How can team leadership development programs improve employee engagement?

Team leadership training can mean different things so be sure to be clear on the focus. Team leadership can involve various team leaders to team them better ways to lead or may include the entire team to better understand task assignment, accountability, empowerment, delegated decision making, or values alignment. As an experienced team leader, trainer, and coach I found the later (team leadership with the entire team) to be the more effective as it often results in better clarity, communication, and inclusion.

Team leadership programs become ineffective when relationships are not at the forefront of the planning process. Having no genuine partnership with your team members while trying to develop their leadership skills is just free time for the staff and, hopefully, a free lunch. For a participant in any development of leadership, there must be some form of value demonstrated by the leaders in the area in the scope of work being produced by the staff.

To improve employee engagement, focus on listening skills and reflective practice. Ensure that leaders understand the value of coaching, and can support staff by having an in-depth conversation using listening and insightful questions that help staff to find their own solutions to issues. Staff will feel valued because leaders have spent time on helping them. A team leadership programme should cover coaching in depth and allow sufficient time to practice. A good model to use is GROW - goals, realities, options and will.

For leadership training to be effective, it must be engaging and authentic. Trainers must be adept at creating a psychological container for learning that welcomes questions, reflection, critical thinking, and honesty. They must also be adaptive; how curriculum is viewed may change based on the current sociopolitical climate. Adapt to the immediate needs of learners while keeping an organized, lively session. Engage them in multiple ways; some people love to discuss, while others prefer more anonymous or digital forms of communication. Mixing multimedia forms of presentation with low-stakes activities will build learner cohesion and prepare them to take on more complex tasks.

Having a cohesive and effective leadership team does not 'just happen', Having an excellent leader at the helm is important start but it is more important to have an entire leadership team operating together at a high level. Because each individual in the leadership team brings their own experiences, style, shortcomings, and 'baggage', it is critical that the team work through how they will work together. Key Elements of this process are: -Mindsets -Structure -Cohesion & Trust -Communication -Accountability to business results When all five of these are operating well, the leadership team will begin operating at an excellent level. Then.....this will filter through the organization and improve organizational results as well.

1. Team leadership may NOT be the best path to improving engagement. Driver analysis (RWA, structural modeling, etc) rarely shows teamwork WITHIN a group as a stronger driver than collaboration ACROSS groups - mid/senior level behavior. It is a myth that engagement is mostly about an immediate manager. A myth! 2. The best way for leadership development to affect engagement is to (a) focus on mid/senior levels and (b) focus on less telling and more asking (What do you need? How can I clear the path for you?) to let teams be more empowered and enabled. 3. Let shared purpose be the real leader. Everyone leads sometimes and follows other times. Everyone. What directs behavior are specific goals created with the team. Light their fire.

Whatever you do, avoid working on "team leadership" development with those who shouldn't be in the discussion as people managers. Nothing adds molasses to a group vibe faster than an out-of-touch comment or question. One time a QA supervisor with 3 years experience with the company and far too little experience in his role asked in the group training, "Why do I need to give better feedback when I delegate – isn't the point to just free up my time?" At the time, I gave him the chance to answer his own question. He didn't improve even with a second chance. Then, his colleagues offered reasons and experiences. I learned more about the importance of screening than he did about developing people through delegation that day.

In my experience middle management (translating strategy to execution) plays a pivotal part in the organisational culture, employees working pleasure and therefore engagement. With a clear set of leadership guidelines and on the job training and coaching tools you can directly influence employees day to day experience at work

Over the course of my career, I've found the most effective team leadership development has been with INTACT leadership and management teams - whether functional or cross-functional. Learning, discussing and exploring real challenges they face together creates impact and traction. They then can support, give feedback, and recognize each other in the course of doing business, and in their team meetings of how they've applied the skills and where they can better leverage them. This results in more cohesiveness and engagement for the leadership/management team, with ultimate impact on the engagement of team members they serve

Team is the most overused word in the business world today. Most organizations are full of individual contributors but referred to as a team. A team is a group of people united by a common purpose or goal. One of the key aspects of leadership is teambuilding. Teambuilding is foundational to engagement as people desire to connect with others, connect to a purpose, and connect with a group to pursue that purpose together. Three keys to consider to engage: 1. Unite them with a purpose/goal that matters to them. (people need a purpose to engage with - not a task to fulfill) 2. Value them for who they are not just what they do (engagement starts with connecting) 3. Challenge them to reach their potential (engagement brings out the best)

So true. Whenever I do an organizational analysis, the breakdown is ACROSS teams—lack of inherent and creative infrastructures that connect all the dots. Helping teams think through the development of such “across” infrastructures is a game changer—both formal and informal—but all mindful.

