COVID-19: The Impact on Leadership Development
Never before has leadership been tested in such a universal way; COVID has not stopped at brand, finances, revenues, marketing, product, industry or employee engagement. But what it has done, is put a huge spotlight on leadership teams. Now more than ever, investing in leadership programming is crucial. When looking for a leadership development program, look the following key components for the best experience.
Over the last few months, we learned that it turns out many “leaders” were only that in title. When the title was taken for granted, leadership in the face of adversity hasn’t always stood the test.
Like fitness, leadership is a muscle that needs to be worked on; it needs to be strengthened, stretched, and pushed. But admittedly not all leadership programs are the same. And now as many Leadership Development courses have moved towards online learning, it’s critical that course practitioners pivot to give your team members the best experience possible.
Consider these factors when selecting your leadership program:
- Experiential – this means that the course doesn’t promise to teach you something in a few hours or a day. To get the most out of leadership training, it should be spread out over a course of time. The learners should have time to try out the theory and report back. This allows time to practice and truly form new habits.
- Self-Awareness – We encourage your leaders to know where they are today and support them in identifying areas where they need to go. Through feedback at the beginning, middle and end of the program, there should be an opportunity for leaders to gain insight into their behaviours and get really clear on how they are showing up.
- Coaching – While most leadership development has an element of coaching, ensure that the facilitator invests themselves (or a partner) 1:1 in addition to being with the group. While group learning is great, we find that leaders truly are able to grasp the concepts when also provided opportunities to explore one on one.
- Partnership – The Facilitator shouldn’t just operate from a canned approach. Instead, working alongside you as the key stakeholder they should work to customize certain elements that are of greatest need or could have the greatest impact.
At Elevated, we have built our Essentials for Leadership program with these principles in mind. Our course is a minimum of 21 hours, which includes a combination of classroom learning, homework and coaching. It’s not just about concepts, but true practice. Held online weekly or bi-weekly, participants get to learn with other people from different organizations, meet 1:1 with the facilitator, engage in a 360 and last but not least, consciously commit to forming new habits and getting real time feedback along the journey.
This is the time to invest in your leadership development program. Afterall, it’s in times like these that they are most tested and could utilize the most support. Our next session starts on October 6, 2020 and qualifies for the Canada Alberta Job Grant.
For more information on how you can advance your leadership team contact:
Rebecca Wood
Chief Experience Officer
(587) 832-6502
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