It is no secret that leadership development is key to the success of high-growth organizations. Indeed, $366 billion is spent globally on leadership training and yet, few such programs find success. This is because building effective leaders requires a high-touch, in-person effort aimed at honing soft skills. While the deeply personal nature of such training means there is no formula, the following four basic principles serve as powerful touchstones to ensure your program the greatest chance at success.
1. Context, context, context. Avoid the mistake of applying a one-size-fits-all program. Instead of investing in a leadership development program that offers a laundry list of insights, seek out a consultant that distills the needs of your organization down to two or three essential points. From there, work with individuals to incorporate these elements into their growth. Our program, for instance, dives deep, working with law firm leaders and their teams to get below the surface and discover what’s actually happening at your firm. Upon this basis we create a custom program that generates results for you and only you.
2. Stop reflecting, start applying. We suggest working with two or three essential, personalized points because any more is simply spinning your wheels. Once you’ve set a launching pad, get to work. All the sports theory in the world doesn’t make a better athlete if practice is lacking; the same is true of leadership. What works is best tested on the field. Once you decide where to start, the most important thing is, well, to start. Tie ideas to action is you want a leadership program with real impact.
3. Culture is king. Taking a hard look at the culture of your firm is the only way build a leadership training program that works. After all, without receptivity, revelations can’t occur. Put otherwise, you need to know what makes your key players tick. Take a quick detour and read our article about how to create an engaging law firm culture. In short, acknowledge your organization’s deep-rooted beliefs about how things work and subvert them: a successful leadership program drives change, and change starts from the inside.
4. Measure your success. How can you tell if your program is working? Quantifying soft skills is a challenge but you can find proof in the pudding. If you want to see the success of a leader, don’t look at her. Look at what her team is doing. A successful leader encourages the growth of new leaders. Looking at the growth of a leader’s team is an excellent measure of the leader’s own effectiveness. Our organization provides a program that offers measurable results within 10 weeks or less.
For a deeper discussion of this and related topics, and to learn more about our methodology, schedule a free discovery session with nationally-renowned leadership development expert Molly McGrath.
