8 Essential Leadership Training Topics To Focus On
"Leadership and constant learning are indispensable to each other" used to be just another quote for me until I participated in a leadership development program that made me realize how little I actually knew about people management and leadership skills. It taught me that the most effective leaders are those who never stop learning, who aspire to grow, who like to face difficulties, and who want to create original ideas.
To be honest I always wanted to be a leader, but I little knew that actual leadership is far from what most people consider it to be. It is much more than simply delegating work, asking for updates or giving out motivational speeches. This is exactly where leadership training comes into the picture. Looking back, I wish I had pursued training before taking on a team, so that I may have been better prepared for my team leadership role. In fact, you’d be surprised to know that according to a survey, 58% of managers have indicated that they had no leadership training. Attending a leadership training program gave me the information and abilities I needed to become the leader my team deserved.
Leadership development programmers encourage managers and leaders to experiment with fresh, creative approaches to leading and managing people in order to transform businesses by producing extraordinary results. A well-managed leadership training has many additional business benefits, such as:
- It helps you bring out the best in teams, because you can make efficient plans to enhance team productivity.
- When you know how to effectively lead people, you make way for increased employee engagement.
- It helps you create a positive workplace culture where learning is embraced by everyone.
- You and your team can make better decisions on the basis of strategy and planning, rather than just reacting to problems
- It helps you transform how your team reacts to the problem and develop efficient problem-solving strategies.
8 Leadership Training Topics To Invest In For Better Team Performance
1. Communication
We all know that in order to be a great leader, you need to be a great communicator. Hence, this is one of the most important leadership training topics. If leaders want their teams to be successful, they must prioritize effective and efficient communication. Good communication skills encourage teamwork, boost efficiency, help team members to stay focused, and helps make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of their duties and responsibilities. By including communication as one of the topics in the leadership training program, the leaders will be able to become better communicators, give clear and precise instructions, routinely practice active listening, solicit and provide feedback, and promote transparency.
2. Constructive Feedback
It is an understood fact that no team can run smoothly without constructive feedback. It is important for leaders to give and receive feedback from their team members regularly. Be it a leader or a fresher, in order to achieve better results, it is necessary to understand your strengths and weaknesses, and constructive feedback is the best way to do so.
Leaders must provide feedback to their team members during each one-on-one meeting. Explain how the person is doing well and where they could improve. Ask for feedback on your leadership as well and understand the areas where you need to improve. Also, never ignore employee recognition practices. Every employee enjoys being recognized and given credit for their efforts. Spend a moment thanking them for their dedication to excellence.
3. Accountability
It is another very crucial leadership training topic. Everybody expects leaders to be flawless and perfect in their jobs, even the leaders themselves. And this is exactly why they do not take responsibility for their actions if anything wrong happens. However, accountability is one of the very important skills that most leaders lack as it teaches the willingness to accept responsibility or account for one’s actions.
Leaders need to take their roles seriously to build trust among team members and create a culture of transparency where everyone takes responsibility for their actions. And in order to teach your team members to be accountable, you need to learn it yourself. Your employees will feel at ease enough to seek assistance and develop new skills when they are aware that they have the freedom to acknowledge their weaknesses and learn from their mistakes. Therefore, take responsibility for your actions, be open to feedback, speak up for what's right, and teach your team members to do the same.
4. Change Management
Change management is a structured procedure used for dealing with the transition or transformation of an organization's objectives, procedures, or technologies. The objective of a change management program is to implement strategies to bring in effective transformation in a company’s mission and vision, controlling the change and helping employees to adapt to change seamlessly.
It is super important for leaders to be aware of the concept of change management, as it can help employees in understanding the company's mission better and encourage them to put in the required effort to achieve it. To hone their skills in this area, leaders might begin by outlining common problems to team members and make effective plans to deal with them and so bring about a change.
5. Time Management
You must be a master of time management if you want to lead and work efficiently. Time management is another of the important leadership training topics for leaders to focus on, as it is the only way to increase your team’s focus and productivity. When you manage your time well, you can devote more of it to new ideas or initiatives, focus on the work that actually matters, and the employees that are indispensable to your organization. An effective leadership training program will teach you how to manage your time like a pro, by allotting time for every important task and ticking it off your to-do list without the busywork [1].
6. Different Leadership Styles
This leadership training topic is more suitable for a workshop or training session for upcoming leaders in your company. Having a clear understanding of various leadership styles can help managers choose the best way to lead their team, create their own strategy, and pinpoint crucial improvements. Additionally, it will give them the chance to mix several leadership philosophies for stronger, more influential leadership by introducing them to their benefits and efficacy.
7. Project Planning
Managing projects is not easy. You have so much on your plate that needs to be done keeping a deadline in mind. And things get worse if your projects are poorly planned. It can lead to delays, mad clients, budget overruns, and whatnot. It's critical for organizations to give their managers strong project planning abilities in order to reduce these bottlenecks and risks. This will help them in coordinating objectives, establishing appropriate timelines, streamlining business procedures, pinpointing potential trouble spots, and defining the duties of each team member. This leadership training topic is also important for keeping a check on the activities that exhaust your valuable resources.
8. Continuous Training
In many cases, employees regard their leaders as role models and expect to learn from them through insights, shared knowledge, and expertise. In the majority of cases, employees treat their leaders or managers as their role models and follow the same path they walk on, in order to learn from their knowledge and experience. So, being a leader, it is imperative that you take time to transfer your knowledge to your team members. Teach them about your achievements, your mistakes, and your failures to help them learn from your professional journey.
Make sure that you provide continuous training to your team members. Create an environment where everyone can acknowledge their weaknesses, can contribute ideas, and is open to learning from each other, irrespective of their position in the company. Leaders must always, always encourage their employees to enroll in new courses, pick up new skills, and apply what they learn to the business.
A Few Leadership Training Statistics That Explain Why It’s Crucial
- A study found that participants who received leadership training increased their performance and learning capacity by 20% and 25%, respectively [2]. Many of these programs not only teach leadership theory and practices but also how these can be applied to the office setting.
- GoRemotely found that 83% of businesses think it's critical to educate leaders at all levels as part of the organizational culture [3]. Only 5% of organizations, however, have business operations that incorporate leadership development programs.
- According to Leadership Statistics 2022, training can increase leadership performance by 28%.
- Research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that receiving leadership training improved leadership behaviors by 28%, while learning and organizational outcomes have improved by 25% [4].
Conclusion
Do you think that all those super successful sportsmen achieve success overnight? Absolutely not! Their careers are the culmination of years of deliberate practice, learning, and hard work. Well, the process of efficient leadership is no different. You need to put in considerable effort, make continual investments in your development, seek out training opportunities, and never stop learning if you wish to be an exceptional leader. It will help you to have a thriving team and be the leader everyone would want to work for.
References:
[1] Bad at Time Management? Here’s What You Can Do About It
[2] Leadership Training Design, Delivery, and Implementation: A Meta-Analysis
[3] 22 Inspiring Leadership Statistics for a Successful 2022
[4] 24 Leadership Training Statistics: Data, Insights & Predictions
