Leaders of today have all been invested in at some point. Someone else, at some point, made a decision to invest in them as individuals. Either with their time or financially. 

Let’s be honest. The benefits of leadership development training are not just about the leader being individually developed.  It's about all the other benefits that leadership development training can bring to employers and society when we get it right. 

Here are 10 benefits you should consider when you’re thinking of investing in leadership development training:

1. Nurture future leaders

Gone are the days when leaders are determined by who offers the most contributions in meetings or who stays late in the office. 

We’re getting better at identifying high potential talent, both with current employees and future employees. There are now sophisticated talent management tools that have evolved from the 9box processes to include a more holistic view of the skills, potential, demographic and personalities of our future leaders. 

Leadership development training allows employers to invest in those identified and really nurture them, from early career development through to senior executive level, in a thoughtful, more strategic way. This has the benefit of supporting career progression for the individual but also succession planning for the business. 

2. Retain employees

We often hear that ‘people leave managers, not organisations’ - but what people don’t realise is that people more often leave bad leaders rather than bad managers. 

Take a moment to think about who your best leader was. It was probably someone you trusted, who inspired you, who listened to you, who championed you. These are all techniques employees learn on leadership development programmes. These are the behaviors, not just the skills, which are often an important distinction between leadership and management. 

3. Increase employee engagement

Selecting people to be part of leadership development training can be particularly motivating, because current leaders - those making decisions - have decided that this specific employee is worth investing in. And if you’re that employee, you’re sure to feel valued by that.

Another benefit of leadership development training is that you actually learn how to give effective feedback and how to motivate those around you, which increases employee engagement for the wider organisation. 

4. Attract new and diverse talent

If you are known as a company who invests in people through leadership development programmes, then you are fostering a culture that people want to be part of. This supports your attraction strategy, as those in the labour market consistently cite training and development as one of their top 3 reasons for joining a company. Circl’s leadership development programme completely focuses on attracting diverse and underrepresented young adults into the workplace. 

5. Improve bottom-line financial performance

Financial performance will improve immensely if your selection of people for a leadership development programme is right. No doubt everyone will benefit individually, but it will be your leaders, managers and top performers who bring the most benefits. Those individuals who are ready to act and disseminate their learnings exponentially - they will really improve the company’s bottom line. 

6. Leaders make better decisions

Decision-making is a skill that you can learn through theory and practice in real-life situations. Leadership development training raises an individual’s awareness of what their current process is, and gives them emotional intelligence tools and frameworks to identify critical factors, evaluation options and risks. 

7. Implement an effective leadership style

One of the most important benefits from a leadership development programme is that the individual learns how to communicate more effectively. Understanding that their team and colleagues will all react differently to the same situation, and knowing how to lead effectively in those situations, are all down to communication. Being able to communicate and motivate across different styles, ages and cultures in an effective way is key to a great leadership style. 

8. Build effective work teams

Leadership development programmes can also benefit teams as well as individuals. If all the individuals in a team complete leadership development training together, they’ll learn and apply skills and behaviours specific to their team. Alternatively, individual learning skills can help unlock potential in their teammates post-programme. Teams that have effective leaders outperform others.

9. Prepare your employees for future growth

Whether it's internally within a company, or elsewhere in society, leadership development programmes don’t just teach individuals the skills they need right now. They also teach and practise behaviours that are useful in any role, and in wider life. Circl builds future leaders by connecting young people with more experienced leaders, so they are ready to become leaders within companies. Developing active listening skills supports both professional and personal relationships, which is a great side effect of leadership development programmes. 

10. Implement successful change-management strategies

We have moved on from VUCA times. We’re now in constant flux, and leadership development training means that our people are equipped with the skills, both soft and technical, to navigate through these times. What’s most important through change management is that we learn to manage these situations with empathy and humanity - skills and behaviours we need space and time to develop, and which we can achieve through a leadership development programme. 

Leadership development programmes are hugely beneficial to both the individuals that participate in them, but also to the wider organisation. To achieve this wider impact, identifying those who will benefit from participating in leadership development programmes is really important. You’re sure to see massive benefits from higher performing leaders and teams in your organisation.

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