MOST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES DON’T WORK HERE’S THE MISSING LINK

When I started in the training industry over 20 years ago, I was doing programmes for school children. I adored them and all that I wanted was to get them to have fun and enjoy learning. I know I achieved that objective when, at the end of the programme, they'd complain loudly that the programme was too short and they didn't want to go home.

As the years went by, I began to notice shifts occurring. There was a shift from student training to corporate training. Then the shift from general training to specialising in leadership skills training. As the shifts occurred, I began to notice my objectives for training to also shift. From wanting them to just enjoy and have fun in the programme, I began to concern myself whether they learned new knowledge? Did they develop new skills? How are they implementing those new skills in their lives? How has the training impacted their lives and the organisations they work for? I began to develop a deep concern about the long-term impact of training on those who attended my training.