Why Leadership Training Doesn’t Stick — and What to Check Before Buying More -

A finished course can still leave you with the problem you paid to solve.

Before spending more on leadership training, check whether the gap is in the course, the practice, or the follow-through.

In a meeting with business owners, we were discussing how their team was using training we had provided. One owner described employees watching the videos but mostly missing the worksheets and group discussion. Some hadn't understood that those activities were part of the work.

The owner also acknowledged that the hands-on follow-up needed leadership attention. Competing demands kept getting in the way.

Having material available and helping people use it are separate responsibilities. The second one deserves as much attention as the first.

If you're considering leadership training for your business, ask how the learning will get used. Before adding more material, check the problems below. They can help you evaluate both a new program and one you already own.

The completion report becomes the definition of success

A completed lesson tells you that an activity happened. Depending on the program, a quiz may also tell you whether someone can recall the material. Neither automatically shows that the person can use the skill during a busy workday.

Choose a behavior you want to see. After a lesson on delegation, for example, a manager might explain the required outcome, check the employee's understanding and agree on when they will review the work.

Those are things you can observe. They give the manager a chance to practice and the person coaching them something specific to discuss.

Ask a training provider how you will evaluate application. If all the reporting stops at course completion, decide who in your business will take responsibility for the next step.

The manager has no clear part in the program

In that client meeting, the missing worksheets and discussions weren't a mystery about the content. There was a gap in how the program was being used. People needed to know what to do, and someone needed to guide the follow-through.

Before assigning training, make the manager's role explicit. Do they introduce the lesson? Discuss it afterward? Observe a practice attempt? Remove an obstacle? Choose the actions that fit the skill and the work.

Then check whether that responsibility fits the manager's workload. A plan that depends on time no one has protected is fragile.

When you compare programs, ask what support the manager receives. A library of lessons can be valuable, but your team may also need facilitation, coaching or help building a repeatable routine.

People are asked to practice without a clear standard

A leader I coach described a familiar delegation problem. He would explain a task, believe his team understood, and later find work that missed the standard he had in mind.

Some of his expertise came from doing the work repeatedly. The team could watch his actions without seeing all the decisions behind them. We discussed what it would take to build that judgment in someone else, including the possibility of a clearer standards document.

Training should help you connect the lesson to an actual expectation. Ask the person learning to explain what good work looks like, what they will check and when they should ask for help. Their answer will tell you more than a nod.

There is no suitable opportunity to use the skill

A lesson on feedback needs a real opportunity to give feedback. A lesson on delegation needs work that can be delegated with appropriate support.

Before assigning the course, identify where the person can practice. Make the task manageable enough for learning while keeping responsibility and quality clear.

The first attempt may be awkward. Decide how the person will get feedback and another opportunity to try. A single attempt followed by silence gives them little help improving.

When evaluating a program, look for exercises you can connect to your business. An activity that produces a thoughtful discussion can help, but you should also be able to explain how that discussion changes the next week of work.

Questions to ask before you buy

Start with a specific problem you want the training to help solve. Then ask the provider:

What should participants be able to do differently?
Where will they practice that skill in their actual work?
What does the manager need to do?
How will we review application as well as completion?
What support is included when implementation gets stuck?

Ask for a concrete example of that process. You don't need a promise that every participant will improve at the same rate. You need a credible explanation of how the program helps people move from understanding an idea to using it.

When more training makes sense

Additional training can make sense when you have identified a skill gap and have a way to support practice. A new manager may need instruction in setting expectations. An experienced leader may need help with a responsibility they haven't held before.

You may get more value from your current program first if lessons are unfinished, the activities are being missed or no one owns the follow-up. You may need individual coaching when the person understands the principle but struggles to apply it in their particular situation.

These are judgments to make with the facts of your business. If you want help, bring one example of training that hasn't changed the work. We can look at the content, expectations, practice and manager involvement together.

That's the conversation I want to have before recommending what you should buy next.

Discuss where training is getting stuck