Companies need leaders in all their departments. And leaders are people who bridge the gap between the company’s upper and lower levels. This is why it is organizations must create leadership development programs to help promising leaders develop and upgrade their skills and progress within the organization as well as boost their career. A leadership development program can also increase team productivity, innovation, and creativity. Herein, we will take an in-depth look into how leadership development programs are beneficial as well as essential.

Identifying a leader
What makes one a leader? Everyone cannot become a leader. Moreover, it is not possible to create great leaders by using presentations to explain people about the concept of leadership. You can always lay the foundation in your employees; however, those professionals who have inherent leadership qualities are the ones who understand this concept and progress in the organization. Here are some of the most prominent signs that can help businesses identify leaders and send them for leadership development programs.

• Leaders give credit
  People who have leadership qualities, always give credit where it is due. If someone has helped them do something, they will be honest about it and if an appreciation comes their way, they will quickly share it with everyone else who deserves the credit. Such professionals take ownership and responsibility of all the operations and do not blame anyone if things go wrong.
• Leaders are self-motivated
  A self-motivated and enthusiastic individual stands out in a crowd of office goers. He/she is a person who says yes to every challenge and does not need a pep-talk every morning. If you are a human resources manager looking for individuals who have leadership qualities, choose someone who is willing to take up a difficult task without any hesitation, as such a person is courageous and confident.
• Leaders are good communicators
  Individuals with inherent leading skills are always on the front foot when it comes to transparency in communication. These individuals stick to rules, like to give their best, and motivate others while learning new things themselves. It goes without saying that such people have nothing to hide and climb the ladder of success. Pick the person who is clear in his/her words, writes elaborate and precise e-mails, and takes note of every communication.
• Leaders are inspirational
  You can identify a leader from far by listening to their pep talks. These individuals may not be managers but they are always the ones who will say things like “let’s try this,” “let’s do this,”, “have some coffee and give it an attempt,” and “let’s brainstorm, there has to be a solution to this.” These people have a never say die attitude, which is contagious. This quality keeps them going and motivates others as well.

Creating or choosing the right leadership program
When it comes to choosing the right leadership development program, you can be sure of one thing, one size does not fit all. As a Human Resources Department Head, you have to create a basic template that is self-defining and then build different programs for different teams and individuals. If you decide to go with a readymade program, you will have to make sure that it is the ideal one, and you can achieve your goal. The following steps will help you out:

• Understand what you want to achieve
  The first step to choosing the right program is to have a clear understanding of your goal. Do you want to train a certain individual? If so, you need a program that focuses on certain skills and provides all-round development in a short span. Conversely, if you are looking for a leadership development program for a team, you will have to look at a comprehensive plan that covers multiple skills and leadership attitude. You will be able to ensure that your program works well with multiple people only when it has multiple facets. Moreover, the program must be designed keeping in mind that not everyone learns the same way, as the grasping and understanding power varies from person to person.
• Find an ideal leadership philosophy
  There are many leadership philosophies like collaborative leadership, authentic leadership, and servant leadership. Every company has a different one. So, you have to pick a philosophy for your leadership development program on the basis of the philosophy that already exists in your company and how you would like to change it in the future.

Your leadership philosophy is what will give shape to the leadership program that is going to align the employees’ mindset with the goals and ambitions of the company. This philosophy is what will give you a wireframe for the program. Some businesses need more than one business philosophy. In that scenario, you will have to pick the best attributes of more than one philosophy and combine them to create a unique and brand-new leadership development program.

• Choose a delivery method
  Last but not least, you will have to choose a delivery method to make learning and understanding effective for individuals. You might have to choose multiple methods to optimize your leadership development program for different people. As already discussed, everyone learns differently, so your success in imparting a program lies in your ability to cater to everyone’s bandwidth.

If your content sounds lavish but people do not understand it, there are higher chances of it becoming a “self-help” content instead of creating future leaders. Everyone should get what you are trying to say; only then you will be able to achieve your goals.

Elements of a successful leadership development program
Once you have the specifics ready for your leadership development program, you have to set the basics. Various aspects transform a well-designed leadership program into a successful one. Here are six basic elements that will help you establish the standards and get going with the employees.

