7 Essentials of a Comprehensive Leadership Development Program

The leaders of tomorrow are out there–and, in many cases, inside your organization–waiting for opportunities to thrive in leadership positions. A comprehensive leadership development program can be a competitive advantage for your organization when it comes to attracting and retaining next-gen leadership talent. Here are seven things you must consider when building and implementing your leadership development program:

1. Start by determining the problems you want to solve and the culture you want to create through leadership development.

Align your leadership development program to specific business needs and company values. Without this focus, your program will run the risk of being a one-size-fits-all “leadership 101” course that does not develop the necessary skills, does not meet expectations, and leaves participants dissatisfied and disengaged. On the other hand, by establishing a culture that places a high priority on cultivating diverse talent with strong leadership skills, you will perpetuate a cycle of attracting and retaining future leaders.

2. Identify which skills your leaders must have to solve these problems, and any skills gaps within your organization.

Again, there’s no one-size-fits all approach to creating a leadership development program, but there are some leadership skills that, these days, are more highly sought-after. According to a recent Global Leadership Development Study conducted by the Harvard Business Review (HBR), two of the top three skills that organizations want from their leaders to help them achieve their business goals are empathetic communication and emotional and social intelligence. With technology driving the need for employees to learn new skills, leaders must be able to relate to the anxieties these employees may be feeling about their changing roles and reassure them that, by upskilling and adapting to these changes, they will be essential to achieving the organization’s vision.

3. Include inclusion in your program.

Building a more inclusive leadership team is more than an end goal–it’s a starting point. A stronger focus on DEI in leadership is an effective way to attract and retain top talent, boost creativity and innovation, improve your employer brand, and create a culture of trust. The next generation of talent notices when leadership teams are homogenous, and they care about how their employer is perceived. Additionally, teams and organizations function at their highest levels when people know they are valued, have a meaningful voice in decisions, and can show up to work as their authentic selves. This starts at the top, making it more important than ever to integrate diversity and inclusivity practices into your leadership development program.

4. Effectively communicate the benefits of your leadership development program to your employees.

According to our own research, some of the most common barriers that business leaders face in implementing their leadership development programs were “lack of interest from those benefiting from the training program” (35%), closely followed by “lack of awareness of the benefits of leadership training” (33%). This suggests that employers need to do a much better job of communicating the benefits and importance of leadership development. We recommend you focus your communications on the ways in which leadership development will help employees not only in the future, but also in their current roles – those who care deeply about being as effective as possible in their current role will often be strong candidates for leadership in the future.

5. Establish ways of measuring and rewarding the success of your program.

Build evaluation and data collection into your program from the very beginning, capture feedback throughout from the participants, and make changes as necessary. This is more than a simple survey after a training session (although those are still valuable)–you’ll want to track the progress and retention rates of those in the program to see if they are making the most of their newly acquired skills, or if you need to train on new skills or use different methods. Comprehensive measurement and tracking can result in a more effective program and allow you to constantly prioritize your development efforts and focus your spend. Additionally, it is important to build recognition and rewards into your performance evaluation processes. As your future leaders hit their development milestones, demonstrate that this is important to your organization through proper recognition.

6. Make mentorship a part of your program.

As older leaders begin to reach retirement age, many of them, for various reasons, are not completely ready to walk away from their roles. Take advantage of their years of experience as well as their industry and organizational knowledge while it’s still there at your company–set up a program to have experienced leaders mentor your high-potential employees. As they work through present challenges together, it can be a major boost to the confidence of the future leader to get positive feedback from their mentor. It also gives them a valuable resource for questions and advice, and a sounding board for ideas and frustrations.

7. Consider engaging third-party leadership development provider.

Many businesses work with third-party providers who have extensive experience tailoring leadership development programs for other organizations in their sectors. One benefit of third-party training is that it is unbiased and typically is implemented faster, resulting in faster returns on investment. Organizations that co-create programs with third-party providers can combine their firsthand knowledge of their business needs with the third-party’s expertise in skills development and training delivery as a dedicated specialist.

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