Do You View Leadership Training as an Expense or an Investment?

When it comes to leadership training, do you view it as an expense or an investment? How you answer this reveals a lot about your culture and has a significant impact on the outcomes. Before you jump in, answer seven questions to help you make an investment instead of simply incurring an expense.

Leadership Training as an Expense

• gets it over with.
• judges success as ticking a box.
• views attendance and compliance as the goal.
• seeks to maximize efficiency.
• targets immediate symptom relief.
• focuses externally.
• is quickly forgotten.
• falls for flavor of the month.
• chooses prescriptions over process or strategies.

Leadership Training as an Investment

• starts a journey.
• addresses a real need.
• requires true enrollment.
• views transformation as the goal.
• seeks to maximize impact.
• targets alignment with organizational culture and values.
• focuses internally.
• creates lasting change.
• chooses processes and strategies over prescriptions.
• embraces enduring principles and transferrable skills.

Last week I was talking with a client whose company has historically approached leadership training as an expense. As a result they have run through multiple consultants and models, barely remembering what they were or how to use them. There’s no coherent culture, no rules of engagement, no vision for leadership and a lot of wasted time and money.

Answer These 7 Questions to Make Leadership Training an Investment Instead of an Expense

1. What is our vision for leadership in this company?
2. What leadership behaviors will support our mission, vision and values?
3. How will we motivate and inspire enrollment?
4. How will we show we are committed to the vulnerability, curiosity and persistence that it takes to change behavior?
5. How will we communicate and demonstrate the value of leadership development to our employees?
6. How will this positively impact personal relationships, team functioning, and organizational operations?
7. What is the long-term plan for sustainment?

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