What are leadership development programs?

Leadership development programs are designed for mid-to-senior level managers or leaders of managers. These programs help to build effective leaders who contribute to corporate-level success in their organizations. Some of these programs for leadership development focus on communication, self-awareness, resiliency, influence and systematic thinking.

Related: 7 Effective Skills to Help You Become a Better Leader

4 ways company leadership development programs drive success

Over 90% of participants in company-run programs for leadership development say that not only have their leadership skills grown, but they were able to implement their learning to drive company success. When you create a leadership development program, it can help you:

• Improve financial performance: The investment in human capital reduces costs and improves revenue.
• Acquire and retain talent: High-caliber leaders can help attract and retain top-performing talent.
• Shape the company’s strategy: Leadership strategy feeds business strategy. This means that leaders have the skills to shape the company culture and implement necessary changes.
• Unlock more potential: Look toward developing leaders throughout the organization and not just the upper echelons.

Elements of a successful leadership development program

During tough times, skilled leadership can provide a steady hand. In a McKinsey & Company survey of 500 executives, only 11% stated that their leadership programs achieved the desired outcomes. To be successful, leadership programs should include these elements:

• Linking leadership behavior to performance:Because of the need to tie leadership to the company’s vision, there must be a strategy in place to convey the desired qualities and capabilities into performance.
• Translating learning into action: Leaders need to understand the mindsets that need to change and how to change them. This means learning how to adapt their knowledge in different settings to generate the necessary outcomes.
• A system reinforcement model: Learning by doing is one of the best and fastest paths. Leaders need to have a role model who can reinforce the lessons and coach them on how to execute the desired behavior.

These are just some of the preliminary staging that trainers need to consider prior to creating their programs.

Related:What are the Qualities of a Truly Great Business Mentor?

How to create a program for leadership development

Here are several steps you can take to create an effective leadership development program:

1. Identify your company’s leadership needs

To identify your company’s leadership needs, you may begin by evaluating the current leadership in your organization. For example, you and your team may ask what characteristics and attributes do the current leaders in your organization possess that would be missed if they were to leave?What are the current gaps in leadership within the business?

Consider the answers to these questions and include them in the development of your program so it aligns with the specific leadership needs of your organization. Tailoring your organization’s program to its needs is more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach because not all businesses need or want the same things from its leadership.

2. Assess your organization’s values and goals

Your leadership program should align with your organization’s values and goals. Define what values your company has and determine what leadership skills match up with those values. For example, you might have growth, collaboration or commitment to customers as a value, and your goal may be to increase customer retention or revenue by targeting new markets. Growing your company may include different leadership skills than a commitment to customers, and it’s helpful to know your focus before developing your leadership program. If you include these items in your program, then it’s likely future participants will be better equipped to reach the company’s goals and maintain its values.

This can also entice potential candidates to take part in the program and inspires leadership, since assessing organizational goals and including them in the program provides your managers and other employees with a reason for leading.

3. Select potential candidates for leadership roles

Potential leaders may exist in various roles throughout your company, and they aren’t always the highest performers in their current positions. A person who hasn’t shown outstanding abilities in their current position may still have great leadership capabilities. Conversely, a person who’s a top performer may not have what it takes to be an effective leader in your company.

A good way to determine leadership capabilities is to offer a leadership skills assessment test. This test allows your employees to discover their potential and helps you select individuals who may be effective leaders and good candidates for your program.

4. Choose instructors with proven leadership skills

Effective instructors should have some leadership expertise to inspire participants to engage in the program. Many companies work with third-party organizations to hire instructors for their leadership development programs. These organizationscan offer specialized trainers who can review assessment results, select candidates and help your participants get ready to lead using your program outline.

Hiring these specialists may allow you to reduce the program’s impact on your resources and maintain your productivity.

5. Use various teaching methods

Your leadership development participants likely have different backgrounds and styles of learning. To help each participant learn and develop, it ‘s essential to use different methods within your learning system.

Training methods you might include in your program to accommodate the varying ways your participants learn are classroom instruction, e-learning, written materials, demonstrations, training videos and lectures. Using these tools can help inspire your participants and provide them with a program that’s fun, exciting, growth-oriented and informational.

6. Create measurable benchmarks

A great way to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your leadership development program is to create measurable benchmarks. To do this, you might focus on how many participants complete the program successfully, feedback from the participants and how many get promoted after completing the program.

You may also conduct regular reviews and assessments to gauge participants’ growth and development. For example, you and your team might create a feedback report in the form of a survey that each participant must take. Over time, you can measure the results and continue to enhance the effectiveness of your leadership development program.

7. Focus on retention

You may use your new leadership and development program as a part of your long-term staffing strategy. Your focus should be on keeping talented employees who have the potential of assuming important management positions in your business.

Some ways to impact employee retention are to offer more compensation as staff members develop their skills, introduce an employee rewards system or meet with them regularly to ensure their satisfaction with their career path.

Related: How to Reduce Employee Turnover

FAQs about programs for leadership development

Here are frequently asked questions about programs for leadership development:

What are the benefits of creating programs for leadership development?

Some key benefits that leadership development programs offer your employees are the ability to:

• Deeply understand corporate leadership and its cross-functional challenges
• Implement strategic leadership plans for your company
• Inspire organizational change and lead high-performing teams
• Develop their own leadership philosophies and build greater confidence and responsibility
• Capitalize on future leadership opportunities

How long should leadership development programs last?

The length of time your leadership program takes is up to you and your organizational needs. Some companies choose to conduct one long class, while others find it more effective to break up classes into sessions. For example, you may divide your leadership program into five one-hour sessions over the course of a few weeks. This may allow your employees to absorb the information slowly and retain more of what they learned.

How do companies measure the impact of leadership development?

There are a few ways to measure the impact, including conducting employee surveys and assessing productivity rates. Employee attrition data is telling because you can see the number of those who quit or are thinking of quitting based on absentee rates since newly trained employees began working.