Imagine you’re sitting at a potter’s wheel. In your mind’s eye, you can see exactly what you want to create — a beautiful vase or a striking lampshade. On the wheel head in front of you, however, there’s nothing except a large lump of clay.

Your company’s training and development opportunities are what gets the potter’s wheel spinning. They are the force that keeps pushing your company forward, and their momentum is a large part of what shapes the clay in front of you.

That said, you can’t simply start the wheel spinning and expect to get exactly what you want. A skilled ceramist knows you need to use your hands to guide the clay to its final shape. Likewise, a successful leader knows that you have to apply direct guidance to training and development opportunities in order to end up with the working culture you want.

But how do you do it? How do you guide your organization’s training and development without getting in the way of its progressive mission? After decades of working one-on-one with highly successful executives, these are the four ways I tell leaders to support the influence of their company’s training and development opportunities.

1. Don’t force anything.

Gardening can be a fickle hobby, and farming can be a fickle profession. Why? Because you can’t completely control the outcome. Of course, the weather is an unpredictable factor, but even seed germination isn’t entirely within your control. You can prepare an ideal environment — enough water, the right temperature, and nutrient-rich soil. However, you can’t force the seeds to sprout. That will happen (or not) in its own time and in its own way.

The same could be said for the positive changes you hope will come to your organization as a result of new training and development opportunities. As a leader, you can create an environment in which professional development is routinely encouraged. You can actively participate yourself, and you can visibly acknowledge others who do the same. But, you can’t create a values-based culture out of mandates, much like you can’t force seeds to grow into healthy plants on your schedule.

Tips for an organic approach:

• Always ask yourself, “Am I forcing this change, or am I influencing this change?”
• Encourage and empower your team to seek out their own training and development.
• If and when you actively participate, don’t monopolize time or steal the spotlight.

2. Be the example the very next day.

As a leader, it’s fairly obvious that you need to set a good example. In fact, more and more research shows that authentic leadership is absolutely essential for a successful working culture. Beyond that, a recent Gallup poll revealed that up to 70% of employee behavior is determined by the role modeling they receive from their leaders.

The influence you have as a leader is undeniable, which is precisely why it’s so important for you to model new behaviors and workplace strategies as soon as these tactics are promoted during training and development. Did your company’s training suggest keeping a digital log of any brainstorming sessions? Create one at the next opportunity and send it out to everyone. Is a new training and development program aiming for greater regulatory compliance? Come forward with some of your own gaps in knowledge and share what you’ve learned with your team.

Tips for setting the example:

• Always ask yourself, “Does the team understand and accept the change I’m going to model?”
• Remember that following your example might look a bit different for every individual.
• Don’t establish a precedent you aren’t comfortable with keeping consistent.

3. Seek out opportunities that build people up.

Your employees are your greatest asset. If your company was a car, they would be the engine — and maybe even the battery as well. However, your employees are also people, which means satisfaction is a critical component of their success. That’s why nearly 69% of employees say they would work harder if they felt more appreciated, and it’s also why Gen Z and Millenials are just as concerned with stress at work as they are with their income and benefits.

Successful leaders don’t tinker with their employees like an engine, extracting every last ounce of power possible. Instead, they seek out training and development opportunities that not only put the company on track to fulfill its mission, but also help keep employees happy and motivated along the way. Simply put, if there are multiple ways to satisfy specific training and development initiatives, the best leaders choose the path that builds people up.

Tips on choosing positive training and development:

• Always ask yourself, “How would this training or development sound to a team member?”
• Remember that your energy is one of the biggest contributors to the tone of the workplace.
• If you’re seeking compliance, celebrate those who succeed instead of criticizing those who fail.

4. Don’t leave the room without a shared plan of action

You can build the workplace culture of your dreams. You just need the blueprints. A big part of those blueprints comes from the action plans that should be the product of every instance of training and development. Your team can’t take the next step if there isn’t a shared understanding of what that next step is, and research shows that simple and consistent action planning can have a real impact on behavior. That’s why no training or development opportunity should conclude until there is a shared vision for how the organization and its culture are going to evolve.

Tips for setting a shared plan of action:

• Always ask yourself, “Am I confident every person involved understands this plan of action?”
• Follow up with training and development initiatives yourself and ask about what’s next.

Allow ample space and time for everyone to contribute to the action plan.