4 Questions to Determine the Right Leadership Development Goals领导development programs must be tracked to prove its effectiveness. Here are four questions to help you determine the right leadership development goals.

ByThuy Sindell and Milo Sindell

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

shutterstock

The ROI of leadership development programs are typically hard to track because companies don't have many metrics to go on. But an effective development program needs to be tracked. To do that, companies need to start by determining their goals for the program.

These goals need to be specific. "Improve leadership" won't cut it. Here are a few questions to help companies hone in on their goals and find the purpose behind their leadership development programs.

1. How will the program promote the company mission?

最简单的问题开始leadership development program is why does the company need it? Maybe it's to increase engagement, improve workplace relationships or build more effective teams. Whatever the reason is, it should relate back to the company mission and overall goals. For example, better relationships may lead to better customer service, better teamwork and new and innovative ideas.

This is where the program should start, but many companies are missing this opportunity. In fact, 61 percent of North American employees surveyed by Achievers in 2015 said they don't know their company's mission.

Before launching any leadership development program, take time to think about the company mission and how the program will promote it. Think about which leadership strategies and skills the program should focus on to connect with the mission and move company goals forward.

2. What skills need improvement?

Great leadership isn't a quality on its own. Individual skills make up great leaders. So it's not enough to say a leadership development program will improve leadership overall. It needs be specific in what skills the program will focus on, behaviors that will embody those skills and how employees will improve.

Related:What 'The Oregon Trail' Can Teach You About Building a $1 Billion Business

Start with skills' assessments to determine what employees need to focus on and what the development should target. That way, progress in different competencies can be tracked, and companies can see the real impact of the development program.

3. How will the program advance employee careers?

Thinking about how leadership development will impact the organization is only half of the equation. How will it impact employees? What will leaders look like and how will they perform after development? How will it advance their careers?

领导development isn't just a feel good activity. It should have a meaningful impact on employees and their careers. After all, astudyof 665 global organizations conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity found that high-performance organizations surveyed were more than twice as likely to prioritize the movement of talent, while low-performance organizations were 2.5 times more likely to say the movement of talent doesn't matter.

Related:3 Ways an Open Office Makes Me a Better Leader

To better connect leadership development programs to talent mobility, have employees set their own individual goals before they start the program. Then, track the progress of their goals throughout and after training. Did the program actually move employees closer to their goals?

4. How will development impact employees?

领导development doesn't just impact those who participate in the program. It has the potential to impact everyone in the organization. With better leaders, employees are more engaged, happier, more productive and are more likely to stick around.

In fact, 50 percent of employeessurveyedby Gallup in 2015 said they have left a job to get away from a manager at some point in their career. In addition, the same study found that managers account for at least 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units.

Related:10 Lessons on Perseverance From Barack Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio and Other Influential Leaders

Better leadership will result in better talent management, but how? What impact should the development have on employees? Does the organization want to see improved retention? More referrals? More productive employees?

Before starting leadership development, determine what effect the program should have on employees. That way, the organization can track the metrics that really matter.

Thuy Sindell and Milo Sindell

Principals of Skyline Group International

The Sindells are principals in Skyline Group International, Inc., Skyline Group is the leading provider of scalable leadership solutions with a foundation built upon decades of executive coaching with some of the most recognized companies in the world. Skyline is revolutionizing the leadership development industry with the C4X coaching platform. C4X is the only coaching solution that gives you the ability to develop all leaders consistently and systematically from onboarding to executive development. C4X combines a flexible and mobile technology platform (integrated assessment, personalized content, metrics, and coach management system) with the impact and connection of 1:1 coaching. Learn more atwww.SkylineG.comandwww.C4X.com.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

领导

Young Workers Don't Want to Become Managers — and This Study Uncovers the Reason Why.

The average person has no interest in becoming a manager anymore, and the missing middle is putting companies at risk.

Living

I Tried the Semi-Private Air Carrier That Lets You Arrive 20 Minutes Before Your Flight. Here's What It Was Like — And How to Do It Affordably.

"There's a reason people pay 10 to 100 times more to fly privately than to fly commercially. You just want to save time, right? It's not about Champagne and caviar."

Business News

Jeff Bezos Becomes His Own Neighbor, Purchases $78 Million Florida Mansion Next Door

The billionaire bought another house in the same Florida neighborhood in August.

Employee Experience & Recruiting

How to Better Accommodate Your Hybrid Workers — Here Are the Office Amenities They Really Want

Struggling to encourage your remote employees to return to the office? Discover the top tried-and-true amenities for hybrid workers.

Business News

In-Office Workers Spend (A Lot) More Money Than Remote Employees During the Workday. Here's How Much.

According to a new report, 66% of U.S. employees who returned to the office are spending an average of $51 per workday.

Business News

Facial Recognition Technology Is Streamlining Check-in Processes — and Raising Privacy Concerns

Facial recognition technology is increasingly being used in the travel industry at airports, theme parks, and cruises. However, the technology has sparked concern due to the lack of federal regulations, as well as questions about accuracy and bias.