A lot of effort, time, money, and attention go into developing leadership training programs, retreats, classes, webinars, and other formal learning opportunities.<\/p>\n
Program designers usually focus on meeting the learning needs of participants and aligning content with corporate strategy and goals. And they should.<\/p>\n
But what happens before and after those formal programs has a major impact on the return on training investment \u2014\u00a0and could be the key to ensuring success: boss support.<\/strong><\/p>\n Our research on what makes leadership development programs successful has found that people who have support from their bosses get significantly more out of these types of training. In fact, it\u2019s the primary predictor of a leadership development program\u2019s success.<\/p>\n When bosses are more engaged and actively show clear support of their direct reports\u2019 development, participants report they get more value from the training.<\/strong><\/p>\n To better understand a supervisor\u2019s impact on their participants\u2019 success, we conducted a research study<\/a>. Our findings revealed that when bosses are involved and supportive of training, participants experience the following outcomes:<\/p>\n We also found that greater boss support drives better organizational outcomes. The data show that bosses rated most leaders participating in our\u00a0Leadership Development Program (LDP)\u00ae<\/a>\u00a0with high marks for organizational impact:<\/p>\n Although the average impact of the program was high,\u00a0leaders who exhibited the most change in key leadership parameters were more likely to have strong support from their bosses<\/strong>. Those who exhibited no change after their leadership course were more likely to lack boss support. For example, there was a 16% gap in boss support between leaders who made significant improvements in their organizational effectiveness and those who made no improvement. There were similar gaps of 8% and 13% in empowerment and management capabilities, respectively.<\/p>\n So bosses can literally make \u2014 or break \u2014 the effectiveness of an organization\u2019s leadership development program.<\/p>\n So, are your direct reports preparing to take part in an in-person or virtual leadership development program<\/a>?<\/p>\n If so, plan to have a couple of conversations with them. Meeting with your employees both before and after they attend a leadership training program is a great way to maximize their success and communicate your buy-in. It needn\u2019t require a large investment of your time, but it helps convey you\u2019re a supportive boss and adds considerable accountability to the process.<\/p>\n These types of conversations can happen in person, of course, but can be just as effective if they happen remotely. (Just keep in mind\u00a0how to craft your persona for effective virtual communication<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Ideally, participants would take a 360-degree feedback evaluation tool, like one of our Benchmarks\u00ae 360 assessments<\/a>, that includes input from their boss, which provides further fuel for the leadership development experience. At this stage, a supportive boss will also help their direct reports choose a strategic challenge to work on during or after the program.<\/p>\n During your pre-meeting, plan to ask questions for 20% of the meeting and then listen to each direct report\u2019s responses for the remaining 80% of the time.<\/strong> Don\u2019t feel like you need to memorize these questions \u2014 we recommend that you have the questions and topics you plan to cover in front of you. It will keep the conversation flowing and can serve as a checklist.<\/p>\n Before your conversation ends, schedule a follow-up meeting for after they complete their development program. This will help ensure that a follow-up discussion occurs, and it also lets your direct reports know that they have boss support, that you\u2019re committed to their success, and that you\u2019ll be checking in again after the training is complete.<\/p>\n Once your direct reports are done with leadership training, your goal is to help them turn their learning into action items. After all, the new insights and skills gained in a leadership development program are only valuable if they\u2019re applied.<\/p>\n After the program, participants ideally would apply their new skills and insights to the strategic challenge they agreed to with their bosses during the preparation phase. In addition, organizations can provide resources to the bosses of program participants so they understand what the participant learned and how to support ongoing development.<\/p>\n The post-training meeting reinforces boss support for development and creates an opportunity for direct reports to publicly commit to personal goals and allows them to capitalize on their enthusiasm coming out of the training before too much time passes and their interest wanes.<\/p>\n Similar to the pre-meeting, we recommend that bosses spend 20% of the meeting talking \u2014 mostly asking questions \u2014 and 80% of the time in active listening and coaching mode<\/a>. Again, some good questions to ask are outlined below.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s some overlap between these questions and the topics you covered in the pre-meeting, which is intentional. The first meeting sets the tone and helps prepare your direct reports, while the follow-up is designed to see it through and reiterate your support. You can even turn it into a coaching conversation<\/a>, reinforcing lessons learned and helping your employees take responsibility for their actions and their development. This is sure to help them see you as a supportive boss.<\/p>\n If your post-training meeting comes fairly soon after the training, you\u2019ll be able to help your direct reports focus on applying what they learned and execute a plan that will make their training \u2014 and your time \u2014 well worth it.<\/p>\n\n
Boss Support for Development Drives Better Organizational Outcomes<\/h2>\n
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How to Be a Supportive Boss Before & After Your Direct Reports\u2019 Training<\/h2>\n
Before<\/em> the Training: How to Be a Supportive Boss<\/h3>\n
5 Questions to Ask Employees Before Training<\/h4>\n
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After<\/em> the Training: How to Be a Supportive Boss<\/h3>\n
5 Questions to Ask Employees After Training<\/h4>\n
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Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n