From prior research, we know that the prospect of leadership training provides an alternative to the typical Master of Business Administration (MBA). The Master of Science (MS) in leadership has capitalized on the leadership discipline. Yet, a complication comes about because of the extent that our knowledge about management and leadership has been extrapolated by scholars to draw upon new degree programs and dialogue that separates the two. As a result of recent events in America and throughout the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unforeseen flight to online learning, and the process of training has changed.

Hal Gregersen, a prominent scholar in executive leadership training, took his in-class executive leadership course online from the comfort of his home for the first time in 2020 during the U.S. quarantine mandated by the U.S. Government. Gregersen shows, by example, how leaders should operate in a post-Covid world. This complication is a concern because many formerly in-person leadership trainers have been taking somewhat of a backseat to online learning and now face an exodus out of the classroom. The course of action to address this concern entails a new mindset, one that is somewhat hybrid, offering leadership training that can be delivered in a variety of formats to support remote, hybrid and in-person learners.

This suggestions in this article offer promise for leadership education moving forward.

Improving The Effectiveness of Leadership Training

Scholars are culling through mountains of research along with decades of scholarship to try to arrive at a general theory of leadership. Unfortunately, some scholars and experts continue to criticize leadership training. There is plenty of room for improvement, because some leadership training programs lack focus. Rather than studying broad principles, many programs end up glorifying individual leaders.

Below are 10 guidelines that may enhance the effectiveness of leadership training:

1. Continue to combine project management, organizational training, and leadership training to ascertain a larger market share of the leadership development field using distance learning tools.
2. Bring more community leaders, professionals or retired experts into the learning environment to enhance the practical knowledge of future leaders.
3. Support corporate trainers with training and development as they attempt to make the transition from traditional classroom methods into remote learning environments.
4. Consider total quality management techniques such as Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) into the training agenda.
5. Bridge the gap between what employees learn (theory) and what they apply (practice).
6. Expand alliances with leaders across the business.
7. Select managers and employees that need leadership training and provide project-based programs those future leaders can engage in and learn from.
8. Consider a certification process to train future leaders so they can practice what they learn in actual organizational settings and become more credentialed with badges.
9. Develop a knowledge of the metrics involved with performance reviews and reports and work to improve their effectiveness.
10. Have future leaders work directly with the C-suite for a specified time period on a project that attempts to add value.

Applying these 10 suggestions may help to enhance leadership training. However, learning leaders will also have to find ways to cultivate and utilize the knowledge and expertise that each new or aspiring leader brings to the role.

Leadership trainers alike must identify wants, values, goals and end results for the new leader, then make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of everyone. Scholars will continue to crossover in discipline and work backward to create new models of leadership. For instance, the marketing model of AIDA: Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action will enhance enrollment and the desire to pursue leadership training.

The prospects for a leadership career today are more adventurous than ever before due to the continuous theoretical developments of the profession. From historical frameworks to the processes of today, new leadership challenges will continue to be present in our future, this is an exciting and rewarding time for the new leader. Embrace it!