Why Invest in Leadership Development?
Leadership development works, especially when applied to all employees, not just leadership positions. Whether you have 5 employees or 5,000, it is an essential part of driving performance. And when done well, it can give your company a competitive advantage.
You may have heard of the 70-20-10 learning model developed by Morgan McCall, Robert Eichinger, and Michael Lombardo at the Center for Creative Leadership in the mid-1990s. They surveyed about 200 executives about their learning philosophy. The results are often used as the ideal balance for training employees.
70% of learning comes from hands-on experience and challenges.
20% comes from others (peers) and includes mentoring, feedback and relationships.
10% comes from the formal training or coursework.
What this says is learning for an individual really sinks in once they start applying their learnings in actual situations and getting feedback from their peers.
The 70-20-10 model works best when leadership development is a process, not just an event. Rather than a workshop, seminar or book, focus on a solution that develops leadership goals for each individual and teaches them how to work towards those goals. A solution that will connect the content and leadership strategy to the organizational purpose.
Individual leadership development is great, but don’t expect large-scale change without investing in the development of every individual at your company. Systematic change is born from a transformation in culture and growth of the leadership skills that drive performance.
5 Biggest Reasons to Invest in Leadership Development
Attract and retain talent. 83% of businesses say it’s important to develop leaders at all levels. Yet less than 5% of companies have implemented leadership development across all levels. That gives you a big advantage in recruiting and retention if you are one of the few employers that offers a leadership development package to all employees. Driven, talented people want the opportunity to learn and will gravitate towards roles that allow them to grow.
Improve company culture by championing an environment where employees are encouraged to work together and learn from each other. And when you invest in the development of your employees, they feel valued. Those that feel valued at work are often happier at work and contribute more positively to the company culture, inspiring others to do the same.
Drive productivity through a combined leadership strategy and goals that feed into the overall business initiatives and equip your leaders to lead. Through leadership development you are providing each employee with the skills necessary to execute strategy and reach goals.
Facilitate Agile Leadership, the ability to navigate change through challenges. It is not enough to drive productivity; your employees need specific skills to be able to navigate challenges and change. They need agility. Leadership development builds the skillset that improves leadership agility.
Unlock Potential in all of your employees. Go beyond developing only those in leadership positions to unlocking the full potential of your entire organization. Large-scale changes in culture, leadership and the bottom line happen when your entire talent pool is engaged and growing.
The Lasting Impact
Organizations that understand the importance of leadership development for all employees have more advanced and effective leaders. They are also become better at placing the right people in the right roles, where they can operate at their highest level. Just imagine the effects on your employee retention, employee satisfaction and financial performance.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
The Leadership Institute Offers:
10 online, self-paced courses.
A clear path for creating a customized leadership development plan for each individual that participates.
Learning centered around self-reflection and feedback from peers.
Assignments and templates to build a strategy that delivers and that connects with the organizational goals and initiatives.
Option to add-on Collaborative Learning Sessions to keep learners focused, on task and accountable as well as an opportunity to learn from their peers.
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