leadership development workshops – a guide to making sense of it all
TRANSCRIPT
Leadership Development Workshops – A Guide to Making Sense of It All
The world of leadership development is a crazy industry. It is as big as it is confusing. Different entities and trainers take up
different approaches to the task, and not any one of them can actually guarantee or quantify the results expected from a
particular session. Having said that, this industry plays a pivotal role in creating smart employees that can actually take your
organization to the top of your market niche, and you cannot deny its importance. Leadership development workshops should
therefore be chosen with the utmost care so that the amount of money and time you are investing in creating a motivated and
skilled work force doesn’t actually go to waste.
First off, a health warning. Leadership development covers a range of learning methods, the best of which are designed to help
you to build on the leadership skills and qualities that you already possess. This article will help you in decoding some of these
diverse training methods, and help you to choose a leadership development workshop that will suit the specific HR needs of
your organization.
Group versus Individual development
There is a vast range of leadership development programs that focus on group as well as individual skill building. An
organization will require employees who know how to take the initiative in a group setting as well as who know how to lead a
team on an individual level. Individual development covers one-on-one coaching and self-development activities (eg. reading,
workbooks, e-learning). On the other hand, group workshops require the use of collective activities and the creation of
scenarios where every participant contributes to the overall achievement and success of the team. These group contributions
are stimulated through well-designed games and activities that allow participants to contribute to the exercise in their own
specific way. In my opinion, a mix of both is necessary for an overall successful HR development regimen, but choose the
elements that are focused on your needs rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Academic versus Experiential learning
This question happens to spark a debate amongst most leadership development mentors. Those who follow a traditional
philosophy, often choose a classroom approach to imparting the management skills they are looking to teach. The
contemporary practitioners of the art take a more novel approach and use experiential learning as a means for helping
participants to understand the importance of team building and leadership roles. My recommendation is to think carefully
about what you want and how you learn best. If you want to develop practical skills - opt for a vocational program. If you want
to understand the theoretical basis of leadership first, look for a suitable academic course of study.
No matter what approach you select to achieve your goal, the end result will always be a team of skilled, energized and
motivated employees who are all geared up to work towards the growth of the organization as a whole. And that is an
achievement worth putting in the effort for.
In case you are looking for more information on leadership development workshops, be sure to visit Mindfulsolutions.net.