Ever attended a great leadership training course and then failed to put your skills into practice? You are not alone.

5 Top tips for embedding those new leadership skills and delivering value from your training.

One of the biggest frustrations I encountered during my prior corporate career was getting quality leadership skill development, both for myself and my team. This is one of the things that drove me towards a career and ultimately building a business around leadership development.

Leadership performance has never been under as much scrutiny as it is right now. Millennials will make up the largest proportion of the workforce by 2025 in Australia, and it is well documented that their expectations of leaders differ from historical attitudes. And these new attitudes are rubbing off on their Gen X colleagues too. Shareholders are increasingly concerned about "how" you do business, it's not just about the profit line anymore. Technology development is now so rapid that rigid long-term plans are passe and leaders are expected to be uber flexible, creative and innovative thinkers. And then on top of that, the COVID19 pandemic has us all looking to leaders to step up and guide us in a completely unpredictable world. 

For very good reason, plenty of dollars are spent on leadership skill development by both companies and individuals. According to TrainingIndustry.com, globally the size of the leadership education industry is estimated at US$366 Billion. But what exactly is the return on that huge investment both for the people it seeks to develop and the organisations that are looking for value?

How many times have you seen or experienced yourself that scenario where someone heads off excitedly on a 1,2,3+ day leadership program. They are taught some great, well evidenced tips, techniques, concepts and frameworks. The excitement builds..."this is going to transform the way I lead my team"..."I'm finally going to be able to start delegating"..."I'll bring these skills back to the office and I will finally be able to get that promotion"...etc.

The trouble is, by the time you have come back to the workplace, you are on catch up. The time spent out the business on your course means that you now have extra work to catch up on. You think to yourself, I'll spend the next day or two getting ahead and then I'll get onto applying that leadership stuff I learnt. In the meantime an urgent issue has come up. You push back the leadership stuff a few more days, and so on. You get the picture.

By the time you come to actually implementing your new learnings you have probably forgotten a large proportion of it. In fact, after just a few days, an adult will have forgotten about 60% of their new knowledge (learn more about the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve - link below). 

So, how do you ensure your new knowledge is both remembered and implemented? I have also identified some simple tips that everyone can achieve that will take your learning from concept to delivering maximum value to both you and your workplace:

1. Apply your new skills immediately
2. Visualise your new skills in the actual work setting
3. Talk to someone about your learnings
4. Get some Guinea-Pigs
5. Practice practice practice

Today's focus in on #1, and I will do a deep dive on one tip each post, so be sure to follow me for the next top tip.

Tip #1 - Apply your new skills immediately

This one is based directly from the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve (love that name, it's unforgettable!) I quoted above. Although Ebbinghaus concluded that knowledge is rapidly lost after acquiring it, the good news is that if you repeat the learning, or apply the learning, the rate of knowledge loss slows. The more we repeat and apply, the more we retain. Brilliant! So this is why we race back to the office, find some unassuming team member and ply your skills. Well not quite, but you get the gist.

Break it up into smaller chunks
But what about the fact that there will be work backing up waiting for you when you return to the office? This is the reality for most of us. Well what if I said to you that you only need to put 30 minutes aside the next day to review your notes and apply one skill? And then 30 minutes the next day, and so on.... Breaking it up into smaller chunks each day will seem more achievable. And when I say put the time aside, actually put it in your calendar and DO NOT BOOK ANYTHING OVER IT. 

Make it part of your day
The other thing you can do is to look for opportunities in your day to apply the skills. After your wonderful course finishes, take a look in your diary for the next week. What have you got coming up where one of the new skills could help? Make a note of which skill you will apply in your calendar entry then just before you attend, take a quick few minutes to review your notes from the course, then away you go flexing your new expertise.

Get a buddy
If self-discipline and time management are real problems for you, or you just have trouble saying no to those urgent tasks, then getting yourself an accountability buddy is a great idea. One idea could be to use your manager. Tell him or her about the skills you want to apply and set yourself some deadlines. A good boss will happily hold you to account and will likely to pleased that their (or your) investment is being taken seriously. Or find someone you gelled with on the course and be each others accountability buddies.

The weekend is a knowledge killer
Try to avoid going on courses that finish on a Friday. The weekend is a knowledge killer. And if you can't avoid it, look for opportunities to practice your skills at home. Perhaps you have learned how to more effectively delegate. Why not practice on the kids? Maybe you have learnt some great communication techniques, then your spouse or friends could be willing recipients.

The long and short of it is, get your skills practiced as soon as you possibly can. Put small chunks of time aside in your week, look for opportunities in your current schedule, get an accountability buddy and try to avoid courses ending on a Friday. And if all else fails, try delegating to your kids. Good luck with that one!

Stay tuned for tip #2 and please follow me and my business - MindCraft Leadership on LinkedIn. And reach out and contact me if you would like a free confidential chat about your, or your businesses, leadership development needs and ensuring your investment pays off.

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To read more on the effect of the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve:
Shrestha, P., "Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve", in Psychestudy, Nov 17, 2017, ​
www.psychestudy.com/cognitive/memory/eddinghaus-forgetting-curve