Leadership Training

Everyone can benefit from leadership training. Leadership is not just a skill that can be acquired but a crucial behaviour, a shift of mindset. Leadership insight must be instilled in an individual right from the beginning of their professional journey. The training and discipline required to inspire the growth mindset needs continuous efforts towards training and coaching of certain leadership traits . When individuals seek leadership training, it helps them become better leaders and professionals. They acquire skills like
building trust, managing time, communicating effectively, and influencing people. These are some of the aspects that play a key role in growth. Leadership isn’t just about managing a team. You could be an individual contributor or a part of a team and still lead. It is your perspective that sets you apart. So, leadership training can benefit all – a corporate employee, someone associated with the NGO, or someone in the social sector can benefit massively, irrespective of their level.

Leadership training focuses on two key aspects from the evolution perspectuve – shortterm goals and long-term goals. Short-term goals look at the immediate requirement, changes that can be bright about probably within the next six months, while long-term goals build an impact over the course of the next 2-3 years. Some of the skills that are a part of the short-term goals include the art of influencing people, building professional relationships with stakeholders, building gravitas, and learning to adapt a result-focused approach. However, long-term goals are designed to help individuals evolve into a better version. From learning and unlearning to reorienting the organisational goals and building a culture that employees want to be in are a part of the long-term goals. Some organisations can have a mix of both models and mix and
match depending upon the priorities.

Every individual’s needs are different when it comes to leadership training. The first step is to introspect on what you are seeking. There are two ways to clarify this: conduct your research, analyse your goals and pick a coach. The other way is to get on a discovery call with a coach after you have matched the coach’s basic requirements is by looking into their website. It is important to remember that any good coach with a decent track record, will not agree to a free counselling session. Hence, it is important to conduct thorough research before you bring them aboard as a coach. The challenge is that most individuals seeking coaching fail to conduct detailed research about the
coach. Often when they receive a call from the coach, they lack a clear context of what was their enquiry about. It tramples the image of the person seeking help. When planning to take coaching, individuals should be serious from day one. The question you should ask is “How can the coach do support your objectives ” ? When seeking help on what training is right for you, it is best to be honest and open.

The effectiveness of the training is based on the KPIs agreed upon by both parties. These KPIs need to be set after the discovery call, depending on what it is the individual is looking to achieve from the coaching – both short-term and long-term. It is important to note that the relationship between an individual seeking leadership training and the coach is based on trust. The coachee should take the journey seriously and be accountable to hold up his end of the bargain in terms of the goals to be achieved. To analyze if the engagement is working or not, it is the KPIs that you should seek. What is important in the process is to put efforts that take you on the path of guaranteeing results.

The method every coach adapts and the one that suits the coachee varies to a high degree. When the coachee and the coach agree upon the specific KPIs, the coachee should focus on improving their attitude and aptitude. The goal is to move ahead and perform better than when you started. And while the coach is accountable to a certain degree and in certain areas, it is the coachee who holds the major responsibility to implement the actions.

The main goal of leadership coaching is to help an individual become better and grow in the parameters that they are willing to. The goals that need to be set depend upon the personal and professional goals of the coachee. The main goal, although, is to enable the coachee to become accountable for their own growth and success.

Yes, leadership coaching is 100% confidential. However, confidentiality has to be maintained by both parties.

The duration of the coaching is dependent upon the degree of evolution that the leaders are looking for. For some organizations, it is just a one-time thing where the coach paves the path and helps set the direction for the leaders and then it is done. For others, it is an ongoing practice. The longer an individual is associated with the coach, the better the results are in terms of evolution. In ongoing leadership coaching, individuals get deeper insights that help them at every stage of their profession. For example, an individual seeks coaching at a junior manager level. The skills and degree of evolution they would need when reaching the C-suite level are different and guidance at all stages is extremely important.

While a mentor is someone who is a subject matter expert, a coach gives a broad vision of the techniques and skills needed for holistic growth. In coaching, there is a process set that is agreed upon and goals that are chased. Mentoring is more about polishing technical skills. For example, a coach who has trained leaders in sports can help individuals in the IT sector. Coaching is aimed at overall development and making space for the leaders to explore, experience, understand, introspect, and grow. While the mentor can be prescriptive because of their in-depth knowledge of the subject, a coach is always subjective. They might not have the technical skills, they are instrumental in helping leaders gain skills that prove them as leaders.

Leadership training programs make space for holistic growth. It helps in building selfawareness, validating ideas that might run through your mind, and creating fresh perspectives. Coaching also gives you a neutral entity that would not disregard your opinions and emotions based on bias. Many people consider discussing their doubts and concerns with someone who is not from the organization and has no intent of sabotaging them. The experience and expertise that coaches come with also help instill a sense of confidence among the coachees. Being confidential, coaching is also a safe space for many people dealing with complex professional issues.

While the topic to be included depends mostly on the leaders, some of the most common topics include becoming successful in business, developing abilities to influence people, becoming a better people person, building higher levels of collaboration, and evolution of professional character.