7 Big Reasons to take an Online Leadership Program
By: Growth Sqapes
Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership, Leadership Program, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Skills

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

The world has been picked up and placed in a very strange and unknown environment, literally overnight. The Covid-19 virus has changed how the world will work and for organizations, the ambiguity of the situation is difficult to handle.

There will be more disruptive changes over the next two years and organizations are changing the way they learn, lead, and work, to quickly adapt to these accelerated changes.

Organizations are going through rapid changes in every facet including training and development, a critical activity for organizations to stay competitive and succeed. With severe travel restrictions in place in most places, face-to-face training programs have either been put on hold or canceled.

Though leaders are dealing with fallouts due to pay-cuts, furloughs, and job eliminations, a well-developed and effective leadership program shall help them to navigate through this crisis and re-position the business towards recovery and growth.

Even before the covid crisis, online learning was a well-established and widely used tool for training and development, and it became the only method of training delivery as countries across the world went into quarantine.

Big organizations quickly adapted to the crisis and most of them pivoted quickly to an online leadership development program. Other organizations, especially smaller ones were skeptical of the advantages of online leadership training as they had no previous experience and were unfamiliar with how it works.

The reality is that organizations cannot risk putting leadership programs on hold as employees need to feel engaged and occupied, especially in uncertain times like these.

Let’s look at seven reasons why organizations should engage in an online leadership development program.

1. Employee Engagement & Retention

Employee lay-offs, furloughs, and job eliminations are hard realities that every organization is facing due to the pandemic. That being said, it is better to hold on to good talent that shall help the organization to navigate through the crisis and set-up the business for growth in the future. An online leadership development program makes employees feel valued within the organization and good talent is always looking to learn and grow.

2. Ease of Access

Online training programs offer access anytime and from anywhere. It also allows employees to set their schedules while not disrupting life within their homes or places of domicile. With smartphones and other smart devices organizations’ can monitor employee engagement and keep them motivated during this crisis.

3. Right Selection of Courses

As there is no need to travel, organizations can choose the right leadership development program that matches the specific needs of employees. A far cry from the face-to-face training programs that limit organizations to programs available locally.

A Reasearch by CCL: Advantages of Online Learning for Leadership Development

4. Lower Cost

Online leadership development training eliminates the need for brick and mortar offices that consume vital financial resources. It also helps with everyday costs such as parking, food, travel costs, etc. This directly leads to huge savings and a positive impact on the bottom-line.

5. Creating Future Leaders

It makes financial sense for organizations to retain their current employees for as long as possible. It makes even more sense to train them to be leaders now, so they can be effective assets for the organization in the future. Providing online leadership development training to employees will ensure that future leaders are prepared to take on the new role with confidence. More on this Reddit thread.

6. Competitive Advantage

Organizations that invest in online leadership development programs today are setting themselves up for success in the future. It will also give the organization a competitive advantage compared to those companies that chose not to invest in their employees and will be ill-prepared to handle the future.

7. Effectively Manage Change

Online leadership training gives the power to organizations to help employees navigate these challenging times by increasing the employees’ ability to respond rapidly in this unpredictable business environment. It gives employees the tools and skills required to develop ideas and be able to quickly put them in place as effective strategies.

Related topic: Transformational Leadership 2.0

In conclusion, it would be safe to say that the above points have listed the advantages, and the need for organizations to invest in an online leadership training program. Equipping teams with the right kind of skills let your organization plan better for a successful future. Online Leadership Development Programs empower both the organization and the employees.

Thanks. I hope you found it interesting and helpful.

Also check my article on Covid-coping Strategies.