Don’t waste Money on Leadership Development

Developing leaders in business is both formal learning/training and also a deliberate talent management process. It is a cost of doing business. Want high performance? Educate leaders as to how to get it.

To that end, I have a modest proposal. If there is someone in a leadership role in your business (supervisor, manager, team leader, executive) that you are unwilling to invest in developing – get rid of them. Either they are lacking something essential or you have developed a perception that makes it impossible for them to succeed.

George Buckley, 3M CEO, said it better than I can in a May 17, 2009 interview with USA Today.

USA Q: In this economy, can companies afford the cost of leadership development?

A: Years ago, when I worked at Brunswick, I was asked, “George, it’s a tough time right now. Should we be spending money on training? What if these people leave the company? “My answer was, “What if we don’t, and they stay?”

Don’t Waste Money Developing Leaders; Nine Tips to Ensure You Don’t

We were a group of twelve top leaders who ran a 2000 employee manufacturing operation (heavy industry, dangerous jobs, toxic chemicals, heavy equipment). We were in a budget planning meeting and there was heated debate on the significant budget item for training. It was a big number and included operator skills training and management training for foremen, general foreman, shift managers, department managers and executives. The money guy claimed there was no tangible ROI. Others told stories of costly mistakes that would be eliminated by well- trained supervisors and managers.

The top boss was a big man and a commanding presence. After the debate had gone on too long, he stood. We all knew that when he stood it was time to shut up. He looked across the big mahogany table at each of us. In his deep voice this former Big 10 linebacker and WWII veteran slowly said, “Sometimes you do what is right simply because it is right. We aren’t stupid, yet here we’ve spent an hour arguing about whether or not we should teach people how to do what we need them to do to improve this business. We will do this because it is the right thing to do.”

There is more research on ROI of comprehensive leadership development now than there was then. Google “Leadership Development ROI” and you will get more validation than a CFO has time to read. Still, millions of dollars are wasted every year by businesses seeking a silver bullet to better leadership results. Follow these nine tips to make sure your investment isn’t wasted.

1. Get Clear:

What do you expect the leadership development program to accomplish? What will be different or improved in the business as a result? How will the specific learning be linked to the strategic plan and operational objectives?

2. Make learning specific to your business:

Program content and facilitation must be in the context of your business. That said, there are perspectives, skills and tools that we know are common to all High Performing Leaders. Focus on known best practices with facilitation and exercises specific to your business.

3. Set measurement and checkpoints:

This can be as simple as “reduce time in meetings by 30% by the end of 2009” or more complex such as “Improve cross-functional collaboration and decision making to eliminate costly mistakes.” Specific mistakes and their costs should be called out.

4. Select appropriate participants:

It’s a mid-west farm phrase with enduring value, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” Leadership training is not the tonic that turns a problem child into the valedictorian. It can, however, profoundly change lives and business results. Have a deliberate selection process to determine who plays.

5. Define executive involvement, support, participation:

The greatest results come from programs that start at the top. Ideally executives have adopted and demonstrate the perspectives, skills and tools of high performance. That is not necessarily reality. You get the best result when senior executives understand the content and actively support participants.

6. Require and audit application:

This is being done to improve business results, right? Require application of the learning. Deliver exercises pertinent to the business in all sessions. Ensure application to day-to-day work between sessions. Applied learning is essential to changed behavior and improved results.

7. Structure for cross-functional relationships:

This is a big value multiplier. Want to break down turf protection, eliminate cross- departmental barriers, stop costly miss-communication? The relationships built in learning sessions make it easier to get work done faster back on the job.

8. Acknowledge and appreciate participants:

An effective High Performance leadership development program can feel like graduate school to participants. It takes time. There is accountability to the business and the learning team. Give and get recognition for the investment and commitment.

9. Mentoring is a leaders accountability:

Competent leaders have a commitment to the growth of others. Teach leaders to be effective mentors and expect them to do it.

A Look in the Mirror

A few questions to ponder:

Would you work for you? Is the investment in your people appropriate to what you expect of them? In what ways do your expectations of improved performance align with your leadership of people to achieve them? How would spouses and significant others of your employees rate you as a leader?