Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a similar conversation with HR leaders in two different organizations.

The traditional playbook for developing leaders used to be sending your managers/leaders or high potential people away to leadership training at fellowship programs, leadership institutes, certificate programs, or even university programs. 

Or if you had the resources, you could build your own internal program.

Here’s the problem that seems to have multiplied over the years – it looks great on a performance review and a resume, but really it’s just an expensive band-aid. 

It’s an incomplete solution. 

What’s the missing ingredient?

As one HR leader said to me: “I send them for training to different places, but they still don’t work well together”.  

Now, I’ve worked with many people that have gone through those programs.. They’ve become incredible leaders. They learned really great skills around influence, inspiration, delegation, coaching, etc. and they were really good and they advanced super far in their careers.

The reality is just because we’re sending people to leadership development doesn’t mean that they’re actually developing as a leadership team.  And often that’s the missing key.

As another HR leader shared, they found their organization didn’t just have silos, but leaders from different silos were actively competing and territorial around resources.

And she knew where the problem began – tension from a misaligned top level.

The Power of Alignment

Over the years, I’ve heard this pattern over and over again.

That’s why the imPACT Leadership Academy is built around  internal cohorts of leaders. It’s because there’s something that happens when groups go through a training together that allows them to start working well together: 

• They start speaking the same language
• They stop working against each other and start rowing in the same direction
• They get honest about their own strengths and gaps and everyone else’s too
• Instead of needing a new consultant everytime there’s an issue, they’ve built a habit of relying and supporting each other.

The idea of co-hort based programs isn’t new.  Their efficacy isn’t new.

But, for small organizations that can barely afford an HR person, it’s usually not on their radar of what’s possible.

The imPACT Leadership Academy was built specifically to solve that problem.  

If achieving your mission without the ongoing stress of feeling like you’re pulling teeth is worth it, then let’s chat.  

Cheers,

Chris

PS – Big news!  I’ve started writing a book for small nonprofits specifically around how to do succession planning and leadership development even on a shoestring budget. Right now, I’m looking to interview Executive Directors of organizations that fit this profile:

• Human service nonprofit
• Organization size under 100 people
• No formal L&D or HR team, or at most an HR team of 1.

If you know someone who fits this profile and would be good for me to interview, please either reply to me or forward this newsletter to them!