Info Series: Training the Leader

My conversations with leaders often focus on training. Lately, they indicate a need to change the focus of training the leader from the traditional leader-centric philosophy to one of engagement, interaction, and collaboration. This creates an atmosphere where leaders and those they lead have equal opportunities to affect the leader-follower relationship.

Over the last 2 years, I have taken a closer look at leadership training for various education and business projects. The analysis suggests that a lot of training courses, regardless of type (i.e., prescriptive, elective, etc.) is rooted in an authoritative approach. This approach shows the predominance of leadership styles expected and/or taught are dictated and driven by the leader/supervisor.  Likewise, these styles are steeped in the expectation that the leader/supervisor can define his/her level of feedback, with little to no emotional investment involved with subordinates. In addition, this approach suggests that the success of the leader/supervisor-follower relationship is the lone responsibility of the leader/supervisor. 

I say this thinking has some flaws, and this style of training misses the mark. The flaws can limit maximizing the interactive engagement in an effective leader/supervisor-follower relationship. Instead, what is perpetuated is a “disengaged” relationship in the work environment, a lack of understanding between leader/supervisor-follower teams, and poor collaboration toward meeting a desired end state.

My continuing research, led me to “Training the Leader Trajectory: Focusing on People, Empathy, and Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the Workplace.” Achieve an equitable work culture where all members, regardless of their role, have equal participation and decision-making ability in the operations and culture of the organization. This ensures that emotions and empathy are inherent to the leadership style. Then, feedback is encouraged and expected of all parties, all parties can become emotionally invested in their efforts, and everyone strives toward greater collaboration and teamwork.

I am excited about how this is developing. Please let me know if you would like to know more about my approach to leader training.