Transforming Millennial Leadership Training Through eLearning

We tend to think of leaders as rather heroic individuals: Stellar, exceptional human beings, who are not afraid to step up and take the helm…or the fall, depending on the situation.

The idea of a ‘singular’ leader however, is fast becoming a relic. As our corporate workforce gets younger, a new paradigm of leadership is emerging: leaders among managers and collective/team leadership.

This is because the ‘millennial’ workforce is realizing that ‘leaders’ aren’t born. Rather, that leadership is nothing but a collection of unique skill sets: Skills that can be learned. And doing so is within the reach of every employee. Because at the end of the day, all a leader needs to do, whether they manage one individual or multiple cross-functional teams, is inspire, direct and motivate his/her teams to ensure that they consistently deliver. This is possible only if a budding leader is trained well.

Leadership training however, is not effective when it’s confined to textbooks, classrooms, and lectures.

You can’t expect people to lead organizations after a few weeks of classroom training on Leadership-101. It’s likely that a few may succeed. But, it’s much more likely that many will fail, with devastating consequences: for the individual, for their teams, and possibly even for the organization.

Want a tried and tested solution?

Here it is: eLearning.

And here’s why:

Knowledge, by itself, does not make a leader

Ask yourself this, would you consult a surgeon if you knew he/she knows the principles of human anatomy down to the T, but has never touched a scalpel before? The same is true of leaders. Reading about leadership principles and leading a team are about as different from each other as are studying biology and performing a surgery.

Theories and principles of leadership are just theories and principles. Real leadership happens in practice, in real life.

This is where eLearning comes into play. eLearning takes the learner out of the classroom and puts him/her into the pilot’s seat. Using eLearning, you can put learners in real life situations that they would encounter in their day to day activities as Leaders. This makes the leadership training both relevant and specific.

Practice beats theory anyday, anytime

Contrary to traditional classroom based training where knowledge transfer is strictly linear, eLearning uses videos, simulations and scenario-based assessments based on day to day situations specific to your organization to create a tailor-made and immersive training.

For example, learners in leadership programs are trained on creating and managing client relationships/interactions. ELearning can supplement the same by putting the learners in the shoes of a leader. Scenario based assessments in which learners have to determine the feasibility of continuing relations with a client, based on provided metrics, is just one example.

E-learning provides room for originality, creativity and innovation

One remarkable trait of eLearning is its ability to promote exploration and creativity. It gives learners the space to play “what ifs” and “why nots”. Traditional, instructor led training models fail to do so by restricting their flow of knowledge to the “this is how we’ve always done it/ we never do it this way” pathway. This puts creativity, originality and innovation of learners at risk. Elearning however, places learners in a low-risk and less formal environment in which they are free to apply their own principles and devise original solutions to existing problems.

And it saves time

We all know that managers/team leads are busy professionals with a lot on their plates. You can’t put them through 4-hour long classroom trainings 2–3 times a week. They simply don’t have the time.

E-learning helps you get to the point quickly, rather than forcing learners to crawl through vast columns of information. Add a sound instructional design methodology to your eLearning content and voila! You have the perfect weapon to organize information, ease accessibility, and at the same time increase retention. Moreover, delivering eLearning using a platform such as an LMS creates a centralized knowledge hub which can be accessed by anyone, anywhere. This works well for busy professionals as it allows insight into the overall content in a condensed format, such as quick reference guides or checklists.

In Summary

E-Learning can bridge the gap between knowing about leadership, and being a leader in real life. However, just like all other facets of life, you need to strike a balance. E-learning without a mentor is not as effective as it is with one.

Coaching and mentoring is necessary to ensure retention and reinforcement of acquired knowledge. When e-learning is coupled with in-person coaching, learners are better equipped with the necessary tools and skills to be an effective leader.