The following Tuesday's Top 10 Strategies are brought to you in conjunction with our partner, PPS International: It is a universal law: there are always more training needs than time and money to address them. Some decisions about where to invest are easier than others -- for instance, we must invest in training that is mandated by law. But what about the more difficult decisions? When you need to prioritize your development investment, one role yields a cascade of returns--that of the leader. When we invest to develop leaders, it affects the performance nearly every member of our workforce. What should you consider to be the "must have" components for successful development of leaders that gets your "return"? Here are ten components we believe are critical to leadership development success: 1. Work from a success profile; leaders need a picture of success to focus their efforts. 2. Include a way for leaders to gauge their skill sets and abilities -- an assessment or feedback process helps this. 3. Pay attention to how you "install" the training; the way you communicate and structure participation sets the expectation for leaders. 4. Involve leaders' direct supervisors in the learning; this show of support demonstrates learning importance. 5. Involve leaders' direct reports in the process; direct reports are the people who feel the result of leadership improvement. 6. Teach skills more than concept and theory. 7. Use real-life scenarios to practice skills. 8. Include motivational components -- leaders must "pick themselves up" again and again in order to perform. 9. Layer simpler learning activities with more complex scenarios; this iterative process of development improves retention. 10. Provide transition support after formal activities; this reduces loss of skill. Let's discuss. … [Read more...]