You want to help your team grow their leadership skills. How can you find the best resources?

One of the first thing a leader must do is ask What specific leadership skills do your team members need to develop? Are there common areas for improvement or specific goals for certain individuals? And then consider their learning styles. Do your team members prefer hands-on activities, online courses, reading, or practical application? Understanding their preferences will help you choose engaging resources.

Planned & Customized training programs undoubtedly motivate emerging leaders, but there is a unique magic when it comes from within the team. I have seen the connections becoming more personal, and knowing more about the success story of a teammate becoming a powerful motivation. It's not only about learning leadership skills but about sharing experiences, overcoming challenges together, and celebrating each other' s little wins too. Even a tap on the back will change and inspire some.. Need to have an understanding on how to mold and guide both your immediate leaders & and emerging leaders within the team is also very crucial..

I highly recommend exploring Stephen Covey's "The Speed of Trust" and Liz Wiseman's "Multipliers" for foundational leadership insights. These models are transformational. They deepen trust which is essential to leadership and help provide a strong foundation for leadership growth. Pairing these with the Enneagram deepens self-awareness and puts an emphasis on growth. This is a powerful combination that I use with all my clients for leadership development. If you have questions or need guidance, I'm here to help.

Too many leaders take on finding growth resources for their team, but we can’t work harder on someone’s development than they are willing to. Instead, I gave this assignment to my team members and had them research development resources for themselves and bring suggestions back to me. As a leader you can offer input on gaps in their research, however the ownership of career development is always best left in each individuals’ hands instead of hoping your leader will do it for you. Own your growth!

ASK them. Assess them by all means but also you need to ask them as they will have professional needs and personal needs and you really need to be able to develop both.

Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, and Harvard Business School Online offer a wide range of leadership courses, with certificates for some. You can choose from pre-designed courses or build custom learning paths.

Gamification is a great way to entice learning, especially when done as a team contribution as opposed to individual. A lot of learning now is done this way.

Explore reputable online learning platforms that offer courses, webinars, and resources on leadership development. Platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udemy, and Harvard Business Review provide a wide range of leadership content.

The internet is a treasure trove of learning materials. I've encouraged my team to utilize online courses from platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and Udemy. Webinars, podcasts, and TED Talks are also great for gaining insights from global leadership experts.

Curate a Diverse Collection of Books Books are timeless companions on the leadership development journey. Curate a diverse collection that spans various leadership styles, industries, and perspectives. From classic leadership literature to contemporary insights, a well-rounded selection provides a comprehensive foundation for your team's growth.

Best trainings are in the form of role-plays and games. Trainings like role-plays and games should bring out two aspects: individuals should identify the gap in their knowledge, skills, mindset by themselves; helping hands to bridge that gap. As they say in sales, we all want to buy but not sold to, all of us want to improve but not to be told we have gap. Best ones help identify the gap ourselves and make us think we took steps to bridge that gap.

Experiential learning is wonderful and really helps to make any new learnings STICK. Inspirational speakers are great but you need to get them to actually live it and practice whatever it is that you are trying to develop in them.

To help your team grow their leadership skills, utilize a blend of mentoring, coaching, and shadowing. Understand your team's specific needs and start by pairing team members with experienced mentors who can provide valuable insights and guidance. Incorporate coaching to offer support and challenge individuals to reach their full potential. Additionally, implement a shadowing program where team members can observe and learn from senior leaders. This multi-faceted approach ensures a well-rounded development experience, combining real-world exposure with personalized advice and structured learning. By investing in these diverse resources, you'll cultivate a strong, capable leadership team ready to tackle any challenge.

Offline resources are much more useful. At Happy we have a four day leadership programme, spread over 4 months. And we have a two year senior leadership programme which, if you are based in England, has 95% funding form the government. "Absolutley brilliant" said one of our leaeners.

To enhance your team's leadership skills I like to consider workshops, seminars, or leadership training programs. Youtube is the largest online resource that I'd recommend for inspiration. Established institutions like Dale Carnegie Training, FranklinCovey, and local business schools offer valuable resources. Books like "Leadership in War" by Andrew Roberts or "Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek provide insightful offline reading. Encourage team members to attend leadership conferences and networking events to foster skill development.

Many internal resources are bypassed or not maximized. Carefully curated, existing materials can be combined with group activities, exercises and reflections to improve engagement and outcomes. Another in-house resource could be researching what learners have done in the past, what they would/wouldn't recommend, how they could help support initiatives, etc., Can help with buy-in too.

Passion lives everywhere, you just need to know how to uncover it. I'm sure if you are to ask your people to share any sources of information you would get tons. Lunch & Learn is also a great way to get people to share what they have learned with others.

Learning with others, such as through mentoring and coaching, is among the most potent methods to develop strong skills. Both emphasize tailored learning approach, recognizing diverse backgrounds, experiences and needs. The more aligned a learning experience is with an individual's needs, the more efficient it becomes in addressing their unique gaps and traits. I successfully implemented an in-house mentorship program, benefiting all participants. Seasoned leaders felt valued by sharing expertise, while mentees gained insights and direct access to guidance. Additionally, establishing a 'Leaders Together' group allows leaders to openly discuss challenges, provide mutual support, and learn from each other's experience.

To be perfectly honest, you yourself are the best resource. If you can’t do what I’m going to try and explain, then focus on your own development. Coach them. You’ve probably done their role and have the experience. But, not the kind of coaching where you sit in a room asking questions. Do it ‘in the moment’, at the water cooler, coffee machine, corridor. Every time you see an opportunity. But it’s not pure coaching, throw in a bit of advice (mentoring), sometimes people need to be told or shown. After all, you can’t coach your kids to tie their shoe laces! Choose the right tool for the job, for the skill, for the individual. If all you have is a hammer, everything will look like a nail! Keep it short, action oriented.

