Successful leadership development is a broad term. For starters, everyone measures success differently, and they define leadership differently. Regardless of the ambiguity, there are still core elements that help cultivate and establish a successful leadership development program.
Establish Goals
Consider starting the development program as a big group. During this initial stage, establish clear goals. Instruct everyone to write specifics, and then read them aloud. Some goals will be similar to others. Try and discover the main ideas or common themes with these goals so that it’s easier to tackle them.
Everyone should write two different goals: short-term and long-term. Differentiating the two helps them measure success. From these goals, they will figure out what level of leadership they wish to achieve.
Create Small Groups
After you’ve gotten everyone to establish their goals, break into smaller groups. It’s easier to evaluate everyone and makes participation easier. Trying to conduct this program with a larger group will leave people isolated, and areas of the process will remain uncovered.
Depending on the purpose of the leadership development program, you’ll need to effectively evaluate every participant. Some careers have more physical demands than others. If you happen to work in law enforcement, you’ll want to consider including a section dedicated to police officer physical ability tests. At Morris & McDaniel Inc., we have assessments to help with this very skill.
Utilize Experienced Instructors
During the breakout session, consider having experienced instructors lead. They say experience is the best teacher, and this gives everyone a chance to pass on some knowledge they were never privy to.
Ask the instructors to address the short-term and long-term goals and have the group brainstorm ideas on how they can achieve those goals. For their position in that profession, they may have an idea of how to achieve those goals, and the instructors can help them strategize with specifics.
Practice Effective Communication
It’s vital that during and after the sessions, you practice effective communication with the participants. This will further relay to them that great leaders communicate with their team regularly. Effective communication means a few different things:
- Open lines of communication
- Clear and concise dialogue
- Multiple platform options
- Continuous flow of questions
Always make sure members of your team can reach you and vice versa. Never mince words or assume people understand what you mean: Be clear and concise. Utilize multiple platforms if necessary, ask members what form they best respond to, and adhere to it. Always leave room for questions, and encourage them to constantly ask for clarification when needed.
The elements of a successful leadership development program all close out with the same goal in mind: progress. At Morris & McDaniel Inc., we want to help you achieve that. For more information, visit our website.