The Importance of Leadership Training for Managers

Written by Nic Dampier

leadership training for managers

What Is Leadership Training?

Effective leadership training teaches leaders how they can become more impactful and relate to their employees, increasing productivity and employee engagement. Frontline offers courses in leadership that can be beneficial to a wide variety of industries.

The Importance of Leadership

The benefits of leadership development training are not only for leaders, but also for everyone who impacts the company as a whole and their branding. Leadership is influence, and if leadership is poor, it can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction in teams. Employees who feel this way are less likely to perform their best and more likely to disengage and start looking elsewhere. 

Effective leadership training leads to an increase in profits, with a 22% increase in revenue. Leaders need to be strong in their resolution and manage their reports by making sure they know their responsibilities and function within the team structure. Disorganized leadership trickles down to the rest of the company’s roles, creating a chaotic and confusing workplace environment. According to Developmental Dimensions International, 70% of employees leave because they are unhappy with their direct supervisor.

When a leader is properly equipped through training and development to lead people well, it changes how teams perform and can lead to better retention. After all, people are more likely to work harder to please someone they like and respect. 

Who Needs Leadership Training?

Leaders at all levels—emerging, new, or tenured—will benefit from robust leadership training. 

One of the biggest mistakes made by companies is to promote someone because they are good at their job. Leading and managing people takes a whole different skill set that will require intentional training to master. According to Developmental Dimensions International, 90% of leaders who were promoted said they were unprepared, and 70% were surprised. Everyone can benefit from leadership development training, including managers, supervisors, and department leads. 

Benefits of Leadership Training

Many aspects of a business can be improved through leadership training for managers:

  • Identification of leadership style: Self-awareness is key. Knowing your leadership style allows you to better navigate your strengths and weaknesses. It also empowers them to navigate what is natural and how to flex in areas to better serve their teams.
  • Heightened confidence: Leadership roles can take a while to become accustomed to, especially if the new leader was just promoted to lead employees whom they were working alongside recently. Leadership training can improve confidence in the ability to lead, make decisions, and delegate tasks. 
  • Ability to adapt: While effective leaders need to be steadfast, they must also be flexible and open to change. They cannot let a mindset of, “We’ve always done it this way,” get in the way of utilizing new, more progressive methods. Leadership training provides the tools to maintain the right balance of strength and flexibility.
  • Stronger team dynamics: Working together to achieve a common goal brings people together. Good leadership gives employees a sense of direction and better relationships with one another. 
  • Improved processes: Leadership training teaches how to successfully implement structure within your company. Better processes through good leadership leads to higher productivity. 
  • Increased employee retention: Employees are loyal to effective leadership. A great leader leads to employees feeling appreciated and motivated in their job. 
  • Better profits: Not only does cultivating a better relationship with employees result in stronger performance and more motivated employees, it can also lead to greater retention, which saves money in recruiting and onboarding costs.

Leadership Skills Examples

Leadership development training inspires leaders to evolve their skills and abilities to include:

  • Effective communication: Miscommunication is a huge barrier in the workforce. To delegate a task, expectations must be communicated clearly. Leadership training teaches how to communicate directly and effectively. 
  • Employee motivation: Management often has difficulty understanding how to motivate employees. Leadership training shows how to engage employees by utilizing their natural strengths and talents to work toward an objective or team goal.
  • Empathetic, active listening: Leaders need to practice listening as well as powerful speaking. Knowing how to acknowledge and validate is a powerful way to show active listening and empathy. 
  • Smarter decision-making: Everyone struggles with making difficult decisions. Leadership skill development can prepare you to navigate the hard choices of management. 
  • Conflict management: In even the healthiest of workplaces, conflict can arise. Learning how to work with conflict and bring out the best of it can set the tone for the rest of the team. 
  • Time management: When information isn’t effectively relayed to every department, miscommunication ensues and time is wasted. A leader who has learned how to manage time more efficiently will also have greater performance. 

