“Hey,” I casually say to three friends at a recent gathering. “When I say I do leadership training, what do you think that means?”

A look of confusion comes across their face; not because the question is so far out of left field that Rickey Henderson couldn’t run it down in his prime, but because they genuinely don’t know how to answer it.

• “I guess you work on strategies to help businesses grow.”
• “Don’t you help leaders be more competent? Like with new employees and policy and that sort of thing?”
• “We did that once at my job. Some lady came in and told us how to talk to people. I don’t remember much of it but I thought it was good.”

Many executives, advisors, improvement committees, HR professionals, and front-line employees like the idea of leadership training, but they don’t specifically know what it entails. Is it coaching? Is it conflict resolution? Is it better onboarding for new employees? Is it value and mission statement creation? Is it productivity training? Is it ‘generations in the workplace’ training?

Yes. Yes. All of it, yes.

A good leadership development program helps your managers retain their best talent, hit targets with more efficiency, get more productivity out of the workforce, find personal balance, and drive towards greater success in a value-driven overall mission. Leadership is a skill that must be developed intentionally, and with an effective training program, your leaders can get on track with the development they need.

Because all organizations and cultures are different, no organization falls under a one-size-fix-all approach for leadership development. Although many great leadership principles are timeless, some environments need more emphasis on improving overall communication. Some need to guide leaders on effective ways to conduct difficult conversations with employees. Some need a jolt of momentum to spark energy into their culture.

Navigator knows this, so we take a four-step approach to establish your best possible leadership training program.

1. Assess

We seek to understand more about your organization through one-on-one conversations with leaders and employees, facilitating open discussions, and conducting surveys to discover what your workforce needs for improvement. If there is a specific underlying issue that’s causing damage to the culture, we must find that issue. First and foremost, seeking to understand is our highest priority.

2. Evaluate

We take everything we learn from the assessment period and outline the best possible solutions. In some cases, our leadership training courses may not be the highest priority. You may need mental health training, financial training, or compensation solutions. If that’s the case, we link you with the right partners to get your organization on the best possible track. No matter what you need, we give you the proper tools and resources.

3. Mastermind Team

Once everyone understands the primary objective based on the evaluation, we begin working exclusively with the highest leaders of the organization. In an open-discussion format, we discuss the program so they can relay what’s coming down the pipeline to other leaders, begin implementing resources and values, and create enthusiasm in the shifting culture.

4. Implement

This is where the fun and catalyst for true change occurs! Our Navigator coaches facilitate the training program through engaging conversations, role playing, thought-provoking stories, self-reflection, fun challenges, and exercises to help leaders thrive on their journey into improved leadership. We provide a vast array of resources to fit multiple learning styles, including books, podcasts, videos, and short articles.

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After we finish implementing the training to all leaders within the organization, we start anew with another assessment, evaluation, and Mastermind discussion to provide the next steps in the leadership development program. Our ultimate goal is to assist our clients by establishing ongoing training - continually creating a culture of growth and improvement.

“Leadership training” is about much more than attending a classroom and checking a box to make shareholders or executives happy. It’s about creating stronger cultures and stronger communities by developing one stronger leader at a time.

(This blog was written by Nick Sherwood for the Navigator Leadership Corporation. For more of Nick's work, visit ConquerAnythingBlog.com or read more blogs on the Navigator website.)