Why leadership training is not effective? By RAE DAWN BRUSCH
In order to be a successful leader in this century, mandating alone cannot suffice. Gone are the days when bosses told their employees what to do and expected positive results. Today’s leaders need to adapt when expecting improvement in their team’s performance. It involves sharpening their own leadership skills and becoming an engaging leader in order to create empowered and enthusiastic employees. To expect success in leadership, you need to pay attention to how effective leading is done and know how to prevent failure, save money and time and boost morale. Employees view training and newly learnt skills as extra work that they aren’t getting paid to do, which will result in them not valuing these skills and then implementing them. They are happy in their comfort zone and would rather not disrupt their present work process. According to a study done by the Harvard University, training programs did not facilitate organizational change. Also in some cases, managerial systems do not adjust to facilitate the new changes after training. Here is why the reinforcement is either nonexistent or inconsistent: if a company only focuses on teachings and knowledge and does not provide an environment that includes support and time to link these training to development, the results would be futile. If the motive of the training is unclear then it will not go into effect. Employees need to know what exactly they have to change and the steps to implement them in their work. Many training programs do not offer motivational factors. Also, many leadership training fail because companies lack coordination and communication. With these simple steps, you can guarantee that leadership training will be effective for your company. 1. Set Goals and Objectives There must be clarity, employees need to know what exactly they need to change, and the expectations after the training must be specific. 2. Guide through communication
A channel of fast and eager responses should be available for employees after training as well as an organized system established to ensure that all goes smoothly concerning issues and queries. 3. Commit to personal Engagement Too often companies develop programmes that are too generalized and are not tailored for in-depth individual learning. The one size
fits all approach is doomed to fail. There needs to be a system of active engagement for each employee and their areas of improvements. With monitoring over a period of time employers can see their progress and give feedback. 4. Support & Reinforcement The management needs to provide context and support to implement these new changes and training learnt when they return to the workplace. For additional support, companies can give access to online tools and learning workshops which is linked to performance and talent management. These help employees to take action in terms of their growth. Time provision is necessary to ensure they can establish these skills in everyday work. 5. Lead by Example There is no better way of teaching than to lead. Employees will respond positively and be motivated when they see their leaders also implementing these learnt skills. When there is growth and improvement highlighting them and encouraging employees will create a culture of employee empowerment and continuous learning.