What NOT to Include in Your Leadership Training Course

Preparing a stellar leadership training course, the kind that changes your company for the better, takes focus and no lack of preparation. Business gurus are good at telling you what to include like role playing activities and certificate requirements but what shouldn’t be included? If you’re working on a new training course leave these out!

Untested theories must go. It’s safe even productive to toss around theories with a group of proven leaders but for newbies? Not so much. Build your leadership course on tested and approved techniques. New leaders do tend, on occasion, to reinvent the wheel (which can be good) but for the best foundation only teach them what you know works.

Steer clear of unspecific training. Borrowing training material from Richard Branson may seem like a good idea but does he know anything about building widgets? Hmm…your training course should always keep your unique business in mind. If you sell units, teach with units. If you sell bundles, teach with bundles. Avoid training material that is too general.

Stop the topic overload. You’ll be tempted to cover all the bases but that could be perilous too. You can’t cover managing employees and product loss in the same course. If you have multiple topics to cover, you need multiple courses. Keep your courses as specific but as comprehensive as possible.

Don’t teach outdated procedures. If you’re training material uses XYZ software but you’ve updated to ABC you are in trouble. Teaching old material, then teaching the team how to convert the old material to new material is counterproductive. (To say the least!) Always train using current procedures and training tools.

Don’t give vague answers about the objectives of your course. Telling candidates, “This course will be good for you!” isn’t enough. You need clarity from beginning to end. “Yes, Mr. Jones. This course will cover topics like the cycle of achievement, the five levels of influence and the three different types of motivation.” People should know why they should attend.

Prepping for a course can seem like a lot of work–it is! But what an exciting time for your business. If you’d like more tips and points contact us. We can help you create an empowering course for your current and future leaders.