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TOP 10 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES FOR MANAGERS

Leaders completing a leadership development activity by Learn2

Managers face unique challenges in leading their teams, from balancing day-to-day responsibilities to fostering growth and collaboration. These leadership development activities are designed to help managers master practical skills and lead with confidence

Leader development happens quickly when organizations engage in targeted leadership development activities that target specific management behaviors. Leader growth does not simply happen magically over time. Dedication, commitment and ongoing leadership skill development are the cornerstones of any manager’s development.

Managers develop fastest when they are in control and get to choose. Too many leadership training programs teach from slide decks and a talking head. Now with zoom fatigue, the weakness of this lecture approach to leader development has become painfully clear. So to develop your leaders effectively, you want a participant-driven learning experience. Where the leaders are active participants – choosing their actions and gaining insight from immediate accurate feedback.

Over 50% of the Best Places to Work get a boost from a team of professionals who really know participant-driven learning. Learn2 puts your leaders in the driver’s seat of their development and support leader’s drive all the way to actual impact. Clients have found most leadership training is broken because leaders must choose to alter behavior and rarely get the support they need.

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES WITH THE LEADER IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

1. IMMERSIVE TEAM BUILDING EXPERIENCES

Team building exercises can be an incredibly useful tool for managers. Yet most implementations are shallow and only last a single session. Immersive team building experiences allow participants to choose their activities so are a perfect platform for managers focused on altering leadership behaviors. You want managers who take accountability and commit to invest the time to learn how to work as a team and how to lead the team. The best example is the award-winning Save the Titanic which offers a participant-driven immersive experience as the senior officers aboard the RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage.

2. ONE-ON-ONE HIGH IMPACT COACHING WITH A PRO

While team programs have a lot of merit, leadership coaching can rapidly develop senior leaders. Gaining insight into your blindspots by someone who walked a similar path can be clarifying. Empowering your management team with impact coaching can be the most valuable leadership development activities where your leaders learn to lead by leading to actual impact.

3. LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH RESISTANCE

Unfortunately, every management team reports that one of their biggest challenges in the workplace is dealing with resistance from all angles. Co-workers, other leaders and clients offer up serious roadblocks when they disagree with the approach or priorities. Manager learn to redirect reasons into results with the tools of how to deal with these challenging conversations in a constructive manner. The most appreciated when dealing with actual resistance to change – like projects, processes or new strategies.

4. SIMULATIONS ON MAKING OR IMPLEMENTING IMPORTANT CHANGES

Change is an inevitability in every company. Change facilitates professional growth; which is why managers need to know how to implement changes effectively without creating unnecessary resistance. Again a participant-driven approach to this management development activity shifts you from presentations about managing change by leadership consultants to participants practicing how to navigate change through a similar organizational structure.

5. APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT THOUGHT PROCESSES

While many of us are naturally wired to lead in a certain way and handle resistance with our own “old-faithful” method, it is now necessary to be able to adapt to others’ approaches. Managers who thrive are able to work naturally in other people’s approach and to learn to adapt their ways of thinking with specific leadership development activities that focus on how you actually achieve results through adapting your behaviors in specific leadership situations.

6. STRATEGY SESSIONS AND ALIGNMENT

Immerse yourself in the greatest story of leadership ever. Join Sir Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance to align on a clear big picture, inspiring goals and build the action plans to exceed all meaningful goals. This participant-driven immersive experience immerses managers inside a snowy environment that is a fantastic management training device they will always remember.

7. KEEPING WORK FLOWING

Efficient workflow is something many businesses struggle to attain. This is largely due to a lack of adequate staff training so companies invest in expensive consultants. Management and leadership development courses focusing on workflow lecture on principles and theories. A participant-driven simulation is a fun and dynamic way to learn firsthand how to get results rolling and keep it that way back at work. Managers implement projects creating on average 21,000% ROI.

8. PERSONAL LEADERSHIP FULFILLMENT

In the quest for adequate managerial training, personnel often find themselves pushing their own dreams to the side. A “dream big” leadership development program enables managers to get empowered by their futures within the company. Managers who can see their personal desires fulfilled at work – thrive. Connecting a leader’s motivation to results empowers the leader and the culture of their teams. A balanced lifestyle embraces lots of profitable AND purposeful impact. In fact, it transforms every manager into a great leader.

9. EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AND REWARDS

Often, the key to creating the conditions for performance as a successful manager lies in building on the strengths of peers and team members because you know how to recognize and reward them. Recognition is only difficult when you don’t know your people. This is why a management development course on finding the strengths of others so you can recognize and reward effectively is a good move. Again the focus is on the manager practicing engaging their peers and people rather than a lecture.

10. BE CREATIVE

Creativity is often killed by time or priorities in the corporate world. Good managers think creatively and imaginatively. Creativity workshops expand on specific skill sets through leadership development activities and practice that opens the door to new approaches to old challenges. One team at Sprint solved two of their biggest long term issues in one session – even calling executives to the room to hear the solutions.

Take the Next Step in Developing Great Managers

Leadership development doesn’t stop at activities—it’s about transforming potential into real results. Whether you’re helping managers handle tough conversations, align their teams, or inspire collaboration, having the right tools and frameworks is essential.

At Learn2, we specialize in equipping managers with the skills they need to succeed through immersive, participant-driven programs like Communicate Naturally and Save the Titanic.

Ready to invest in your managers? Here’s how to start:

About Author

Doug Bolger is the world’s foremost instructional designer for participant-driven designs. He is changing how the world works, by changing how the world learns.

leadership development

SAVE THE TITANIC

An Immersive Leadership Experience

Traditional training falls short. Save the Titanic™ immerses your team on the bridge of the Titanic, rekindling their passion for learning and teamwork. Backed by $750 billion in economic impact, we guarantee 4X ROI.