Why Training is Essential in a Recession

Many senior managers and business leaders will take the view that discretionary spending must be reduced or eliminated in a recession - it's one of the founding principles behind prudent financial management. And of course, training falls into that category, right?

Wrong!

In a recession, businesses will generally need to downsize which means they need to get greater performance from the fewer resources that remain. And this is the key factor that makes high quality training an essential component of businesses successfully navigating their way through a recession. Let's look at this purely from the perspective of leadership training, although the same principles apply to general staff training.

When resources are cut to the minimum there is no room for passengers or dead wood - everybody has to deliver. And it is the people leaders within the business who need to ensure that everybody delivers by exhibiting exceptional leadership skills.

• They need to manage performance like many have never done so before


• They need to upskill their people by coaching effectively


• They need to motivate their staff when the overall mood might be gloomy


• They need to instigate process improvements


• They need to allocate workloads more effectively


• They need to be creative and innovative when addressing challenges


• And most of all, they need to get their people really working as a team

In short, leadership skills need to be at their peak if the organisation is going to get the level of performance required from the reduced resources that are available. The really smart organisations would have invested heavily in leadership development when times were good so they already had these skills in abundance as we enter a recession. But here's the thing - when times are good, leaders often don't have the time to attend training courses and even when they do, the hectic environment of growth often doesn't provide people with the opportunity to fully apply what they have learned.

So now is the time to grasp the nettle. As with any discretionary spend the key metric is that the return on investment must be significantly greater than the spend itself and here's how this applies to leadership training:

1. Leaders must be selected based on the fact that they can improve on one or more of the factors bulletted above.
2. The leadership training or workshop must be selected on quality first and price second. In particular, the focus should be on the scope and depth of the learning outcomes.
3. Leaders must be empowered to apply what they have learned upon their return to work and fully supported in this endeavour.
4. Leaders, provided they are given the appropriate support, should be expected to deliver improved performance via their people.
5. Leaders should be expected to continue this higher level of performance once good times return once again, ensuring that the organisation exits recession stronger than it entered.

Senior managers and business leaders who adopt a broad brush, cost cutting approach while expecting the remaining resources to deliver improved performance without powerful training interventions are missing the point. Improving the capability of staff (and people leaders in particular) is more critical in a recession than at any other time.



Simon Cooper is chief executive of the Experiential Learning Centre, author of the exciting new book, Brilliant Leader and architect of the Brilliant Leadership workshops.

Leadership School

I had a fascinating dinner with a recently retired headteacher this weekend. He started off by asking me about the leadership workshop that I ran last week in San Francisco and also about the launch of Brilliant Leader, my new book. What followed though was a real eye opener for me.

He had headed a school (although it was technically branded as a college) that had developed a genuine leadership culture and delivered staggering outcomes as a result of this. An example he used was the cleaners. They were made aware of the school's vision, what they were trying to achieve, how they were trying to achieve it and most importantly, how their role fitted in with this vision. And this was the case with all staff and students throughout the school.

Everyone was encouraged to be part of the team pulling together to deliver the school's strategy. This included regular performance reviews, career/personal development discussions and an open door to ideas throughout the organisation. And when the school succeeded, the team's success was celebrated. Everyone, including the cleaners, were included in the celebration process. Individual success was also recognised through praise and reward mechanisms.

The net result? Everyone wanted to do well and so they did. Exclusions reduced dramatically, results improved likewise and everyone felt they were part of a community that was succeeding. It became one of the country's stand-out success stories and my dinner colleague spent the last couple of years before his retirement briefing headteachers up and down the country about how he went about developing a leadership culture.

It seems to me that lots of organisations and communities around the world would succeed more if they developed a genuine leadership culture. And the thing is, it really isn't that difficult. People respond to effective leadership. People respond to praise and recognition. People respond to being part of a team.

If the classic command and control environment of a school can produce transformational results by developing a leadership culture, then just imagine what can happen to a commercial organisation that follows this example. And with the threat of economic downturn becoming a reality, I would wager that companies who survive and even thrive in this environment are likely to have a strong leadership culture centred on effective communication, teamworking and recognition mechanisms that reward success.

The only note of caution I would add is that it must start from the top - that's where true leadership begins and it doesn't end until it gets to the bottom of the organisation.


