I’ve been trained. I’ve delivered training. And I’ve learned a hard truth: training alone doesn’t work.
When training does not lead to meaningful change, ask:
Training can introduce new ideas. But the real work of leadership development happens afterward—when people have the space, support, and accountability to practice those ideas until they become habits.
Let me explain.
Before any training begins, there should be a clear answer to one simple question: What will this person be able to do differently after the training?
Without that clarity, training easily becomes an event rather than an investment. I can tell you that in my case, clarity of objective was rarely set, especially for leadership training.
Of course, people do need to learn new skills. Training can introduce ideas, frameworks, and techniques. But learning is only the first step. Real improvement requires practice, feedback, and repetition.
Think of a young curler trying to improve their delivery. They attend a clinic with an expert and learn the proper technique. Afterward, they schedule practice time. But they practice alone.
Without a coach watching and correcting them, they don’t necessarily improve. Instead, they may repeat small mistakes until those mistakes become ingrained in muscle memory.
Leadership training often works the same way.
We send aspiring leaders to programs where they gain new insights and approaches. They return to the workplace with good intentions and knowledge. But the environment they return to hasn’t changed.
There is no structured practice. No coaching. No regular feedback.
Over time, the ideas fade, and behaviour remains largely the same.
Organizations invest significant time and money in training their people.
And organizations are not the only ones investing. Many professionals pursue courses, certifications, and degrees at their own expense. They give up evenings and weekends, sometimes invest thousands of dollars, because they believe the learning will help them grow and advance.
Both the organization and the participants deserve a return on that investment. That return only happens when new knowledge becomes new behaviour.
If organizations want training to really produce change, several things help:
- Start with a clear goal for what success will look like after the training.
- Provide follow-up coaching and support so people can practice the new skill.
- Send a critical mass of people so they can reinforce the learning together.
- Create opportunities for participants to teach what they learned and how they plan to apply it.
- Measure the behaviours you want to see. Even so-called soft skills can be observed and tracked.
- Was it the right skill to develop?
- Did we send the right person or was this right for me?
- Was the training itself effective?
- What support existed to help the person apply what they learned?
