Common Learning & Leadership Development Programs Pitfalls

Professional learning and leadership development programs are a necessity for successful businesses, and they are big business! Companies spent over $87.6 billion in 2018 on corporate training and development programs.

That’s more than the annual revenue of Dell in 2021. Without clear development or learning opportunities, high-performing employees are likely to look for growth elsewhere. To keep your most valued talent, you need to provide them with something more.

Yet, during the Covid years, training allocations decreased. According to Training Magazine’s 2021 Training Industry Report, in 2021, the average company in the U.S. spent $1071 per employee on training costs. A drop of $40 less per person compared to 2020 after expenditures for training had been on the rise for three decades. Of course, there could be multiple causes of the downslope.

Learning and development opportunities create highly productive work environments as part of greater investment in leadership development. They improve communication between peers and departments and open up areas for additional growth and new ideas.

But they also can be costly trials that don’t measure up. Stand-alone training won’t do. Learning and development isn’t just a “check it off the list” type of activity. Your business, company, and culture will dictate how your learning and development efforts fit your needs. Avoid these common pitfalls:

Invest and Forget

The most common pitfall is not in learning and leadership development programs themselves but in what happens after implementation. There is generally little follow-up to keep employees applying the concepts they’ve learned in a course or class. If your company culture doesn’t encourage weaving lessons learned into the fabric of your business, that learning will likely be lost.

Musical Chairs

Many companies look at learning and development as a quick fix. They expect overnight success because they invested heavily and want to see their investment pay off. When it doesn’t immediately show dividends, they turn to the next shiny object–or, in this case–program.

A successful learning and development program should be part of your strategic plan. Before selecting a learning or development program, discuss expected results with your leadership advisor. Performing due diligence before you decide to work with a leadership consultant can help you avoid hiring the wrong advisor to begin with. The right consultant will tell you that learning and development programs are ongoing, not one and done.

Don’t play musical chairs with professional development. If you take the time to find the right one, consider it a long-term investment.

Silos or the Three Ring Circus

Another common problem with learning programs occurs when each department is on a different program, and no one knows what the other is doing. Have you ever been to an old-fashioned circus where there’s something different going on in each ring? While these events can be very exciting, it can be difficult to fully grasp all that’s happening. All the performers are doing their own thing and not paying attention to one another, nor are they joining their efforts in any way. Exciting but not a good way to run a business.

Silos, where departments have individual development or learning programs, will compound any communication issues and exacerbate problems delivering value to the customer. A leadership development program should be organization-wide and enhance company culture. All leaders should be part of what is being rolled out and know what their role is. Senior leadership or HR should not have the only full view.

Lost in Translation

Application is yet another common pitfall. Employees may learn incredible efficiencies and leadership skills, but not directly applying what they gained will likely make those improvements short-lived. According to leadership expert Steve Glaveski, only 12% of employees use what they’ve learned in these types of programs in their job. The only way to ensure leadership learning and development efforts are successful is for leaders to take lessons learned and opportunities revealed and tie them directly to what happens next.

Learning & Development Efforts Enhance Leadership Development

Liddell Consulting Group partners with organizations to define leadership development programs that align with your organizational goals, culture, and long-range strategy. Our experienced perspective provides clear steps to measurable results. Contact us today.