Simon Cooper is Chief Executive of the Experiential Learning Centre, author of Brilliant Leader and architect of the Brilliant Leadership workshops that set new standards in how to build, develop and lead high performing teams as well as helping organisations develop a genuine leadership culture.

Animal Instincts

At the start of my Brilliant Leadership workshops I’ll often ask delegates to compare their preferred leadership style and management approach with members of the animal kingdom. Before you read the rest of this article you might like to do the same by reflecting on the following question for a moment or two:

Which animal best mirrors your own leadership style and why?

Perhaps not surprisingly one of the most popular choices is a lion, the king of the jungle. The lion rules his territory by dominating those around him. Nobody messes with a lion. Male lions are also great delegators; they eat, they sleep and they mate while the lioness takes care of everything else. Interestingly, very few female delegates choose the lion as the animal that best reflects their leadership style and by the end of the workshop, many of those who have chosen a lion have changed their minds. Specifically, a lion tends to represent an autocratic management style, leading through fear rather than co-operation.

More surprising to me are the number of delegates who choose a horse as the best reflection of their leadership style. The reasons normally focus on the fact that horses are strong, quick and graceful. They can be both independent and operate in a herd and can work hard when they need to while preferring a relaxed and carefree existence most of the time. I’m not so sure what this says about the leadership style of those delegates who elect for the horse, perhaps they are leaders who seek an easy life but can work hard and as part of a team when the pressure is on.

Some delegates have maybe been influenced by the ‘Lessons from Geese’ video otherwise it is hard to imagine that a Goose would spring to mind as reflecting key leadership behaviour. Geese of course, are great team players but a flock of geese doesn’t have an obvious leader. But then perhaps that is the point these delegates are making. Allow the team to manage themselves and they will find a way of working together synergistically just like geese do.

Another popular choice is the dolphin. Delegates who choose the dolphin are quick to point out that they are very intelligent animals with great communication skills. They are by and large friendly creatures but can become hostile when under threat. It is certainly my experience that brilliant leaders are also great communicators but I’m not so sure that there are too many geniuses amongst them. The genius of brilliant leadership probably has more to do with surrounding yourself with experts who help you do a great job.

One of my personal favourites is the eagle, particularly to reflect the behaviour and traits of brilliant strategic leaders. Eagles spend much of their time at a great height surveying the big picture but then they spot something of interest and with their great eyesight are able to hone in and look at the detail. Based on this detail, they are very decisive and swift to strike before stepping back again and looking at the big picture. Eagles are also very protective of their young while encouraging independence from an early age. Much of this behaviour sums up brilliant leadership. You need to have a view of the big picture while being able to selectively drill down and look at the detail. Brilliant leaders certainly need to be very decisive and often, swift to act. The idea of encouraging the independence of your staff based on effective coaching is also very positive leadership behaviour.

The chameleon though just pips the eagle for me, although not an animal that is often identified at the beginning of the workshop. Chameleons of course, adapt and change according to their situation and environment. And this is precisely what brilliant leaders need to do. There are times when staff need an autocratic leader and other times when they need an arm around their shoulder or perhaps just left alone to get on and do a great job. The intuitive ability to adapt and change according to each specific situation is often the hallmark of brilliant leaders.

Perhaps you thought of one of the animals above or maybe you had another idea like one of my delegates who put up a brave defence of why she had selected a mouse. The herding instincts of elephants, the communal nature of gorillas and the wisdom of owls also feature regularly among choices of the workshop participants.

But of course, there aren’t any right or wrong answers. Leadership is not an exact science and it is not my place to try and make it so. There are common behaviours and traits exhibited by many brilliant leaders and I see my job as being one of a tour guide. I can point out behaviours or actions and the effect they are having or might have in certain situations just like a tour guide can point out what you might like to look at. But whether you choose to look or not and how you apply what you see is entirely up to you.

At the end of my Brilliant Leadership workshops delegates revisit the same question. Around sixty percent have usually changed their opinion as to which animal’s behaviour and traits they wish to mirror in terms of their own leadership style.

The reality is that there is not a single leadership style or management approach that will work. Brilliant leaders develop a toolbox that they can dip into depending on the situation they find themselves in. And that is the instinct which needs to be developed.


Simon Cooper is Chief Executive of the Experiential Learning Centre, based in the UK but operating worldwide. He is also the author of Brilliant Leader and architect of the unique and powerful experiential workshop, Brilliant Leadership.