Business Pro Explains How to Train Future Leaders
Leadership training is important for businesses of any size. Ensuring you have people who are capable leaders before your business enters a growth phase will allow you to scale effectively and keep these high performing people in roles where they can thrive.
While many business owners and executives think they are taking the right steps in developing future leaders, there are some common mistakes which can hinder the employee’s leadership skills rather than refine them.
As a business coach, I have worked with many companies ranging in size and representing different industries. Leadership training is one of my areas of expertise, and over the years I have observed some errors which are made by companies who try to train in-house.
In the sections to follow, I will detail a few of these training problems and how you can address them either in-house, or by bringing in a business coach to help with your training sessions.
Communication Issues
One of the keys to effective leadership is effective communication. This goes for any level of leadership, from the CEO to a team leader, and effective communication is a skill which can be refined through training. One area where many leadership training sessions fall short is through communication, either by the trainer to the trainees or by not instilling the trainees with the right skills to communicate. When I run a leadership training session, we focus on clear, concise and personalized communication. By equipping a leader-to-be with these skills, they have a great chance to succeed.
Personality Manipulation
A common misconception about effective leadership assumes a person in a leadership role has to be loud, commanding and fit a certain personality type. When a person is running a leadership training session, a common mistake is to try to make the people they’re training into this stereotype of a leader, or try to project their own leadership style on their trainees. Instead, people who are candidates to lead should be encouraged to be themselves and equipped with skills to refine their leadership ability, not change their personality. Effective leaders can have any personality type, as long as they have the right skills and desire to lead.
Improper Delegation
Sometimes, a company decides to let a person “sink or swim” as their way of leadership training. Instead of equipping a trainee with the skills, equipment or support they need to lead, the executives delegate big tasks to them and see if they can figure it out on their own. This is rarely a winning formula. While delegation is an essential part of leadership training, the trainee has to feel supported and understand the process which will make them successful.
If you own or manage a business and you’re looking to prepare for the future, professional leadership training is essential. As a business coach, I offer several services including leadership development for businesses in the Louisville, KY area. To learn more about my services, give me a call or fill out the form on my website today.
