Top 5 Most Effective Business Leadership Development Methods

3D Team Leadership Arrow ConceptTop 5 Most Effective Business Leadership Development Methods

Few people are born leaders. In most cases, leadership skills and qualities are developed through hard work and persistence, but there’s no point putting in all that effort if you’re not must utilizing the most effective learning and development methods.

Leading a team is about more than simply achieving milestones and goals. It is about inspiring, problem-solving, and ultimately leading a group of people towards a common goal.

There are many different ways of turning an ordinary employee into a great leader, but here are five of the most effective methods.

  1. Workplace developmental assignments

As a new generation of leaders prepares to take their places as managers, more time and effort is being directed at training leaders, mentors and managers within organizations, from global corporations to local businesses.

One of the most effective methods for developing leadership potential within any sized organization is by giving aspiring managers on-the-job assignments that allow them to experience key challenges they will continue to face as professionals.

In an interview conducted by GovLeaders, Cynthia McCauley suggests that as many as 70% of the experiences that they felt contributed to their development as leaders were work-based challenges.

Developmental assignments allow professionals to learn key skills before they become a formal part of their regular workplace responsibilities. Giving your senior team members developmental assignments will also help you to identify your emerging leaders.

Those who are ready to step up and lead will adapt their skills to various situations throughout the assignment, showing they can put two key leadership qualities into practice – flexibility and initiative.

  1. Formal Training Courses

Formal training courses are effective for disseminating knowledge and motivating groups of people, as well as providing individuals with the opportunity to receive a qualification or certificate upon completion. The information offered in a formal course should be up-to-date and relevant to the participant’s work challenges, so they have the chance to benefit in a professional capacity while contributing to their organization’s success.

Organizations will get the best return on their investment by choosing a management training provider, such as Leadership Directions, that is willing to work in a face to face environment and offer post-course support to their employees.

  1. Coaching from the current manager

There are few people who understand the unique challenges and needs within a professional setting more than the current managers. This insight makes them perfectly suited to coaching up-and-coming leaders.

According to the Institute of Leadership and Management, as many as 80% of organizations now use coaching as a training tool. The likelihood that coaching will be utilized increases with the number of individuals within an organization.

While managers tend to receive the majority of coaching opportunities within organizations, team members can benefit too. Currently, it is rare for companies to provide internal-based coaching opportunities to non-managers, which is something that could be hindering many organizations – after all, who knows a business better than the management?

  1. Coaching from external mentors and coaches

One of the greatest benefits of utilizing the resources of an external coach or mentor is that these professionals have been trained specifically to coach or mentor. It is one thing having the knowledge to share with others, but having the skill to share the information in the most beneficial way is an entirely different story.

Effective coaching is not about instructing or teaching – it is about guiding, questioning and facilitating the learning process. It is a skill that needs to be learned, just like leadership itself.

Furthermore, while most organizations focus on coaching as a method of improving professional skills, they often overlook the benefits that come from focusing on the personal development of qualities such as self-awareness and confidence.

  1. Mentoring from other internal sources (not their direct manager)

Coaching from a direct manager is a common way organizations develop their people. However, a company can increase the sharing of knowledge and experience further by allowing other mentors from within the organization to provide input.

The mentoring relationship requires a sensitive power balance and, according to Forbes, it should be mentee-driven, with the mentee becoming the driving force in terms of the direction and focus of the relationship.

Leadership is something that can and must be developed. Opting for the most appropriate development strategy is not only sensible but ensures that organizations and the individuals that make up their ranks will continue to benefit long after training has been completed.

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January 4, 2013 by  
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An Entrepreneurs Guide to Leverage

September 17, 2009 by  
Filed under Featured Articles, Wright Ideas

This article will explain the concept of leverage for business owners and give good guidelines on how to use it for themselves.

When I talk about leverage in this article, I am talking about leverage as to gain advantage through the use of a tool. There are specific financial terms of leverage that we could address, however this not part of this article. As business owners there are 7 different kinds of leverage you can use to make your business more profitable.

You can leverage other people’s energy. By delegation and outsourcing tasks that do not bring in money, you can focus on the tasks that do result in money. You do not have to hire an employee. You can go online and virtual assistants and technical people that you can hire online.

You can leverage someone’s success. Biography’s can be a great place to learn about other people’s lives. You will begin to see their pattern of success.  You can learn from their difficulties. This is a great way to learn to save yourself time on your journey to success.  You can avoid their mistakes. This is why many entrepreneurs love biographies of great people.

You can leverage other people’s contacts. You can ask your current contacts for specific introductions to other people. Keep a running list of who you want to meet; you will be surprised at who knows them. Remember the six degrees of separation is real and easily working in our digital domains.

You can leverage other people’s credibility. By having a thought leader introduce you to a particular group, you get to use some of their credibility. The group already respects this person, so since you are also    respected by this person, they are more apt to accept you. Your status as an expert is greatly enhances by this strategy.


You can leverage other people’ ideas. It only takes one good idea to be super successful. It only takes one good idea, put to work to create a multi-million dollar business. One idea sparks another idea and so on. Some business ideas are like ugly babies. If you wait a while, they will grow into lovely children that pay off. If you throw them out because they are ugly at the beginning.

You can leverage other people’s knowledge, especially in a mentoring or coaching situation. What you are doing is getting accelerated learning courses for the topics you need help. With access to one on one coaching or even group coaching, you can use this knowledge that you did not have to spend formal time in a class or seminar to get.

Action items:

Get a coach or mentor

Buy a biography of a successful person and read it or listen to the audio book

Connect with someone who can lend you their credibility

Ask a colleague or mentor for an introduction to someone you need to connect with.

Get a virtual assistant or add someone to the team at least part tim