Leadership Training Built to Stand Out

What you’ll read:

• Show learners that your leadership training is worth their time
• Model the desired behavior for learners to apply to their job
• Engage learners with big concepts in bite-size portions

When it comes to weighty business issues, leadership training is one of the heavier ones. It has a huge impact on the future of any business organization, and it can require a significant initial investment (a 2012 study found that American companies were spending near $14 billion on leadership training each year). Because both the benefits and costs can be substantial, picking the right vendor to create leadership training is not something to be taken lightly.

We’re not the only company that does what we do. So…with so many great companies that make custom corporate training…why do businesses choose AllenComm?

Some might say it’s because we’ve been recognized for so many awards. Some might say it’s because we have some of the top talent in the industry. Some (okay, just a few) might even say it’s because our love of doughnuts makes us charmingly irresistible. While we acknowledge all those possibilities, they’re not the true reason we stand out, explains AllenComm performance consultant Maggie Morscher. We stand out because our method of developing leadership training is simply more innovative than the industry average. Leadership training needs to change mindsets, demonstrate applicability, and drive results—and AllenComm’s approach is uniquely tailored to accomplish these goals.

What’s in this leadership training for me?

Business leaders are a tough crowd. As soon as the word “training” is mentioned, they get suspicious. After all, most have gotten where they are through their own grit and determination, and they’re wary of leadership theories that are untested or inefficient. Since they have so much experience, they tend to see training as a waste of their valuable time, and even the tiniest whiff of inconsistency within the training content is enough to cause them to disengage completely. Before they’ll buy into a leadership training program, these leaders need to know that it will be worth their time and will teach relevant and authentic content.

At AllenComm, we overcome these learner objections by performing a needs analysis. The purpose of the analysis is to make sure we truly understand the root of the performance problem. Gaining this understanding includes learning about the company culture and employee attitudes and working with the company to clarify business goals. Once the needs analysis is performed, we have the information we need to overcome objections about the training before they’re even raised.

How does this leadership training apply?

It’s hard for learners to apply principles learned out of context. After all, it’s one thing to read about something and take a multiple-choice quiz on the subject—it’s another thing entirely to do it.

To solve this problem, AllenComm uses a two-prong approach: first modeling and then practice. At some point, learners have the correct behavior modeled for them, whether that’s in a video, image, case study, or in-person training. With this example on hand, learners are asked to apply principles in a situation that is as true to life as possible. “We design and script realistic and relevant scenarios or immersive simulations to give learners a safe environment to try out new behaviors before trying it on the job,” says Maggie.

How can this leadership training help me on the job?

Even when learners understand what’s in the training for them and get realistic practice, they may still worry that the skills they’ve learned won’t transfer to their workday. This is for good reason—how many times have you taken training at your desk but were unable to recall it on the job?

One way AllenComm combats this common issue is by using microlearnings. Microlearning is, in Maggie’s words, “small in time, but big in impact.” A microlearning can be taken in tiny chunks between job duties, allowing learners to apply what they’ve learned immediately. Also, we use “blended learning,” which often includes mobile, on-the-job activities and resources for review.

In other words

It’s not just the awards, the talent, or the doughnuts that make us stand out—our approach to leadership training shows our innovation by changing mindsets, demonstrating applicability, and driving results. As we strive to understand our learners and deliver what they need, we produce the kind of training that makes us many companies’ first choice for their custom corporate training.

We’d love to help you solve your training challenges. Contact us and let us know what keeps you up at night about your training.