Hey! Did you know there’s a new power couple in town? They’re called Leadership Training and Leadership Coaching and they can be huge influencers in your business!
Leaders can make or break your business. They are making decisions every day that can advance, stagnate, and cripple your business. Investing in them isn’t an option, it’s a requirement.
Leadership Training
Unfortunately, there are many leaders who have had to learn by trial and error and haven’t been afforded the opportunity for formal leadership training. This is learning by osmosis. I call this the “Welcome to leadership and Good luck!” process.
When leadership training is made available, leaders go through the training, but there isn’t an organizational plan for follow-through or follow-up. I call this the “Check the box and I hope you get it “ process.
For organizations to really develop their leaders, let’s acknowledge that leadership training is not enough.
Why? Because training is about an individual acquiring knowledge and hopefully, building skill. Rarely does training provide the support and accountability needed to transition the acquired knowledge into learning and skill into disciplined habits.
Why? Because knowledge and skill alone aren’t enough to transform individuals or benefit the organization. How many leadership training classes have you attended? How many times have you walked out of a class super charged only to be let down because there wasn’t any organizational follow-through or follow-up? So, it’s BAU. We’ve all been there. I know I have.
Why Add Coaching?
When you add leadership coaching to leadership training, you get the knowledge, the skill building and the personal guidance, support, and accountability needed to turn knowledge into learning and skill into disciplined habits. You’re developing the habit of transitioning learning into doing on a personal basis. You’re giving the leader a safe place and space to take personal responsibility for their own growth and development. You’re shrinking their knowing and doing gap.
We know it’s not easy to be vulnerable. As a leader, it’s not rewarded and unfortunately, it can be seen as a weakness. The reality is we all have areas where we can be better and do better. Being vulnerable is really a strength. That’s how we learn and grow. Imagine working with people who are open and honest about what they need, and they trust each other enough to ask for and get support.
Simply put – Consider training as knowledge and skill building and coaching as accountability for learning and change. The knowing and doing gap should significantly shrink with good coaching.
According to the Institute of Coaching, 70% of individuals who received coaching improved their performance. Why? Because coaching is personal, not generic.
If you’re investing in your leaders, you should also expect to see an “Organizational Lift” from your investment. That’s why you’re spending the money, right?
What Is Organizational Lift?
It’s the organizational ROI on any support or effort you provide to a group. In this case, you’ve investing in your leaders. You should see an uptick in certain areas such as leader impact, collaboration and teamwork, employee engagement and workplace culture. You should also see a reduction of avoidable employee relation, communication, personal conflict issues.
But this ROI is predicated on the upfront alignment of expectations, a process to facilitate learning and change and a plan for accountability (plan of follow-through and follow-up) – organizationally and individually.
In my corporate experience, when leadership training does happen, it’s the leader that bears the responsibility for expectations and accountability for change, not the organization. Because of that, too often, the environment doesn’t change and whatever changes the leader makes, isn’t enough of a catalyst to see the “Lift” the organization is capable of.
Years ago, I facilitated a community leadership development program where all levels of leadership of various companies participated in the program within a 12-month period. I was both shocked and saddened to have some participants ask me if their manager had gone through the training. They said they weren’t seeing anything they were currently learning demonstrated by their leadership. I told them yes, their leaders had already gone through the training. I suggested they take that question back to their manager and have a good conversation on accountability and change. I don’t think much has changed. There are too many missed opportunities for “Organizational Lift” causing a low ROI.
How We Can Help
Our Thriving Leadership packages combines core leadership training (with the option for customization to align with the organization’s needs) with personalized and immersive coaching We provide a high degree of guidance and accountability in a safe, supportive place. We offer coaching to individuals, in-tact teams, leaders in the general business community and to senior executives.
We’d love to talk to you about how we can support your organization and leaders be better and do better. We can help accelerate your business through people!
Watch The New Power Couple Video!
You can reach us at Doinghrdifferently.com or 657-527-0705 or CLICK HERE to schedule a free 30 minute consultation.