Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: If you’re seriously considering a leadership training program for yourself/your organization, you can look forward to spending roughly $50,000 per participant (Need proof? Here’s a link to one of Stanford’s Executive Leadership Development programs). If you’re going to throw-down that kind of investment in an individual, you’re definitely going to want to see solid returns in short order! However, time and again, leadership development program after leadership development program seems to come up short on those success metrics. Worse yet, employees who participate often depart the organization around 25% per year over the next five years. So why does leadership development fail so often? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what we at Tip of the Spear have identified as the number one (#1) reason… Enjoy!

The #1 Reason – It’s the Training

We’re not known at Tip of the Spear for beating around the bush, otherwise we’d be called The Handle Ventures or The Shaft Ventures (neither tested well in our marketing studies!) The number one (#1) reason leadership development fails is the training experience. Back in 2008 I wrote a then (and even now) controversial article that was published in about 100 magazines titled “Should You Fire Your Training Department?” At the time, I sat on the Board of Directors for a Chapter of the American Society of Training & Development (ASTD). With the ASTD’s recent rebranding to The Association for Talent Development (ATD?), I guess even they were trying to get away from the stigma associated with training in the modern business environment!

So What Went Wrong… You Like Training Don’t You?

If you’re like me, you probably attended a training session or two over your career. Believe me, while I was the “odd” one in the room that actually looked forward to the experience (I mean who doesn’t like to learn something new, right?), my peers were typically far from excited. So let’s start at the very beginning and say that Training typically involved people being herded to an event instead of volunteering. The act of having people participate against there will actually turned the events into more of a hostage scenario than a welcomed part of their individual development plan (You have an IDP, don’t you?)

Clouded Learning? It’s the Training & Trainers Fault!

Regardless of hostage/volunteer status of the participants, the only people that sometimes seemed less prepared for the training were the people that were actually instructing the course themselves! Bad visuals (read that as death by PowerPoint) accompanied by lousy presenters only exacerbates the training session. How many times since a training session (go ahead, pick a training session) can you actually recall what was put up on the screen, or what the trainer actually said that was supposed to propel you to a higher state? If you’re like me… and I’ve sat through nearly 1,000+ leadership development sessions, less than a handful of the time. Quite the leadership challenge!

It’s About Implementation/Execution/Action!

To top things off, I want you to look at your office bookshelf and tell me what you see? If you’re like one of our clients (before they started working with Tip of the Spear obviously), you see a bunch of books/binders from training sessions that are sitting their collecting dust. Now I know when you came back from the training session you had every intention of implementing what you action planned out. However, something happened… You came back from the session, put the books/binders up on the shelf… and business happened! That’s right, you went right back to doing what you’d always done the way you always had. So what did you go to training for again?

The Answer: Executive Coaching

When I set out to work with a few organizations back in the late 90’s, I was a little frustrated. I’d worked at a premier consulting firm that produced volumes of solid action plans. However, upon returning to the client organizations to determine implementation success I was often really disappointed. It wasn’t as though all of the wheels had fallen off the implementation vehicle, but at least 1 or 2 had (Read that as 1 or 2 too many!) I knew there had to be a better way, and it presented itself to me one afternoon when one of the participants in a leadership development session asked me if I could coach them… The clouded skies parted and the sun shined down… EUREKA! Just kidding, there was no divine intervention present or maybe there was. I began coaching the individual on implementation/execution/action on the action plan developed during the leadership development program conducted. The results were immediate and powerful! I tested the coaching model over the next year and found this fact: Results from those that experienced executive coaching versus those that did not resulted in 65% better results.

Summary

If you’re frustrated with your leadership development training program returning less than desired results, try adding executive coaching on at the conclusion to ensure that you achieve greater implementation/execution/action!

If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear’s Leadership Development program offerings, including those that incorporate The Leadership Challenge CLICK HERE.

The Point: Some times as a leader, you win by winning. However, we’ve recently seen that you can just a successfully win by losing (and lose by winning for that matter!) The attitude and feelings of employees determine if a leader has won the leadership challenge or not! So if you’re a leader looking to more fully engage your employees (or even yourself), you’re in the right spot! While leadership isn’t a popularity contest, it isn’t an “unpopularity” contest either… Enjoy!

Employees: The Greatest Asset or Just a Bunch of Asses?

Employees are the greatest asset of an organization and it is the effort of every company to utilize this asset to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. It is the responsibility of every manager, in a leadership position in the company, to make sure that the employees are satisfied. This in turn leads to high productivity for the organization.

Though it is a common concept that employees are the assigned workers of a company and should be directed/driven to achieve the organizational goals, it is no longer an effective idea. Employees, who are merely used to perform their appointed tasks and treated as a means to achieve an end, tend to grow dissatisfied of the company leadership.

It is the responsibility of the organizational leaders to make sure that the employees remain satisfied and do not learn to “hate the leader”! If the employees hate the leader, they will not be willing to perform their best, whereas if they feel that their leader values them, they will be willing to utilize their efforts to help in the achievement of organizational objectives.

Your Employees Might Hate You If…

It is significantly important for a leader to know whether their team members are satisfied and happy with the relationship they have with their leader or not. There are a number of indicators which highlight the employee attitude towards their leaders, and recognizing them is of great significance. Think of that recent employee engagement survey that Human Resources taughted as the “next best thing” to come out of their department. Or perhaps a 360 degree review which was completed on your behalf (and unbeknownst to you!)

