5 Factors That Weaken Your Leadership Pipeline

Have you had a chance to download our new white paper, “Transforming Leadership Development Through Technology: A Strategic Imperative”?

We created this report when we saw that today’s change-filled business environment is making it increasingly difficult to cultivate the leaders that organizations need. Only 12% of companies report confidence in their bench of prepared future leaders, according to DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2023. 

What’s behind this crisis? Here are a few factors we’ve identified. Each is covered in more depth in the white paper. 

1.   Training Budgets Are Stretched Thin

There’s no question that leadership is valuable. But that value can come at a hefty cost. Executive coaching can run from $200 to $3,500 an hour, and the average length of a coaching engagement is nine months. Bringing a leadership trainer in for a class of 15-20 people also has a daily price tag in the thousands of dollars.

2.   Potential Leaders Get Overlooked

Because of those budget realities, organizations tend to limit leadership development to high performers and high potentials. That means we’re missing out on the skills and talents of countless other potential leaders.

3.   Employees Say They’re Too Busy

Time also gets in the way of leadership development. For busy professionals, finding room for training in their packed schedules is a tall order. In one survey, employees said they have only about 24 minutes for learning during a 40-hour week. That’s no surprise when we consider that 55% of workers say their jobs have gotten more intense and demanding.

4.   Distractions Take a Toll

But a lack of time isn’t the full story. Even if an employee manages to set aside an hour to take an online course, they may have trouble focusing on it for long. The average amount of time that people spend on any single event before being interrupted or task switching is about three minutes. Our attention spans are taking a beating: The average time we can pay attention to one screen is 47 seconds.

5.   The Forgetting Curve Is Real

Leadership development isn’t just about what employees learn. It’s about what they retain. You’ve probably heard about the “forgetting curve”: A week after training, those busy, distracted employees we’ve been talking about will remember only about 10% of what they learned. Why does this happen? Info just doesn’t stick in our minds if it’s not relevant to us or we can’t use it immediately.

Transform Your Approach to Leadership Development

If these problems are affecting leadership development at your organization, our white paper can be your roadmap to solving them and building a stronger leadership pipeline. In it, you’ll learn how technology now enables to do some pretty cool things:

• Create training that makes a real difference in just a few minutes.

• Make learning and development happen every day.

• Expand access to leadership development.

To learn more, get your free copy of “Transforming Leadership Development Through Technology: A Strategic Imperative.” We’re excited about all the possibilities that the tech revolution in L&D creates. And we think you will be, too. Check out our white paper, and then join the conversation about it on LinkedIn.

Don’t just spend big bucks on training. This is how leadership development can happen every day

Take a moment to think about the last leadership development experience you or your team had. How much really changed afterward? 

All too often, the answer to that question is “Not much.” 

Photo by Bakr Magrabi from Pexels

Companies spend a lot on leadership development—more than $80 billion annually. But they’re feeling some doubts about the ROI. Just 15% of L&D professionals rate their organization’s programs as highly effective. And only about a quarter of companies say their leadership development training is valuable and up-to-date. 

As someone who’s worked in this space a long time, I hate hearing figures like these, because they represent missed opportunities. I can tell you firsthand that when leadership development training does work, it delivers payoffs in employee engagement, retention, productivity, performance, and well-being. 

But amid all the options, how do you choose one that will create real change in your organization? Here are a few things to keep in mind. 

Look beyond the surface 

When researchers interviewed HR executives about how they select leadership development programs, most said they were influenced by factors that ultimately are superficial, such as a snazzy website or charismatic instructors. 

Both of those things are great to have, of course. But they shouldn’t be the main influences on your decision. All the bells and whistles in the world won’t make much of a difference if the program doesn’t address the needs of your organization’s leaders with relevant content that’s delivered effectively.

Expand access to development 

For a long time, we’ve thought that the ROI of leadership development depends on choosing the “right” people (high performers and high potentials) to take part. But that thinking is now dated. As companies flatten their hierarchies and worry over the state of their leadership pipelines, it’s clear that we need more leaders, not fewer. And providing leadership development to more of your people can help identify more of those future leaders. Another way to think about this is to consider what an employee has the potential to do—not just what they’ve already done—when deciding who gets leadership development. 

Right now, you may think all of this sounds good, but what about your (probably shrinking) training budget? I don’t want to minimize this concern, but I am also heartened by the rapid innovation in L&D technology that can help make leadership development more affordable and scalable. 

Bring learning into everyday work 

Think about the important lessons that have really stuck with you in your own life. I’m betting you learned those lessons through experiences, not just reading a textbook, listening to a talk, or watching a video. Leadership development works the same way. Choose programs that provide practical experience in using new skills. If you already have a leadership development program, look for ways to integrate the content into employees’ daily experiences. For example, managers and reports could talk about topics from the program in their one-on-ones. 

Promoting “growth in the flow of work” is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your leadership development programs make a real impact. Companies that take this approach are four times more likely to be successful innovators and more than five times more likely to engage and retain employees. 

Combine learning with connection 

One of my favorite ways to magnify the impact of leadership development training is by making learning a group pursuit instead of a solo one. During my experiences facilitating and coaching employee groups, I’ve seen participants feel more accountability around implementing what they are learning. 

A group approach can also increase the relevance of training. For example, a newer employee might not know how to apply a lesson from the program in your organization. A more experienced colleague can help that employee understand the connection between what they’re learning and your company’s business goals. 

I hope these ideas will take some of the overwhelm out of choosing leadership development programs and help you obtain a stronger return on your investment. As you explore the options, look beyond the surface to find a solution that aligns with your culture, challenges, and goals. Your leaders—and your company’s future—are worth the effort. 

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.