There are many different leadership training topics.  As a leader, you need to take the time to get to know your team and understand their needs.  Knowing your team dictates how different leadership training topics will be received.

The importance of training topics is always fluid.  Each day bring new challenges and with it comes different priorities.  If the leadership training topic does not match the issues facing others, it will not be well received.

For example, training that that touches on an unrelated topic will lead to frustrations.  When your team members attend this learning opportunity there mind will likely be elsewhere.

This means that a person could receive benefit, but the value will likely be minimal.  New ideas will likely be irrelevant if they cannot be applied.

Topics that match problems are more welcoming to training around this topic.  Applicability of training provides motivation to attend and remain open during the material delivery.

All this leads to two considerations for before choosing a training topic.  Select leadership training topics by:

  1. Consider the problems your team is facing
  2. Think about the application of the lessons
  3. Inform your team of the benefits of the training discussion

Common Leadership Training Topics

Communication

Effective communication is an area that individuals can always devote time.  Internal communication consists of spoken and written dialogue to team members.  External communication consists of enhancing customer service skills.

Both forms of communication are vital to the success of the organization. Training opportunities to allow others to practice delivering difficult messages.

These sessions help others to internalize the struggles of other team members.  Stressful situations united individuals especially when they are sharing the same organizational vision.  As a result, team cohesion ensues as people gain a deeper appreciation for one another.

These types of meetings allow individuals to collaborate.  Bringing individuals together from other areas provides the chance for new interactions and relationships.  Communication allows different people to work together to develop innovative solutions.

[Tweet “Innovative solutions are the result of thinking outside the box.”]

Conflict Resolution

Closely tied to communication is conflict resolution.  Individuals who face stress may not always respond appropriately.  The severity of this inappropriate response is multiplied when working with customers.

Training sessions that deal with conflict resolution should address stress management.

There are a number of techniques to manage stress.  Some approaches are better for others given a situation.  Therefore, a variety of approaches should be delivered with the opportunity to use them.  Role-playing allows individuals to see how these approaches may apply in context.

Performance Reviews and Feedback

One of the common leadership training topics is performance reviews and feedback.  Many organizations have periodic performance reviews.  One review is usually for the state and health of the organization.  Another review is for individual performance.

Often organizational performance reviews include time to complete a survey.  This survey helps acquire information in a 360-degree manner.  When combining different sources for review, leaders can identify problematic areas.

Upon identification of these problematic areas, leaders can develop action plans necessary for improvement.  When you are in a leadership role, you may find you suffer from tunnel vision.  You see what you want to see.  As a result, you can be a disillusioned leader.

It is important to call upon different sources of information to form your opinions.  To understand your performance you should compare your results to the results of others.  By forming comparisons, you are able to benchmark your progress.

Leadership training is also the time to get and provide individual performance reviews.  Typically, these occur in a one on one meeting with a senior leader.  This is an opportunity to identify your strengths and weaknesses as others see you.

Individual feedback can be difficult to stomach, whether delivering or receiving the feedback.  It is important to be honest with one another and allow the other person to speak freely.  After delivering or receiving the message, allow the other person to speak and ask questions.

[Tweet “Poor performance can be the result of unclear organizational goals or lack of training. “]

Decision Making

Decision-making is an overarching theme that includes diverse subtopics.  When offering training around decision making consider common organizational problems and pitfalls.

Individuals can learn about this topic through different mediums.  For this reason, consider your audience when delivering the material.  Provide opportunities for team members to practice newly gained insight.  Finally, connect decision-making topics with organizational goals, vision, and mission.

[Tweet “Teach others how their decisions affect the results of the organization. “]

Skill Development

Leadership games can be used for training and developing your followers around specific skills.  Skill development is the time to engage people, relieve stress, let your guard down a bit, and have fun.

Customer feedback is a rich source of ideas to help select a skill for improvement.  Discover opportunities for skill development by analyzing your competitors and using organizational feedback.

Conclusion

There are many leadership training topics you can explore.  Remember to consider your audience and relate the material to their needs.  Comment about your last leadership training exercise and the value that it provided.

Resources

10 Team Building Activities for Work Small Groups

6 Motivating and Empowering Poems About Leadership