One of the most important questions to ask when choosing and implementing leadership development programs is “How do our leaders like to learn?”. Even the most thoughtful, strategically focused leadership development program can miss the mark if participants don’t like the modalities. So, what are the best types of leadership training types for your leaders? Before anyone can answer that question, it’s important to understand why leadership training matters.

Why Leadership Training Type Matters

“To create a safe working environment” was how one senior leader responded when DDI asked why leadership development mattered to him. From there, the stories followed. Each leader described their personal experiences of mishaps, some resulting in people getting hurt and, in the most tragic circumstances, leading to loss of life. There was a clear connection to the program’s purpose, and leaders were emotionally connecting to it. The mission was about much more than completing some training. It was about changing the way people interacted with each other so that they could strengthen their safety culture and become a stronger, more focused leadership team. The company recognized their leaders set the tone, culture, and mindset for everything, particularly when it comes to safety. They launched their program in many areas around the world where leaders had little to no former leadership development training. DDI designed the program to deliver formal in-person training on-site, leveraging relevant leadership training courses and real scenarios. This allowed leaders to practice newly learned knowledge and skills and exchange feedback and personal experiences with each other. “To create a safe working environment” became the guiding principle for the program. And it made a big difference. Through building and practicing their interpersonal and leadership skills, the organization is starting to see change in strengthening a culture of putting safety first. Safety leadership is becoming a reality.

So, before diving into what or how your leaders should learn, make sure you connect to the why. From that why, you can create a thoughtful program that meets leaders how and where they like and want to learn. And then? It’s leadership nirvana! So, what are the best leadership training types?

The Best Leadership Training Types Leaders Actually Want

In the Global Leadership Forecast 2021 (GLF), we gathered input from 15,787 leaders and 2,102 HR professionals across 1,742 organizations worldwide. In this research, we asked what types of training leaders want most. First, good news! The engagement for learning is there. The research indicates leaders want more time to learn. On average, leaders report spending nearly 4.4 hours per week learning but would prefer to spend about 7.5 hours. Overall, leaders sought out two times more learning and development at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. In our HR profession, it can be daunting to decide among all the learning methods and modalities available. To help you to connect to your leaders, let’s explore their needs. What are the best leadership training types? When given a selection of learning methods, leaders desired these the most:

• External coaching

• Developmental assignments

• Assessments to diagnose leadership strengths

• Formal in-person training

How can each of these methods be effectively implemented? And how can you make a great, engaging leadership course? Find out by checking out DDI’s blog.