Organizations that invest in leadership training can retain employees and reduce costly recruitment expenses.

Quality leadership is a combination of the right qualities and the right training.

Why Leadership Training Is Worth Investing In

It is said that effective management has the biggest impact on business success. Managers set the tone for behavioral standards and role model the actions that their team members will follow.

Is your organization investing in Training and Development opportunities for your managers?

This means it is vital that your managers embody organizational values, live your business strategy, breathe your code of conduct, and lead like legends.

So, is your organization investing in Training and Development opportunities for your managers?

Management Training Epidemic

Unfortunately, many are not. One study found that employers with fewer than 100 employees provided only 12 minutes of manager training per 6-month period, and organizations with 100-500 employees provided only 6 minutes of training for the same time span. Another study found that only 52% of organizations trained their managers once a year or less.

Reality sets in when we review the impact of this lack of training. A report stated that less than a third of managers were perceived to be strong leaders by their teams, and, alarmingly, the other two-thirds were perceived to have weak leadership skills. What these statistics really indicate is a management training epidemic of grand proportions.

The Real Cost

It is likely that leadership training is skipped due to the assumption that at that level, employees should know what they are doing.

The issue is that many managers become isolated to what is really going on within their teams and insulated in their ways of doing things, often passing on bad habits to their team members.

A good (or bad) manager affects employee performance and satisfaction, productivity, efficiency, turnover, and the overall health of an organization. If your organization is in business to make a profit, it goes without saying that investing in training is a smart move, because good management doesn’t just happen.

Consider these questions:

1. What is the employee turnover rate in your organization?
2. How is employee engagement and overall organizational culture?
3. How willing are employees to go the extra mile?
4. Is your business consistently profitable?
5. What is your organization reputation?

If your answers are less than favorable, there could be a lack of strong, effective management and leadership in your organization. The good news is that a targeted, appropriate training strategy can set your business back on the road to success.

Many Happy Returns

It’s true and realistic that training takes time, energy, resources, and money. However, rather than focusing on training costs, it’s the return on investment and ability to influence lasting change that makes management training worth its weight, or perhaps we should say “wait” after reviewing the above statistics!

Ending the training famine for your leaders can provide many happy returns for your organization, including:

1. Increased business profits.
2. Increased productivity and efficiency of work teams.
3. Greater sense of accountability and responsibility among employees.
4. Improved employee engagement and job satisfaction.