Incorporate These Crucial Components In Your Leadership Online Training
The term ‘blueprint’ was coined because it was initially drawn using white ink, on blue paper. Today, the term still describes those detailed building plans. But, it can also be used loosely to refer to a careful outline. In eLearning, it could be a wireframe for your training app or a contents page. It can even be the basis of a storyboard that helps you to streamline your collaborative efforts and ensure that everyone’s on the same page. So what elements are essential to your leadership online training draft?
7 Elements To Add To Your Leadership Online Training Plan
1. Simulate Problem-Solving Scenarios
We spend hours imagining promotions. If we were the boss, we’d have a bigger office, a faster car, and more expensive clothes. But we rarely think about the specific tasks involved. We don’t know what it would be like to be boss for a day. As a leadership trainer, that’s exactly what you have to do. Walk in their shoes and figure out how to help them do their job better. What kind of issues do they handle on the daily? And how can these experiences be incorporated into the course? Include negotiation tactics, soft skills, and people management. It could be as basic as how to solve an argument over parking spots, or how to assign seating positions.
2. Develop Infographics On Company Policy
Leaders face two levels of conflict. There are everyday troubles, like mediating between workers who both want a window seat. Or it could be a more complex matter, like juggling schedules during someone’s maternity/paternity leave. These are very human decisions, but they’re guided by office policy. Create easily consumable infographics regarding these policies. They could save a leader’s life, or at least their sanity, offering JIT during a high-intensity argument. Or give them all the information they need to avoid costly compliance penalties. They’re also a helpful resource for employees negotiating with their boss in such scenarios.
3. Mentorship Training To Develop Other Leaders
A smart boss doesn’t just throw their weight around. They recognize they’re only as good as their team. They can see the big picture. And they know their legacy will only live on if they set it up to continue without them. That’s why it’s important for them to identify and groom their successors. Make this a part of your leadership online training. It’s a crucial skill, and it sends a clear message that your organization is focused on growth. Knowing their organization has a long view of their career will prevent good hires from seeking opportunities elsewhere. It’s an effective retention tactic and enhances the generational success of your organization.
4. Assessment Of Self And Others
The modern world tells us a lot about introspection and individual evaluation. Still, even with goat yoga and mindfulness training, very few of us are reliably self-aware. This one characteristic could literally attain world peace, but let’s start small. Focus on your leadership online training and include self-assessment modules. It could be a pop quiz that tests recently learned material. But you should also include surveys that help corporate learners identify their strengths and flaws. Be sure to offer solutions to these "problems" as well.
5. Project Management In Varying Situations
The type of boss you are depends on your personality. It can also be influenced by your upbringing, culture, and prevailing definitions of leadership. Some leaders micromanage while others delegate everything, but the glory. Some yell and bully while others hand-hold and patronize. Offer demonstrations of different leadership models. Help online learners identify their own preferences. Use case studies to see how each model works, where it can be effective, and where other systems are preferable. Give them role-play exercises so they can practice different project leadership styles and perfect their approach. You could even help them craft their own personal model that’s specific to your organization.
6. Skill-Based Certifications
No leadership online training blueprint is complete without certifications. Specifically, skill-based certification courses that prompt leaders to hone their talents. Such as interpersonal, communication, problem-solving, and PM skills. Conduct a needs analysis to determine skill gaps, then develop certifications that tie into the pain points. Leaders must complete all the necessary activities and pass the final qualitative exam to achieve the goal. You can even create optional certification courses that allow them to upskill on their own time. This is ideal for go-getters who are always looking for new opportunities to climb up the corporate ladder.
7. Ramp Up The Competition And Collaboration With Gamification
When most people think of leaderboards they think of steep competition. Battling against your co-workers to reach the top. However, when it’s done right, gamification can fuel friendly competition and collaboration among your leadership. It’s not just leaderboards that you should consider. Badges, points, and levels are all powerful motivators that can get leaders actively involved in online training. As well as, help them track their achievements and identify personal areas for improvement. You can even incorporate incentives for promoting the training in-house. For example, they receive a special badge once their entire team completes a course. Or if they boost online training participation in their department by 50% this quarter.
Conclusion
Before you develop any kind of leadership online training program, you need a blueprint. It builds a better course because it lays out the bare bones, allowing you to tweak as you go. The blueprint also forms a basis for later course updates. What should the outline, and the course itself, contain? Simulations that train specific problem-solving skills. Infographics that summarize office policies. Techniques on spotting and developing future leaders. Self-evaluation and assessment tips for underlings. Guidance on how to successfully supervise corporate projects. All these lessons make better leaders, and a better company overall.
