I’ve read that Warren Buffet writes his annual letter with his sisters in mind. I can relate. When I write about conscious leadership, my imagined audience is my mother and three brothers. If they think an idea doesn’t make good sense, lacks an ethical basis, or suggests bad economics, they’ll let you know. Because conscious leadership creates value, is based on voluntary leadership at all levels, and improves collaboration and innovation, it passes the “test.”
My mother suggested to me a few weeks ago that in the time of COVID, leadership training might be the first thing to be cut in organizational budgets. I sat with that and, as we teach our clients, allowed myself to feel the fear and face into the possible long-term drop in demand for leadership training. Then I checked in with myself about my story. In the bigger vision we hold at Crafted Leadership, another version of our business journey is equally true. This version goes like this: effective leaders are trustworthy guides; people and organizations need trustworthy guides more than ever; therefore, people and organizations will invest in developing leadership talent.
Are you looking for reasons to invest in your own leadership development or that of your team? Here are three benefits of leadership training with Crafted Leadership that offer a high return on minimal investment.
Leadership skills set you apart and are portable
To become an effective leader, you want to understand how to motivate others. You also want to foster leadership in others, because the fast rate of change in dynamic marketplaces requires initiatives from a multitude of people. At Crafted Leadership, we teach skills and relational practices that — among other benefits — motivate others. We teach you to support employee efforts with particularly effective ways of coaching, communicating, delivering feedback, and developing autonomy. People who provide effective leadership almost always have a chance to grow beyond the narrow confines of any job and will be sought out.
You’ll hone your creativity, imagination, and ability to handle challenges
Developing leaders who are imaginative and innovative gives organizations a competitive advantage. While everyone can become a strategist, few will become a creator without intentional support. Crafted Leadership teaches practices to stretch and develop people’s creativity and to increase their ability to handle challenging situations with ease. One of our clients, Jo Underwood, immediately stretched herself after taking our Lead by Design course and applied the principles she learned to her business, creating different results.
You’ll improve your retention rates and thus the bottom line
I recently spoke with Eric Lea at Robert Half, a Fortune 500 placement firm. He shared his wisdom from experience that employees look for these four things — in this order — about jobs:
Work-life balance
Professional development opportunities
Culture/Fit
Money
The leadership skills training we offer at Crafted Leadership hit on the first three elements of Eric’s list. Specifically, we teach people and teams how to foster a positive, collaborative, and more sustainable workplace culture with effective tools to reduce drama, resolve conflicts, and improve communication.
If you are interested in leadership training, we offer a range of virtual training sessions. Each 90-minute session is just $50 per person with a focus on skill practice. Sessions are limited in size to give maximum attention and coaching. There are a few spaces available. See topics and register here.
We also do virtual trainings with teams. Contact nancy@crafteleadership.com or julianna@craftedleadership.com to learn more.
COVID-19 has given Julianna and me an opportunity to ground ourselves in our purpose: to spread conscious leadership into the global workplace. I think it’s worked to our advantage that we have many tools and practices to rely on. These three benefits of leadership training are part of the larger vision we hold of a worldwide conscious leadership community.