tomorrow
Organisations are grappling with a multitude of cause-effect disruptions. While some of them are uncontrollable, like the pandemic or war and associated supply-chain issues, the one that is undoubtedly controllable is attaining a leadership position for the skills in demand today and in the future. Yet, Imarticus estimates that an astonishing 84% of organisations fail due to lacking the right skills!
Heads of learning and development appreciate the intrinsic lesson and underlying survival threat. All it takes is to act and draw up employee upskilling/reskilling strategies to bridge the skills gap through internal initiatives and external leadership team training courses.
4. Experiential methodology trusted for outcomes
Good quality training programs typically measure outcomes using objective and subjective criteria. The quality of training program engagement and learning outcomes is enhanced when the training methodology is experiential. It is natural to learn better by doing than reading books, listening to lectures, or watching recorded videos, all of which are essential but not a replacement for hands-on experiences.
With the world economic forum predicting experiential learning to reshape the future of education in classrooms, the lesson for professionals is to insist upon experiential methodologies in leadership development courses.
5. Tech-platform for flexible 24/7 learning access
Given workplace priorities and work-life balance dynamics, people expect training to be an incremental process they can experience flexibly. Technology has enabled learning management systems for end-to-end learning processes to blend learning experiences from smart interactive classrooms, virtual labs to hone skills, and recorded videos for flexible access to 24/7 learning.
The simple lesson is that leadership management programs must leverage technology to deliver flexible learning access anytime, anywhere.
Conclusion
These five real-life lessons are vital for successful leadership team training outcomes that improve organisational performance and employee growth.
