Leadership & Management: Skill Building Begins When Formal Training Ends
Something strange has happened in the first 25 years of the 21st century. Perhaps due to the unprecedented pace of life and work, we seem to have forgotten some fundamental human truths. As a leadership and management practitioner, I’ve noticed that what was once a widely accepted reality often no longer holds true: mastering a skill requires learning, practice, time, and ongoing feedback.
If I had ten dollars for every time I heard someone say, “We just don't have the time” or “We need people to hit the ground running”—without adequate training or feedback—I’d be a far wealthier man, sadly.
In the interest of truth and long-term effectiveness, I’d like to offer some thoughts on the what, why, and how of leadership and management training—because while many things have changed, the desire to achieve positive outcomes has not.
1. What Is Robust, Well-Designed Training?
Surprisingly, this question is not asked often enough, though it has many layers. While I won’t dive into all the empirical data here, feel free to reach out if you’d like to explore this further.
Leadership and management training typically begins with a qualified need, then after establishing criteria/standards by which to appropriately design the training for a specific audience, we enter into the first part of training, or knowledge acquisition—through lectures, discussions, readings, and reflection. This part of training introduces theories, models, and processes, which become part of our intellectual toolkit. But knowing about a skill does not equate to being skilled in applying it.
Effective training also then includes experiential learning: opportunities to apply knowledge in realistic simulations. These mimic real-life scenarios so that participants can measure their ability and receive feedback in a controlled environment.
2. Why Do We Train People This Way?
We train this way to provide participants with accurate, evidence-based knowledge they can reasonably apply—assuming they have the necessary aptitude.
Consider learning to play the piano: You may be motivated, able to read music, and have a great teacher. But if you lack manual dexterity—the ability to coordinate both hands—you’ll struggle to become a competent pianist. Similarly, leadership and management training offers’ a starting point, not a finish line. Skill mastery is a journey, not a moment.
Even the most motivated participant rarely leaves a workshop fully skilled. The goal is to equip them with a foundation on which to build through further practice, reflection, and feedback.
3. How Do We Ensure Application of Training?
Even the best-designed training can fail without follow-up, feedback, coaching, and dialogue. The issue often isn't with the training itself, but with the absence of post-training support.
Take the example of a motivated participant who, after a training session, tries to implement new skills—but then encounters challenges that weren’t covered. If they feel uncertain, overwhelmed, or unsupported, progress can stall.
To prevent this, we must treat post-training as an integral part of the training process.
We need to ask:
- How often will we follow up?
- What support systems are in place?
- How do we measure progress?
- What happens when challenges arise?
The Three Critical Steps to Long-Term Training Success
Step 1: Prepare the Leaders (Sponsors)
Provide leaders of training participants with:
- An overview of the learning objectives
- Tools and guidance on their role before and after training
- Responsibility to ensure participants can attend fully (e.g., workload coverage)
Step 2: Communicate Purpose and Expectations
When inviting participants:
- Clearly articulate the training’s purpose and benefits
- Reinforce that they have their leader’s support
- Create space for full focus and engagement
Step 3: Establish a Post-Training Process
Before the training concludes:
- Gather participant feedback
- Communicate ongoing expectations and support
- Schedule follow-up workshops to share successes and overcome roadblocks
Final Thought
Training is a three-part process, and all parts must be respected if we hope to see long-term, skill-based application. All too often, steps 1 and 3 are skipped—leaving organizations puzzled when training doesn't “stick.”
We must reassert a training culture that may require short-term effort but delivers long-term results. As the old saying goes:
“When things are going well, we never seem to have time. But when things go wrong, we suddenly find it.”
Let’s make time now—when it matters most.
Let’s discuss how to build a leadership and management training program that has a lasting, measurable impact on your culture and business outcomes.