Why Training Matters in Corporate Leadership Development

Leaders don’t just happen. Contrary to popular opinion, very few people are truly “born leaders.” If you want to rise up through the ranks, you need to work hard at developing the qualities of great leaders. Likewise, if you want to grow great leaders in your company, you’ll need to cultivate them, like a garden of prizewinning roses. Here are five important leadership traits and how to develop them.

1. A great leader engages in continuous process improvement.

   Steve Jobs didn’t just create the Mac and then sit back and relax. By the time the Mac hit the market, he was already at work on his next three innovative products. And continuous process improvement doesn’t just apply to products and services; it applies to people too. As a smart leader, you look for ways you can grow, and you motivate your team to do the same. You recognize that you are not perfect, and perfection is not your goal—growth is your goal. Ask yourself: How can I be a better manager this week than I was last week? How can I build a winning team? How can we improve the products and services we bring to the marketplace?

2. A great leader listens.

   You can’t hand down directives or issue orders from an ivory tower. Instead, you’ll listen creatively to what people are saying. You can use complaints as an opportunity to connect with people and work together on solutions. Keep in touch, always making sure your people feel comfortable discussing their questions or concerns.

3. A great leader conveys confidence.

   If you don’t believe in yourself, why would anyone want to follow you? Developing executive presence is the key to self-confidence. Are you seeking out high profile projects? Are you speaking up in meetings, and when you talk, do people listen? This concept is at the core of why training matters in corporate leadership development. Executive presence can be taught. Good coaching and training can help you identify and remove barriers that are keeping you from being the great leader that others want to follow.

4. A great leader gets the vision.

   Ordinary people have to-do lists. Great leaders have a five-year plan. Project plans and to-do lists are necessary to good organization, but as a leader, you also need to understand the big picture. Where is the company going? What’s the strategy for getting there? How do you fit into that strategy? How can you communicate the vision so that it inspires your people?

5. A great leader thinks critically.

   As a great leader, you don’t shoot from the hip—or the lip. You avoid pat answers and snap decisions and you don’t panic under pressure. Corporate leadership development trains you to dig deeper into what really matters. You’ll acquire a larger set of thinking tools so you can see a wider range of possibilities. You learn to problem-solve by identifying the source of the problem, brainstorming solutions, and implementing the best ideas. You’ll also be prepared to change course if your first idea isn’t working. A great leader keeps an open mind and an open door.

Corporate leadership development training is just the beginning. Here’s why it works and why it matters: you’ll start to make small changes that will lead to bigger changes. When you change your daily practice, you begin to change your mindset. Then you are better able to negotiate your way through conflict, complexity, and inevitable change. Leadership becomes who you are, not just what you do.