• Small leadership groups
  A small group means individual attention and better learning sessions. It also ensures greater support and better collaborations among the members. To begin with, you can create a core group of individuals who are already in leadership positions and have a substantial amount of experience to their credit. They can then create sub-groups under them and mentor them weekly. These sub-groups can then be rotated so that they get to learn from every individual in the core group while learning the key leadership skills established by the company.
• Multi-level structure of leaders
  Every leadership program should have an experienced leader at the foundation. Also, the hierarchy should be built from there based on managers’ and individuals’ experiences and skills. This kind of structure will ensure an effective instruction flow among the peers and will lead to successful collaborations at every level. Businesses should also ensure that managers/leaders are good instructors and communicators. This is because if they are good at what they do, but they do not know how to share it with their team, the whole purpose of the leadership development program will fail.
• Customized learning methods
  Every person learns differently and has different absorbing and sharing capabilities; hence, it will be ideal to build multiple learning modules. The ideal thing to do for this will be to create a multimedia training program that can be differentially used according to the need of the hour. There should be every resource, right from written material to interesting videos and fun games.
• Clear goals and milestones
  A leadership development program can be successful only when every participant walks away with a new set of skills and knowledge. To achieve that, you will have to understand individual goals and milestones. Every employee should sit down with a manager or a trainer and identify problem areas along with interests, goals, and philosophies. Doing this will help the managers to customize the development program and make it impactful for everyone. This one step will result in an inclusive leadership development program that is capable of training people with a variety of skills.
• Processes to identify leaders
  While leadership development programs can prepare everyone for leadership, some individuals are born leaders and have that extra streak that can propel them toward success faster than others. Such individuals are known as “high-potential employees.” It is the responsibility of managers in every department to identify such individuals and motivate them. These individuals will be quick to learn and progress to the core leadership group at a faster pace.
• Retention program
  Apart from focusing on creating a leadership development program and training employees, a company should also invest heavily in employee retention programs. Simple efforts like team meetings and ongoing support can work wonders for employee morale. These initiatives will motivate them to stay with you for longer periods. If a company fails to keep its employees happy, they lose their trained leaders to the competition, and this can be a distressing situation for businesses.

Benefits of leadership development programs
What are the benefits of such programs? Do they transform individuals into successful leaders? Should all businesses invest in leadership programs to prepare their employees for future roles? Let’s find out by discussing various prominent advantages of leadership development programs.

• Better performance
  When employees are prepared for leadership, you can see instant results in the form of improved productivity, proper communication, better engagements, planned executions, and reduced wastage of time and resources. All these changes lead to an improvement in sustainability, revenue, and finances.
• Higher employee retention
  Employee retention is higher in organizations where there an effective leadership development program is in place. Moreover, employees start looking for another job owing to a lack of investment in their training and development. It has been proven over time that businesses that help their employees, to strengthen their creativity and add on to their skills have a better employee retention rate. A company’s investment in its employees also improves employee loyalty and leads to better productivity, overall satisfaction, and collaboration.
• Increased alignment at the top management
  A leadership program arms managers with better skills to manage their work and responsibilities. Investment in top management also leads to better alignment with the company’s vision, values, and mission. This, in turn, puts the focus on strong company culture. Better top management means more engaged employees, better satisfaction rates, and improved employee retention.
• Better customer retention
  A customer is an important part of a business. Their retention is directly linked to the profits of the company. When the leadership of a company motivates, mentors, and inspires the customer-facing team in an impactful way, it shows how many customers return to you after their first purchase. To achieve this, a business will have to first invest in leadership development programs on the basis of customer feedback that will develop motivated managers, who will then create a charged-up team. Leaders and teams that can tackle difficult situations single-handedly, cast a long-lasting impression, and make a huge impact on customer retention and profitability.

The business environment is unpredictable and is known to kill off brands that do not change quickly. Businesses with a leadership development program in place are better equipped to respond rapidly to change and adapt to the new processes. A study claims that 86% of companies with a leadership development program can respond to change quickly as opposed to just 52% of those who haven’t established any such program. Businesses that fail to understand that investing in employees is as good as investing in their business are the ones that do not survive the test of time and technology.

A leadership development program is a blessing for individuals and businesses. It is one investment that improves individual skills while benefitting the business in terms of revenue and growth. Every business should create a program that creates its next line of leadership while establishing itself as a people-centric brand that takes care of employees as well as customers.