HR Experts' Guide: Crafting Robust Leadership Development Initiatives for Management Personnel
Building strong leaders is more crucial than ever, especially in a decentralized workforce. Effectively managing teams is key to maintaining engagement, motivation, and productivity. Interestingly, Owl Labs' 2024 State of Hybrid Work study showed that having a supportive manager is the second-most sought-after job benefit, second only to compensation.
In light of this, HR leaders are prioritizing the development of robust leaders. These training programs equip leaders with the necessary skills in our fast-paced, tech-forward economy. Moreover, they can enhance corporate culture and bolster innovation.
Culture isn't merely about imbuing teams with organizational values. It's about emphasizing empathy in communication, conflict resolution, and diversity efforts. At my digital banking company, Alkami, we've created tailored development programs to upskill leaders and boost overall employee engagement.
Cultivating Successful Leaders
Successful leadership training programs are a mix of targeted training and strategic talent sourcing. They should value employees' career progression and provide opportunities within the company framework. When focusing on building competent leaders, it's essential to hone in on these four skill areas:
- Cultivating a Strategic Vision: Leaders excel at instilling a sense of purpose and unity in their teams, ensuring everyone works towards a common goal.
- Building Culture: Successful managers help define and execute shared values to foster team adoption and empowerment.
- Driving Positive Change: Effective leaders steer growth in projects and people, improving morale, inclusivity, and development.
- Delivering Results: Top-tier leaders know how to boost productivity and enhance outcomes to meet or surpass performance benchmarks.
While these skills are inherent in some individuals, effective training can sharpen and cultivate additional strengths. At Alkami, purpose-driven leadership training has improved customer service, client loyalty, and employee retention, and helped us identify areas for growth and optimize processes based on our team's needs.
Components of Leadership Training Programs
Leadership training programs can focus on various aspects, such as communication, problem-solving, and decision-making. They can also delve into conflict mitigation and resource management.
Effective leadership development should encompass the following:
- Fundamental Skills Development: Training programs allow leaders to hone essential skills like conflict resolution, adaptability, creativity, and strategic thinking.
- Collaborative Problem-Solving: Leaders are taught to communicate the need for change and action effectively with their team.
- Goal Setting and Personal Development: Leadership training helps establish benchmarks that define success for individuals and teams.
While general resources can be provided, tailored sessions at each level of leadership allow for specialized personal and professional development. Organizations may consider flexible, scalable, and repeatable training models for executives and C-suite leaders.
One-on-one training is essential for executive development, as it provides personalized guidance and addresses potential biases in training. Third-party coaching programs can offer impartial expertise and resources designed to meet specific corporate goals.
By adopting these strategies, organizations can establish robust leadership training programs that strengthen corporate culture and fuel innovation.
Julie Hoagland, our head of HR at Alkami, has been instrumental in prioritizing the development of robust leaders within our company. She believes that leadership training programs should not only focus on strategic vision and goal setting but also emphasize the importance of building culture, driving positive change, and delivering results.
To strengthen our leaders' adaptability and problem-solving skills, we've incorporated fundamental skills development into our training programs. This includes honing essential skills like conflict resolution, communication, adaptability, and strategic thinking.
Being a decentralized workforce, creditline requests can sometimes be challenging to manage. However, our leadership training programs have equipped our leaders with the necessary skills to adapt and make informed decisions, resulting in a decrease in the percentage of denied creditline requests.
