There is more leadership training has to offer than teaching you how to manage other people. We’ve compiled a list of reasons why leadership training can benefit you.
The last few years have resulted in major changes in how we operate. Zoom calls helped us collaborate when we had to abandon our offices. And we learned most meetings really could have just been an email this whole time. Shifts in the way we do business might have also given you the opportunity to evaluate where you’re at in your career. Are you happy with the progress you’ve made so far? Do you feel fulfilled?
When everything starts changing around you, it’s natural to consider where you are and where you want to be. If those two versions of yourself aren’t the same, there are options to help you find what’s missing in your career.
Maybe you feel trapped in a dead-end job but have no idea how to start over. Or maybe you keep getting passed over for promotions. You might even be working multiple jobs with no time to take care of yourself, wondering if there is ever going to be more stability for you.
At MacklinConnection, we are committed to helping people build trust in who they are and where they are going. After 30 years of developing and testing our method, we believe that learning how to be the leader of your life can catalyze career growth. If you’re feeling stuck, leadership development might be the tool you’ve been looking for to gain momentum.
Obviously, we have a bias towards leadership development and think it could be a life-changing move if you invest in it. So, to help you learn if leadership training can guide you to take the next step in your career, we’ve compiled a list of 5 of the biggest benefits of taking a leadership development course.
Although there are many essential takeaways from leadership training, we feel some of the most important ones are:
These skills will help you begin to create new opportunities for yourself at work and establish you as someone others want to work with.
If you aren’t confident in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to want to rely on you? Leadership training will help you find your self-limiting beliefs and learn how to prevent yourself from engaging in negative self-talk.
In leadership training, you will be encouraged to be curious and try new things - even if it means making mistakes. This will help you learn to face your fears and realize that you are capable of navigating through uncomfortable situations.
Leadership training will also help you reflect on who you are and what you stand for. What are your beliefs? What will you not compromise on? Where are you open to change? When you have a better understanding of yourself, you can offer a more authentic version of yourself in exchanges with others and be seen and valued for who you are.
As humans, we are social beings. We cannot survive without help - even though we try to convince ourselves that we can. In leadership training, you will learn how to build better teams and networks. A leader knows when to ask for help, and leadership training will equip you with a better understanding of how you can approach someone for guidance when you feel you are stuck.
Additionally, developing leadership skills involves trust, communication, vulnerability, and emotional intelligence. These are also requirements for connecting with others. By learning how to lead, you are ultimately learning how to connect.
We love to see how our classes create networks. Even though our leadership workshop is taught online, by the end of the program, our participants consistently have reported developing lifelong friendships with people they’ve never actually met in person. When you feel like you’re struggling to make a change or be seen at work, reaching out to your network of connections can assist you in getting a new perspective on how you’re feeling or even lead to a new job opportunity.
Physical proximity is not an important factor in being able to connect. As we rely more and more on our virtual worlds, you can apply the skills you learn in leadership training to be able to connect with anyone, anywhere. As long as you are willing to be authentic and empathetic, you can expand your network no matter if you’re meeting in person or through a screen.
Being able to communicate is an essential skill - no matter what position you have at work. For any team to be successful, each member needs to be able to clearly communicate with the others. It’s probably easy to think of a time when you were working on a group project and a lack of communication resulted in complete failure.
Communication is a vital tool for leadership. A leader harnesses communication skills to inspire others and empower a team to achieve a goal. Communication is also essential for gaining perspective on all levels of a project.
Leadership training will teach you how to adapt your communication style so you can better convey ideas depending on the situation. Motivating a team to meet a deadline requires a different communication strategy than expressing concern over a team member’s lack of engagement.
Another indicator of a great leader is someone who knows when to speak up and how to listen. Communication is a two-way street and leadership training will help you learn how to be an active participant in conversations. You’ll develop the ability to ask engaging questions that make people think and know when to invite someone to elaborate to gain a better understanding of a situation.
When you can communicate effectively, others will take notice because you’ll make them feel understood. This can be a powerful tool if you feel you are struggling to get noticed at work or are constantly missing out on a promotion. Because good communicators are always in need, leadership training can help you establish yourself as an asset in the office.
While improved communication skills might help deter a conflict before it arises, knowing what to do in the event of a tense situation is also a core skill taught in leadership training. Leadership requires the ability to navigate difficult situations and empower team members to work together constructively. Leadership training will teach you how to mediate and manage conflicts to make a team stronger.
Avoiding conflict is often much worse than acknowledging and working through a disagreement. A truly collaborative team should be able to challenge each other and offer different ideas. If everyone agrees all the time, you might be missing out on an innovative perspective or opportunity for growth.
Leadership training will guide you in how to build trust with others, which is foundational in conflict resolution. In leadership training, you’ll be given tools to help you properly manage a conflict and create a non-defensive environment for your team so that everyone involved feels supported and heard. (Hint: these techniques can be used by anyone - you don’t have to be in a management position to assist with conflict resolution.)
Teams shouldn’t pit people up against each other in oppositional or defensive roles. The conflict resolution skills you learn in leadership training will allow you to create safe spaces for your team members where everyone can contribute without fear. This leads to increased engagement, and people will be more likely to want to work with you if you foster an environment where everyone is respected.
If you feel frozen in place, unable to make any shifts in your career, leadership training can teach you how to become more comfortable with making decisions. Sometimes, we fail to act because we are scared of failing. We’d rather stay in the same situation that leaves us feeling dissatisfied than venture into the unknown.
Leaders are flexible. They understand each situation will require a unique response. They see making mistakes as an opportunity to grow and bounce back even stronger than they were before. Leadership training will give you opportunities to test new strategies and ways of being. As you experiment with making different choices, you will be able to become more comfortable with responding to the needs of each new situation.
The willingness to move out of your comfort zone is what will separate you from the rest of the crowd and align you with new opportunities. In order to feel “unstuck” you will have to start making moves - even small ones, like applying for one new job a week or approaching new people you’d like to have in your network. Even though this can feel overwhelming (even after getting leadership training), with practice, you will start to feel equipped to initiate more changes in your life.
Indecision and inaction are usually caused by a lack of reliance on your ability to make a good choice or a fear of failure. Instead, not making a choice seems like the safest option. Staying in the same place might seem like the best bet, but it is preventing you from fully experiencing how great your life could be.
By helping you have a better understanding of who you are and what you want, leadership training should ultimately help you take the next step in your career. Building trust in your ability to lead yourself will in turn establish confidence in whatever direction you choose to take. Being able to try new things and make mistakes in leadership training will help you realize it’s ok to not get it right all the time. And this will free you to continue to experiment.
Through learning a new skill set, you’ll turn your “I don’t know I don’t what to do…” into “I’m ready to make a move!” And you’ll be given the tools to help you navigate the transition with confidence. Even though you might still have some fear (we all do!), you’ll feel more prepared to shift your life and know you do have what it takes to be successful at whatever you choose to do.
Whether you get it from us or go somewhere else, we hope you find a leadership development program that can give you the tools you need to get unstuck. Time is the most precious resource we are afforded, and you deserve to feel like you aren’t wasting any of it by not moving forward to where you want to be.
When you learn how to lead yourself through leadership training, others will take notice. There is a natural magnetism that radiates from you when you release the limitations you’ve placed on yourself and focus instead on how you are already enough.
If you are ready to take the next steps in developing your leadership skills, schedule a consultation to learn more about our programs.
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