Yes, doing a proper needs assessment to figure out specific competencies and behaviors are top priority. The key in design is defining the specific objectives that align to the business and learner needs, and using the right combination of development methods that suit the competencies you're trying to build - what structured learning is appropriate, social learning and discussion (feedback, mentoring, coaching), on-the job experiences and reflection on those experiences is crucial.

Neuroscience offers a profound lens through which to understand and optimize leadership development programs for heightened employee engagement. By delving into the intricacies of brain function and behavior, these programs can be tailored to align with the brain's natural inclinations and responses. Insights from neuroscience can inform leaders about the importance of emotional intelligence, empathy, and trust-building in fostering positive relationships with their teams. Moreover, understanding the neuroscience of motivation can guide the design of incentive structures and recognition systems that tap into the brain's reward pathways, driving sustained engagement and commitment.

Leadership isn't learned from books, but from experience. You can accelerate awareness, build skills, and increase retention through interactive exercises. The best programs don't just personalize the curriculum, but use the company's goals, processes, and struggles as the basis for the cases, questions, and activities. I learned this startlingly obvious point early in my career when I asked for feedback while working with managers and high potentials at in the engineering division of a global chemical company. "You kept my attention and interest," one director said, "simply because the examples are about us and what we can do or could use the tools for each day, not about what an airline crew might be doing with them."

What I would add here is dropping or minimizing the one-size fits all approach to leadership development programs. Big corporations are guilty of this and what it translates to is an overly broad and generic training program that is not informative, engaging or actionable. Implementing an effective leadership development program means digging deeper and exploring what the leaders new and tenured alike need to start, stop, or continue. And why? Those responses will vary across functions and departments and so to should the tools/programs built to support differing leadership development needs.

Find a Senior Leader to be your sponsor to support, nurture and 'love' the program. Have them be part of the experience and fully committed to it. This supports buy-in across the program. Launch the program within the organisation. Provide a mentor during and after the learning this helps your delegates to build their confidence and transfer the knowledge. Just some thoughts.

The implementation largely depends on the readiness of the organization. If an organization isn't ready the most well designed program will fall flat. To gauge readiness, look at past initiatives and where they are today, speak with employees affected by the change initiative to understand its intended vs. actual impact(s), and ask leaders why now is different.

Sie brauchen die Ressourcenfreigabe (Zeit und Geld) der Unternehmensleitung. Alles andere muss ein guter Trainer und Coach vor Ort organisieren und leiten.

I think it is important to discuss in the organisation about “what is mandatory” and/ or how to build on individual motivation and incentives. What is the culture of the organisation? What would be an excepted and successful way?

Building a culture of psychological safety is what unlocks performance and innovation. Team leadership development programs often fall short on this concept because it's treated like a one and done deal. Psychological safety is not a policy, it's a leadership practice and everyone on the team is responsible for contributing to a culture of psychological safety.

Some of the most important challenges to overcome in team programs are not always the most obvious. To get a well-rounded yet thorough understanding of the challenges that exist, spend 15 minutes speaking with each team member by asking them very specific questions about the challenges they experience on the team. Once you've collected this data then you can find the common issues -- the throughline -- that exist but are likely disguised. At the start of the program, share the findings with the group and ask what the need to overcome these issues. It's their environment and they have the answers; it's our job to facilitate the learning so they develop the tools to be effective in overcoming these challenges.

In Leadership development programs the day to day reality and leadership context to be the starting point. This improves relevance and applicability. Leadership is practiced within the context of a team and should also be learned, practiced and coached there opposed to solely learning with peers in a classroom

Der Mensch tut nur das, wovon er glaubt, dass es ihm nützt. Wenn die Teilnehmer keinen Nutzen sehen, wollen sie auch nicht. Hier empfehle ich den Teilnehmern mit dem Trainer / Coach zu sprechen. Als guter Trainer und Coach ist es seine Aufgabe die Bedenken zu überwinden. Wenn er das nicht kann, dann ist er auch kein guter Trainer / Coach und das Programm ist von Anfang an zum Scheitern verurteilt.

During a comprehensive culture improvement initiative, we stood up an emerging leader cohort that consisted of mid-level leaders from the same functional area. In addition to gaining insight into their competencies and leadership behaviors, the team was encouraged to identify areas of misalignment between stated organizational direction and current state. As an action learning component of the leadership development experience, each of the four teams was empowered to propose, and then implement, an initiative designed to solve problems and improve alignment. This one-year experience led to profound results, improving the function's performance in measurable ways, from enhanced customer service to the creation of a PMO.

Provide leadership development opportunities for all employees regardless of their status, title or grade level. For example, at a federal bureau we offered leadership development programs for grades GS-1 through-15.

Emerging leaders can come from anywhere. One needs to recognize the “tells” when a new leader is emerging. Group dynamics usually shift, however subtlely, to accommodate a new leader. The group will often defer in favor of the emerging leader, even in the presence of others assigned to lead.