Leadership Programs Need to Adapt to a Tech Fatigued Workforce

Effective leadership is of paramount importance in a dynamic business environment. Yet a lot of organizations still keep using these old-school leadership training methods that don’t really work.

Why is this the case?

In this blog post, we are taking a deep dive into the limitations of traditional leadership training; why they generally fail to produce long-term change in behaviours and what modern programs need to do instead? Through the framework of experiential learning, coaching mindset, relational leadership competencies we can develop full-scaled leadership development programs that really do cultivate growth.

Pitfall of Traditional Leadership Programmes

Formal leadership development programs often are theory filled. However, while some understanding of the key approaches and models is desirable, too much reliance on theory can alienate a group. In fact, nowadays we can just access most leadership models online, or even be coached by GenAi on basic topics. So, real interactive training marks the differences in a digital world that has abundant access to information.

Moreover, most candidates for leadership that are experiencing workshops full of information may have little opportunity to apply that knowledge. Unfortunately, this “theory heavy” training doesn’t always translate to actual changes in working practices. It’s clear: people want to work on real business challenges.

Research tells us that “70% of learners forget what they’ve learned in training within a year” (American Society for Training and Development). This number highlights a big limitation inherent in most traditional training approaches: when knowledge isn’t applied to real-life situations, it’s easy to forget.

Additionally, such programs typically overlook the relational side of teams. Leadership is a people game and relationships are the foundation of effective leadership. The effect of a such myopic focus on the individual can impair a leader’s capacity to promote team collaboration, motivation and trust. In the end, conventional leadership development does little to develop leaders who can survive in the realities of modern organizational life.

The Cost of Not Developing Effective Leaders

The consequences of ignoring the failures of conventional leadership training is a serious one for companies. Here’s what can happen:

• Both engagement and retention are declining: When leaders can’t build strong relationships, their teams rarely reach high levels of engagement. There can eventually become high turnover.
• Leadership Fatigue when leaders no longer feel supported and their role is outmoded, they may face burnout or disengagement.
• Teams that are not connected: Poor social cohesion leads to a set of people who communicate and work separately  reducing the potential for creativity and problem-solving.
• Velocity in Innovation: Your team may not be able to respond quickly and efficiently if you don’t lead effectively.

While companies that are slow to grow leadership only serve to produce culture mediocrity, more workplace conflict and potentially lost financial contributions. A strong culture of leadership development needs to be a priority for HR and L&D.

Five Core Steps to Building Strong Leadership Development

The good news is: Over the last few decades, there has been significant growth in leadership development and training for many organizations.

Step 1 Learn by Doing

“We’re all just trying to figure things out ourselves.

“Just-in-time” learning for leaders. This means that good leadership training programs feature experiential learning so delegates can practice in simulations, live role-plays and real-life cases  demonstrating the situations they’re actually dealing with on their front line. The hands-on technique enhances memorization and impels individuals to put their learning into practice.

For instance, instead of just talking about how to resolve conflict, put leaders through simulated workplace conflicts of their own. This action helps them live, think and adjust their behavior in a risk-free space.

Step 2: Develop a Coaching Mindset

Today’s leadership programs now need to foster coaching into their leaders as a mindset. This includes, preparing leaders to develop teams with a curious, empathetic and supportive approach. A coaching culture leads to asking questions, listening well and bringing growth vs telling people what to do.

According to the International Coach Federation those organizations with a strong coaching culture experience a 70% improvement in staff engagement. Combining a coaching mindset with leadership training, organizations develop a more inclusive and growth-oriented workplace.

Step 3: Highlight the importance of relational leadership skills

Leadership today is fundamentally relational. Successful training programs must understand the interpersonal aspects of interactions, such as creating trust and cooperation and managing diversity. Supporting a team leader’s ability to connect with their team members in an authentic way can promote better teamwork and heightened performance.

Use constructs such as the Relational Leadership which refers to understanding interactions and constructing a genuine trust among team members. This approach encourages empowered employees, which results in better outcomes.

Step 4: Establish psychological safety

Innovation and growth depend on psychological safety. Leaders must feel comfortable with taking risks, raising concerns and sharing differing views. Leadership development programs should provide ways to build psychological safety in teams.

Use team-building activities to foster open lines of communication and risk taking. As leaders develop the capacity to provide a safe place for their team, they also open the path for better collaboration and innovative solutions.

Step 5: Cut to the Future: Commit to Continuous Development

The environment in which leaders function is constantly changing. Therefore, the development of a leader is not an event, it is a journey. Spend on follow-up sessions or ongoing learning, so leaders will actually implement what they’ve learned and continue to grow.

Help leaders identify personal development goals and find mentors. Delivering learning resources for continual learning supports an environment of growth and adaption — which is well-suited to present-day dynamic work.

In one multinational technology organisation, a team of middlemanagers participated in an executive coaching programme that targeted experiential learning and relational leadership skills. Over six months, respondents saw a 30% rise in team engagement scores and significantly better conflict resolution. “Coaching changed the way I approached things; I lead more collaboratively now and my team feel more empowered than ever,” one contributor reported.

Conclusion 

Effective leadership training programs are not just important for HR and L&D professionals; they’re also essential for building a stable, productive organisational culture. In going beyond models and adopting experiential learning, coaching mind-set and relational leadership capability, we can make leaders  and teams.

To know more options for leadership training that is customized to your company´s needs, take a look at our Leadership Training Catalogue or think about Executive Coaching as one of the tools to develop impact leadership today.

Let’s create a future where leaders and teams find it easier to play at their best and contribute all of their talents.