Is leadership ability an inborn trait?

Organizations today expect a lot of leaders. They have to be adept at solving problems, inspire and motivate employees with vision, foresee and manage big changes, understand the intricacies of the business, the industry, the market, etc.

With all the pressures that leaders and managers deal with, it’s no wonder that we often see shortcomings in their performance. Some people are natural-born leaders, but many are not. If someone isn’t a born leader, does that disqualify them from leadership and management positions?

If it did, then the world would be missing out on the influence of some of its most-loved leaders.

The vast majority of great leaders and managers don’t start out remarkable – they grow into greatness.

What are the benefits of leadership training?

Your leaders and managers need to develop a wide array of skills to be effective in their roles. Some managers may be fantastic with motivating their teams, but when it comes to handling operational problems, they fall flat – or vice versa.

You shouldn’t be expecting perfection across every area, but you should be seeing a willingness in leaders and managers to continually learn and improve their skills. With a leadership team that holds that mindset, you can be confident that your organization won’t get stuck with the same problems over and over.

Leadership and management training bolsters your organization’s ability to prepare for and address problems head on. It also builds trust among individual contributors, managers, and leadership teams – when employees see that their leaders are invested in improving their ability to manage and steer the organization, they can trust that their livelihoods are in good hands.

What are the differences between leaders and managers?

This question comes down to inspiration vs. operation. Your leaders and managers need to be skilled in both of these arenas, but an individual’s balance of the two will shift depending on their role. Sometimes one person is both a leader and a manager, but sometimes their efforts need to be focused on one or the other.

Typically, leaders are more focused on the overall vision of the company, inspiring employees to buy into that vision, and making decisions that impact large sections of the organization.

Managers’ roles involve distilling that vision down into the everyday operations of their teams. They still play a significant part in ensuring that employees stay motivated, but their decisions and day-to-day responsibilities are more closely tied to the individuals on their team.

How do you create a dynamic leadership and management development program?

Since there are so many areas for your leaders and managers to improve their skills, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for training. The best way to ensure your development program is effective is by providing a variety of training avenues that build and reinforce their skill development.

Your leadership and management training should include:

Coaching and mentoring

Having someone else’s experience and advice to draw on when learning to lead and manage others is immensely valuable – this helps gain insight and perspective when dealing with new challenges.

On-the-job learning

Assignments and responsibilities that stretch leaders and managers to expand their skills through their day-to-day work experience should be considered an aspect of training – don’t overlook this when planning your leadership development!

Seminars and conferences

Investments in leadership seminars and conferences should be carefully evaluated – while these can be powerful learning experiences, you’ll want to have a plan in place for helping leaders and managers to retain and apply what they’ve learned.

On-demand courses

Providing access to high quality, on-demand courses promotes a continuous learning habit, and allows your leaders and managers to improve their skills whenever and wherever the need arises.

Can leadership and management skills be learned online?

The traditional view of learning to lead is that it can only be accomplished through person-to-person experience or intensive workshops. While that’s certainly a part of it, today’s learning technology plays a significant role in how well leaders and managers learn new skills and apply them on the job.

Video-based microlearning and online interactive learning have proven to be effective ways to learn complex skills because training can be done in short, engaging bursts, and then practiced in real-life situations right away.

Time is at a premium, especially for those in leadership and management positions, so breaking down complex topics into manageable chunks makes training much more accessible than longer courses or workshops.

Seminars, conferences, and workshops provide valuable training for leaders, but the majority of what they’ve learned over those several hours or days will quickly be forgotten. To prevent this, use microlearning as both primer before the event and reinforcement post-event. You can drastically increase the ROI of expensive leadership and management courses by incorporating short, curated, online content into their development plan.

On top of these benefits, providing an online learning library full of expertly-created content allows your leaders and managers to self-direct their development. This capability empowers them to make learning and growth a part of their every day routine, and when your leaders have a learning habit, it won’t be long before your entire organization does.

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