I Don’t Get No Respect!

Rodney Dangerfield might have said it (though we doubt he said it first), but the saying might be a true feeling held by your associates. What if you don’t respect them? With no respect and dignity, employees cannot be induced to give high performance. Now that’s quite the leadership challenge!

Leadership = Baby Sitting (NOT!)

Another problem why employees tend to hate their leaders is that they know how to manage their own work and feel that the constant interruptions tend to disrupt their efforts. So the next time you put on your leadership-micromanagement hat, you might want to think again.

What’s My Motivation (or Recognition?)

An employee might also not feel satisfied if they do not receive due recognition for their efforts. Recognition can come in a variety of formats… Money, time off, announcement at the monthly department meeting, etc. Appreciation is a great motivating factor, and any leader who does not offer this basic need could be “hated” by their employees.

Whereas, Your Employees Might Love You If…… 

Employees might feel inspired and motivated to perform at their best, if they feel that their leaders take an interest in their personal career as well as organizational development. (Katcher, 2006) Employee training and development is one feature which prompts employee loyalty in a leader.

Employees who have confidence in their leaders to take the best and right decision for them, “love their leaders” and are willing to exert effort for them.

Does Employee Attitude Matter?

If an employee is contented and satisfied, it will have a positive impact on their productivity and motivation. Employee attitude has a great effect on company success, which makes it essential that a leader should inspire a positive response from their team members.

Summary

To ensure quality leadership and success in the leadership challenge, it is essential to keep employee feelings in consideration and thus ensure organizational success.

To learn more about Tip of the Spear Leadership Development offerings, including The Leadership Challenge, CLICK HERE.

The Point: We have a saying at Tip of the Spear that goes something like this… Leaders Lead! In other words, when it comes time to take on an initiative, as a leader you need to position yourself at the “tip” of the initiative. Learning to lead and adopting a leadership role, is both a responsibility and a challenge in life. Leadership development prepares individuals with a drive and urge to lead from the front… Enjoy!

While implementing leadership development programs to polish and hone the skills in the future leaders, along with a number of other essential factors, the art of leading is given significant importance.

Teaching leaders how to lead can be taught, but the drive and initiative to lead is something which is an innate capability of an individual, which inspires them to perform at their best. The motivating force and the inspiring factor, are unique for every leader, but usually involve some common elements which are found similar in good leaders.

Vision And Purpose 

A leader is prompted to lead when they have a unique vision that they want to share with their team members for the benefit of the company. Every leader has a unique concept and ideal vision for the achievement of a goal, and they lead from the front to successfully realize their aspired vision. This could also be a goal/vision shared through the corporate channel (Think how you might be better suited to share the company goals with your team).

A purpose in life is a great driving force which serves as an effective mode of inspiring an individual to adopt a leadership position. When an individual realizes their purpose in life, they are more than willing to lead from the front, and that is how leadership development progresses. (Conant)

Leadership development offers each leader with an opportunity to exercise an initiative and strive for the best.

Leading By Example

Good leaders are also prompted to act and take initiative, if they feel a need to lead their team members by example. The need to lead is prompted by the requirement of a responsible individual, who can inspire and motivate employees to perform at their maximum potential. Notice that I said “responsible individual” and know that you can infer that leadership is not for everyone!

Desire To Serve

Great leaders are also prompted to lead by their desire to serve their people. They utilize their efforts and talents, to provide convenience for their team, help them perform to their maximum potential, and encourage them to seek challenging tasks for their personal development.

Their desire to serve and take care of their team members proves to be the motivating force for them.

Urge To Make A Difference

Many leaders are motivated to lead, through the use of leadership development programs, which inspire and encourage their interest to lead. Development of leadership skills results in the urge to lead and make a difference by utilizing the skills and talents. So why do you do what you do as a leader? Is it fame? Is it glory? Could it be a bigger purpose?

Response To Challenges

Leaders are also inspired to lead when they encounter challenging situations and projects, which prompt them to take the lead and manage their team from the front. A natural and gifted leader acts as a responsible individual, who guides and instructs their team members, understand their limitations and encourage them to perform their best with the challenge at hand. While we’d love to say that all leadership moments happen in the “proactive” moment, we realize that there will be those moments when leaders find themselves/their teams squarely behind the 8-ball of business (or life!)

Leave A Legacy

Many leaders have a desire to leave a legacy which can be a source of inspiration and encouragement for others. Their desire to leave behind something worthwhile, and make a change for the better, prompts them to utilize their passion and talents, and conduct themselves in such a way that fellow workers are motivated to perform at their best. Unfortunately, and we see this way too often at Tip of the Spear, these legacy leaving moments don’t typically occur until a leader has experienced significant time on the job (So later in one’s career).

Summary

So here is the leadership challenge in a nutshell: Leaders need to lead from the front. However, just because you assume this pole-position doesn’t mean that all will be smooth sailing from there. Leadership development brings out and polishes the leadership skills of an individual, thus preparing them for a leadership role, whenever the need arises.

For more information on Tip of the Spear Leadership Development offerings, including our use of The Leadership Challenge, CLICK HERE.