Types of Leadership Training Courses

There are several types of leadership training courses we offer at Frontline. They offer a multitude of tools and techniques for various industries, connecting all levels of management. We also have specific courses for human resources, such as Strategic Human Resources Leadership and The Frontline Human Resources Manager

Purpose-Driven Leadership Training

Purpose-Driven Leadership Training builds self-reflection capabilities and improves workplace culture by teaching leaders to recognize how their leadership impacts their reports. New and experienced leaders learn the tools to bring out the best in their workforce, and it serves as a catalyst for personal and professional growth. 

Leadership Foundations

Our Leadership Foundations course provides a base knowledge of leadership skills for those looking to grow as a leader. It is especially beneficial for new leaders who recently have been overwhelmed by their new role. Leaders will learn the building blocks they need to be a successful leader. It encourages them to examine their leadership behaviors and make a commitment to implement new leadership techniques they’ve learned. 

Supervisor Boot Camp

Supervisor Boot Camp provides practical skills for the process of transitioning from peer to leader. After coming from strong technical skills and day-to-day operations, a new leader will need a new skill set entirely. This training is oriented for manufacturing leaders. 

Developing Coaching Leaders

Developing Coaching Leaders is an advanced class that takes leaders to the next level of coaching and giving feedback. Employees are more likely to stay where they are mentored and encouraged to grow. This course teaches leaders how to coach their reports to critically think through situations and take ownership and accountability in their jobs. Leaders throughout the course of this training will put into practice skills they learn through peer coaching.

Leadership Alignment for Operational Excellence

Leadership Alignment for Operational Intelligence is a course designed to teach effective collaboration among all levels of leadership. This is an ideal learning opportunity specifically for manufacturing and industrial leaders. A lot of confusion happens at the different levels of management, and this course will teach leaders how to align communication and goals throughout leadership levels. 

In this training, participants are split into three leadership levels—top management, mid-management, and team leads—to focus on topics applicable to their role. They then assess what leadership traits would benefit their position and work together to create more efficient processes. 

Leading Change

Leading Change covers how to navigate the challenges that come with change in an organization. This training will also address how to handle the emotional consequences of such a change with a practical, project-based approach. This is a helpful course for any company undergoing a merger or acquisition, or expanding their company with new hires. Participants learn how to design a plan for managing change.

Emotional Intelligence

Foundations of Emotional Intelligence is about learning how to manage and regulate disruptive emotions that can impact performance and team collaboration. Understanding how triggers and stress impact us personally and professionally can bring greater awareness for development. For those who surpass this course, there is Advanced Emotional Intelligence training available. 

Get Effective Leadership Training from Frontline

Enrolling in training to set the leader up for success is Frontline’s passion and goal. Now that you know the importance of effective leadership training programs, enroll with Frontline. Additionally, we have helpful tools ideal for onboarding training, team-building exercises, and goal-setting for the year to come. Contact us with a challenge your workplace is facing, and we’ll be happy to recommend a course for you.

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About the Author

Nic Dampier

Nic Dampier understands the value of good storytelling and the impact this has on brand identity and community. As the Director of Marketing for Express Employment Professionals of Grand Rapids, as well as Frontline Training Solutions and the Grand Rapids, Michigan location of Specialized Recruiting Group, he is responsible for the strategic direction, vision, and branding of all marketing and communication initiatives. He has a passion for storytelling with excellence and helping brands become scalable and sustainable. Nic is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Degree in Strategic Communication Management and is focused on developing brand strategy that cuts through the noise by following a communication filter he designed called C.R.I.C.K.E.T., which stands for brand messaging that is Clear, Relatable, Intentional, Consistent, Kinetic, Engaging, and Truthful. Nic is also a veteran of the United States Navy, where he served as a Religious Program Specialist Petty Officer Second Class immersed in the middle east culture learning how to communicate across cultural boundaries. After the Navy, he spent a decade serving as a Creative Arts Pastor for a large multi-site church network telling stories of the church and directing the production/music experience for thousands of people in person and online. He is an accomplished destination wedding and brand filmmaker of 13 years. Most recently he was featured in the 2021 ArtPrize International Art Competition as a “must see,” by local news where he won 97 individual fan-favorite awards for his entry featuring 19 stories overcoming various adversity and struggles like homelessness, alcoholism, and prison through…