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No one disputes the value of hiring well. Companies that invest in a hiring process that is thorough, considered, and un-rushed are far less likely to experience the heartbreak (and expense) that comes from a poor hiring decision.

Bad hiring decisions can set entire companies back in terms of progress.

While hiring the right people is absolutely essential to take your organization in the direction you need it to go, good hiring alone isn’t enough to ensure this. An executive floor full of the “best and brightest” can wreak havoc if all those bright people have different goals or different interpretations of organizational goals.

Leadership training programs make sense for every organization, including (and perhaps especially) organizations that are meticulous about hiring. Here’s why.

Dangers of Untrained or Undertrained Leaders

Before motorized transportation and air travel, people who lived in arctic areas depended on sled dogs to help with transportation. Dogs were chosen for characteristics like strength, stamina, and speed, with efficient gaits. A trained sled team develops an almost mythical ability to “read” the direction and speed of the team, and as a result, the entire team moves together with great fluidity as a unit.

But what if those strong, fast, efficient animals all went in whichever direction they pleased? At worst the result would be chaos, and at best, you’d reach your destination far more inefficiently. Upper leadership at a corporation is analogous. When everyone understands the direction and has their goals aligned, you’ll “get there” far more efficiently than when they don’t.

Hallmarks of Great Leadership Training Programs

Leadership training programs aren’t all alike, nor should they be. But they have things in common that allow them to help organizations’ top leadership work together for the benefit of the organization, its workers, and their own goals. Look for leadership training programs that do the following:

  • They should develop a leadership attitude amongst top leaders
  • They should deliver training in the proper context of your organization (your industry, size, location, culture, etc.)
  • They should encourage a culture of learning and continuous development
  • They should help leaders know when and how to delegate
  • They should help leaders improve their emotional intelligence

When these elements are in place, only then can you have a leadership team that knows how to work together to take the organization not a higher level of functioning.

Leadership training programs are worthwhile even in highly competent teams.

Leadership Is a Skill That Must Be Practiced

Some people may come across as “born leaders,” and there’s no denying that some people take to leadership roles more readily than others. However, leadership is a skill that must be developed, used, and practiced just like any other. Furthermore, there’s no single style of leadership that is “best.” Rather, great leadership teams are usually composed of leaders with differing, but complementary leadership styles.

Leadership training programs are a great investment for any organization with ambition, and they may be the best possible investment for organizations that strive to hire only the best, because they can help these great performers perform even better.

Leadership coaching as a follow-up to leadership training programs helps ensure that each individual leader understands their potential, their strengths, and their weaknesses, and knows how to address skills gaps and build upon their strengths so they can lead their teams to the greatest possible accomplishments.

Hiring well is table stakes in today’s world of business. You’re expected to hire the right people. More than that, however, you’re expected to equip your top leadership with the skills and resources they need to take your business to its peak level of performance. Leadership training programs are designed to facilitate this. And when leadership coaching is provided to top leaders, the potential for your company becomes seemingly unlimited.

If talent leadership and peak performance are interests of yours, I invite you to check out my books, all of which delve into important aspects of organizational excellence, such as talent leadership, cultural transformation, executive coaching, performance management, and succession planning.

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