Old-school leadership training starts with the question: What is the problem we need to solve? (Translation: What are our leaders doing wrong that we need to fix?)
This “what is the problem?” question has been asked for so long and so frequently it is assumed it is where you should begin when developing leaders. Yet answering this question takes your precious resources down a rabbit-hole of distraction.
Consider these popular refrains as experts assess employee surveys or similar data: “Our problem is we don’t have:
- Psychological safety
- Communication skills
- Collaboration
- Vigorous debate
- Trust.”
Do you notice what just happened? The list above becomes the focus. More specifically, behaviors become the targeted objectives. But what good are such outcomes if they don’t create greater business results?
There are too many collaborative, trust building, psychologically safe leaders and teams that have been sidetracked by their leadership training. They’ve improved their employee engagement scores, but they’re falling short of the business priorities the organization needs them to achieve.
This is why so many senior leaders are reluctant to send their talented employees to fix-the-wrong-problem corporate trainings.
Verus Global’s 30-year track-record of success in the leadership development industry can be traced to several principles. Chief among them: We’ve changed the first question. Instead of asking “what’s the problem that needs to be solved?” we ask: “What does the business need to accomplish?”
Leadership development that prioritizes capability development independent of what employees must deliver for the business is leadership development that doesn’t matter.
The leadership training your organization is desperate for centers every effort on the priority – the number – your leaders must achieve – then develops the capabilities required to accomplish those outcomes.
Be mindful of what you ask for. A focus on solving problems inherently creates more problems. (Humans go toward their focus.) Concentrating on what you want to accomplish charts a leadership development course for realizing a far greater potential.