One of the key skills needed to thrive as a leader is to make the most out of a given situation with available resources. The best way to hone this skill is to tap into the wealth of resources that is available in house. I personally find running leadership development programs for aspiring members to be most valuable. It equips them with knowledgeable insights in developing strategies, setting goals, delivering results, mentoring etc. Bring together a group of leaders to share their journey. Educate them about the realities of being a leader. Encourage them to develop their skills, and offer them platforms where they can exercise these skills. Most importantly, your faith in them will inspire them to achieve great things!

Measure what you are trying to achieve and also the progress so that you can show the value and maybe next round get some more investment whether it be energy or money!

One way to do this effectively is to identify and articulate what shifts you hope to see due to the LD efforts. These don't have to all be lagging indicators (i.e. retention rates), but consider progress indicators that show you the directionality and progress of your LD efforts in real time - i.e. a shift in an observed behavior or a team developing common language. You can also have people self-rate on particular areas of focus before / after LD interventions to gauge change.

It's important to review the effectiveness of these resources. I've asked for feedback from my team on how helpful they found each resource and observed any changes in their leadership behavior or skills. This helps in understanding what works and what doesn't.

Before you can help your team improve their leadership skills, you need to focus on expanding your own self awareness and leadership skills. Then share what you personally find valuable, share your success and failures as both contribute to the growth of you and your team. Each person will get value from different resources, tools, examples and in the end you are trying to build their library of experiences and knowledge, and that starts with you doing the same.

I'd suggest remembering the 70:20:10 model first developed at CCL. That might seem an odd thing to say for someone who heads up a qualification school! My observation over 50 years has been that experiences in the workplace (especially 'Heat Experiences' - another CCL idea) provide the richest source of learning and progression. However - and this is crucial - that's only true if the participant employs critical reflection and discusses what happened with a trusted and skilled colleague/adviser. Learning is amplified many times over if examined in the cold light of day! The best sequence I've found is this: The right formal learning/study/input, followed by practice, followed by reflection, followed by unpicking it with the right person!

In my experience, it’s critical to consider the 3 E’s of Developmental “Resources”: Education, Exposure, and Experience. Education, formal learning events or programs, are structured and focused ways to get a solid foundation of leadership skills. Exposure focuses on gaining awareness, insights, and advice regarding leadership through mentorship, coaching, and networking. Experience is all about application of what is learned, practicing it on-the-job, and continuous refinement of skills. The 3 E’s, combined with regular self reflection on performance, provides the ingredients to learn, grow, and achieve leadership development goals. It is a continuously evolving journey that is challenging and rewarding at the same time.

To enable continuous learning, be tactful in creating effortful experiences to practice, socialize, reflect-in action, and reflection-on action. Deliberate practice and reflective practice how we can transform all of the good stuff into performance. When you say you are committed to developing a skill, you are not abdicating this to a 1 time training, module, or expensive hype day with a speaker. Schedule and create regular opportunities to practice, reflect and apply deliberately. Do not expect it to just happen, plan for it, and be intentional.

A team member exhibited exceptional technical expertise, yet delegation remained a challenge. He was enrolled as my shadow during leadership meetings for a month. This facilitated observation of how I delegated tasks, interacted with various teams, and made critical decisions. Beyond passive observation, I actively solicited their perspectives on delegation strategies and potential roadblocks, fostering critical thinking. Within weeks, a demonstrable shift emerged. The team member exhibited increased confidence in delegating tasks, demonstrating a keen understanding of individual strengths and workload distribution. This not only resulted in enhanced team efficiency but also empowered them to assume greater ownership of projects.

In my experience working with leadership teams, I've observed that external experts bring a unique credential and perspective that commands respect and encourages self-awareness and constructive thinking among team members. So, after assessing their individual and collective needs and considering internal resources and online materials it can be valuable to explore outsourcing leadership development skills training. However, it's essential to view external resources as a supplement rather than a replacement for the leadership skills that can be cultivated in-house. A balanced approach that combines both resources can be the most effective way to help your team grow their leadership skills comprehensively.

I grew up as a Xerox kid. My father was a leader in that corporation at a time when they were putting a ton of resources into wholly supporting their leaders. He didn’t just emerge a better manager; he merged a better man. Of course, he was a bit of an overachiever in many ways, but Xerox gave him the framework and professional license to lean in. My opinion? You can never invest too much in a leadership culture. It has a ripple effect. Even if team members leave, they leave as happy alumni — speaking positively about the brand and their experience. That kind of culture attracts people who want to be better, stronger people, and by extension, the organization is stronger.

it’s important to clarify what your definition of leadership is, and to get clear on what it takes to be a leader, based on that definition. often times leaders will seek out resources based on recommendations, trends, or fave authors…not the gaps and skills that will best truly address the need. without doing that, you’ll be using cookie cutters when the assignment is baking cakes.

Always try to network with industry peers, attending leadership conferences, and participate in relevant forums that can provide valuable recommendations. In addition, one can explore leadership development programs offered by renowned institutions and leadership experts. Additionally, consider books written by reputable authors in the leadership domain for insightful perspectives and practical advice. Recently, there are several online platforms that provide good resources that hone leadership skills like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udemy that one can benefit from.

Ask your team to research available options. Turn it into a project. One of the best ways to drive change (and yes, the outcome of professional development is positive change) is to have people involved from Day 1. Have them self-organize, identify a group leader and a scribe. Suggest that they do some research based on the parameters you set such as, "Do not invest collectively more than 10 hours in this project and/or identify solutions that cost no more than $x/employee." Then let them run with it. You'll be AMAZED by the changes that happen next ...