The formal structure of traditional corporate leadership development programs rarely fits today’s leaner organizational culture. It’s simply not practical for smaller companies and startups to send their managers away for a week of classes on a regular basis. And many smaller companies simply don’t have the finances to support such an endeavor in the first place.

But, given the benefits of nurturing leadership skills, it’s work creating a not-so-formal leadership development program.

In this article, we’ll discover:

• Why leadership development is worthwhile
• The difference between skills training and leadership development
• How to determine who needs leadership development
• Approaches to delivering training

Now, let’s get started.

Why leadership development is worth your time

Think it’s too expensive? Consider this: Without a few up-and-comers in the wings, you’ll have to go out and find people with the right skill sets, which ultimately may be more expensive and time-consuming than growing your talent in-house to be ready for when they’re needed.

That’s right – leadership development can be a part of your succession planning endeavors.

An employee with a diverse skill set has a greater ability to solve problems, build teams and improve productivity – all benefits to your company. Plus, developing current employees demonstrates that you value them, which increases loyalty and employee retention.

Skills training vs. leadership development

Many managers think first of technical skills when considering staff training. Leadership development is beyond that.

Yes, you may need to send Samantha to an Excel class so she can learn to make pivot tables. But to really get long-term value out of Samantha, you need her to develop into an organizational leader.

The key interpersonal skills that your leadership team must have are:

• Team building
• Coaching and visioning
• Negotiation
• Conflict resolution
• Communication

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