In-house leadership learning is important for every business, allowing these critical team members to learn the skills they need to connect with employees, manage projects, and empower their team.
To get the most out of this training, it’s crucial that you focus on the right topics. While these may change and shift, depending on what your business needs, there are certain areas of leadership that can always be improved, no matter how successful your business is.
When you hold the training in-house, you also have more control over the area of focus, allowing you to touch on the most important skills for your leaders. Don’t forget to use a tool like Bigtincan Zunos to streamline the learning with a digital program that you create yourself.
To get more out of leadership training, create opportunities for your managers to focus on the following topics.
How to Develop Employee Relationships
One of the most important components of a successful team is developing relationships with the people you manage." Just because you have a team that works with you, does not immediately make you a ‘leader.’ A leader is someone who takes time to understand and know the team members they are working with — what are their strengths, what are areas of development, how can I better support them,” says Kevin Sealey, VP of Student Operations for EPOCH Student Living.
The ability to nurture these relationships will ultimately drive productivity and teamwork because each employee brings different strengths to the table. As Sealey says, “Every team member is going to be different, and it is a leaders’ responsibility to know how each one works separately so that when they are put together, you will create positive results. Respect is earned.”
Focus on training that helps leaders develop soft skills like communication, teamwork, adaptability and critical observation.
How to Hone Creative Skills
Creativity is at the crux of what sets your company apart from others — how you operate, what services or products you offer, and even how your team interacts, all benefit from creative thinking. That’s why Lysa Miller, with Clutch Co., says: “Creativity is one of the most important qualities of a modern business leader. Creative leaders have the ability to look at things in new ways and solve problems by seeing things others don’t.”
Luckily, creativity is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. A creative problem resolution workshop, for example, can give leaders the tools they need to approach problems from new angles.
Consider other areas where your company benefits from creative thinking, including goal-setting, employee management, product development — then find training opportunities that help build the necessary skill set.
How to Prioritize Collaboration
Collaboration doesn’t just happen. It takes encouragement from leadership to get employees working together. Knowing how to facilitate and prioritize collaboration is a critical skill for leaders to learn because collaboration drives innovation and greater results.
Research conducted by Nielsen Insights found that larger teams of six or more people tend to generate concepts and innovations that resonate with consumers 58 percent more effectively than smaller teams.
The research also found that collaboration between departments lead to a 46 percent improvement in productivity. Thus, knowing how to encourage collaboration, and work with other team leaders to ensure different teams are working together, is critical for success.
Learning how to have a team mentality and facilitate opportunities for the team will be a key in prioritizing collaboration.
How to Give More and Better Employee Feedback
Feedback is an opportunity for employees to learn from their leaders — not to mention, employees want it. According to a 2018 OfficeVibe report, 83 percent of employees want feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, and 96 percent would like to get it regularly. Yet 32 percent say they have to wait more than three months for feedback.
That’s why it’s critical to focus on giving more and better employee feedback in leadership training. Feedback allows you to keep great employees and build a thriving business — as employees get smarter and better at their jobs, your business grows along with them.
Leadership training can tackle this topic in many ways, from addressing worries about giving feedback to teaching the skills needed to make it constructive and valuable for the business and the employees.
Get More From Your In-House Leadership Training
Leadership learning provides these senior employees with a chance to get better at their job and therefore help the company grow. Take advantage of in-house training to dictate topics and tailor the learning to the skills your leaders are lacking, from giving feedback to encouraging collaboration.
