It’s the #1 reason why businesses fail.
It’s a top driver of turnover.
It rips through your bottom line…
And the worst part?
It’s something every business can prevent.
I’m talking about ineffective leadership.
The success of your business is based on the strength of your leaders.
The stronger your leaders, the more effective your team.
The stronger your leaders, the less turnover you experience.
The stronger your leaders, the better results you deliver for your clients.
The stronger your leaders, the better results for your organization.
Unfortunately, the leadership training offered by most businesses sucks!
As a result, new leaders aren’t given the tools they need to successfully lead teams.
(If you’re interested in watching my video on this topic, click here!)
Why Most Leadership Training Sucks
The #1 reason why leadership training sucks is because it focuses on processes, not people.
They focus on things like compliance or step-by-step guides to navigating difficult conversations based on manipulation.
But there’s rarely an emphasis on the HUMAN element.
That’s the most important part of leading teams! It’s the hardest part, but without it you will never develop effective leaders.
Take the example of the “sandwich” method of delivering negative feedback. It’s one of the most taught pieces of advice in most leadership training. It’s also terrible advice!
If you’re not familiar, it’s a common suggestion for delivering negative feedback. It says you should first start with a piece of positive feedback, then deliver your negative feedback (the real reason the conversation is happening), and conclude with another bit of positive feedback.
Sounds great in theory…but in reality, all you’re doing is manipulating someone’s feelings. You’re using a smoke screen to deliver negative feedback, and any smart employee can see right through it.
They know we’re only delivering positive feedback to make them feel better about the whole thing.
What if instead of manipulating our teams’ emotions, we built a relationship where the person trusted we were giving honest feedback with only their wellbeing and success in mind?
Great Leadership Development Focuses on LEADING PEOPLE, Not Managing Processes
Effective leadership focuses on leading people through relationships.
So how do you develop that in someone?
Leaders have to learn how to build real 1-on-1 relationships with everyone on their teams.
They also need to learn how to nurture those relationships on top of their other responsibilities.
This is HUGE because it gives us an enormous advantage when we have performance challenges. It allows us to have conversations to understand WHY challenges are occurring in the first place…rather than jumping straight into fixing them.
Next, leaders need to learn how to coach their team members to achieve their own goals – for themselves.
Most managers are quick to solve their team members’ problems. But real leaders coach people to solve their own challenges.
Most managers order their team members to do better for the company’s benefit. Real leaders coach each member of their team to achieve their own goals first!
This is just the tip of the iceberg. An effective leadership training experience goes in-depth on these concepts and more, allowing leaders to build and lead winning teams.
It’s about getting people to follow your leaders because they WANT to…not because they have to.
Experience From Someone Who’s Been There
Anyone can read a book or watch some YouTube videos and offer “leadership training.”
But if you want to give your leaders the real tools for success, it’s best to work with someone who’s been there.
The best leadership development comes from someone who’s led teams for several years or longer. These people can speak from experience on what works…and what DOESN’T work!
Before you commit to a leadership program, do yourself a favor. Search Glassdoor, Indeed and other companies for reviews of their company – and try to find what the employees have to say about their leadership!
We all make mistakes. Part of the value of learning from an experienced leader is learning from their mistakes so you can avoid the same pitfalls.
It also makes the experience much more interactive. An experienced leader can provide real-life examples.
They can better relate to any challenges or questions the group brings up, and provide better guidance accordingly.
They’re not just speaking from a textbook, but their own lived experience!
A Track Record of Success
The last thing to look for in a leadership development program is the impact it’s had on the business.
It’s one thing to hear testimonials from participants who loved the program. But how has the program made a real business impact for organizations?
Did it improve employee retention? How did it affect employee experience? Has customer experience improved?
Real leadership development isn’t just about “feel good” lessons where participants pat themselves on the back and go back to business as usual.
If you’re TRULY developing your leaders, all of the above should improve dramatically!
What Will You Do to Equip New Leaders for Success?
The success of your business hinges on the strength of your leaders…at every level. No matter the challenges you’re facing or the goals you’ve outlined, you need strong leaders to win.
What steps will you take TODAY to equip your leaders to deliver results?