Avoid This Common Leadership Development Mistake

As we move to an age of digitized learning, it has become apparent that a lot of companies are going to focus on providers who offer app-based or online leadership content. The belief is that if leaders can learn when they want, they will do so. Put simply, this is limiting their results and you won’t see the return on investment you desire for your leadership development strategy.

When I started learning Spanish, I did what most people do and enrolled in a Duolingo course by downloading the app. It was free, and I was full of great intentions. I learned the basics but it wasn’t until I actually started speaking with other people in Spanish – immersion – that I actually start to make some progress. This is a perfect example of learning by doing.

In fact, the greatest acceleration of my Spanish was when I ended up living with my father-in-law for 3 months with little to no English being spoken in the house. I had to learn by doing and practicing – making errors and looking at google translate for information that I wasn’t quite sure of at the moment. I didn’t log into Duolingo once during those 3 months.

So why didn’t the app work? 

Firstly, I got busy. Work and moving countries got in the way of my daily dedication.

Then the app didn’t have exactly what I needed when I needed it so the content felt a little irrelevant and took too long to sift through for the answers. This is a common issue with many elearning platforms and online learning platforms.

I also didn’t have anyone to keep me accountable to studying in the app and so the little reminders it sent became noise and I switched them off.

What actually worked was the necessity to use Spanish.

The same things happen with people learning leadership. An app is great for delivering passive content (podcasts, videos, and the like) but it isn’t until you actually start “doing” new leadership practices, discussing ideas with others, turning theories into actions, and spending time on reflection that things really start to take off. While e-learning and online courses have their place, they are not a complete solution for virtual leadership.

Studies show that the completion rates of students taking different online courses, and working individually, are only 2%. By contrast, for those working in teams, 32% graduated; and those with mentored teams achieved 44% completion. This highlights the importance of team building and mentorship in any leadership training program.

What does this tell us?

The self-paced modules in an app or elearning platform that leaders can do when they are commuting, or out for a run are great, but we know that leaders are busy, and struggle to make the time for them. They should only be a small part of the learning experience and a high proportion of leaders won’t use them, even on the best online learning platforms.

If they are low to no investment, they become devalued in terms of importance in busy leaders’ priority lists. Many self paced online college programs suffer from this exact issue.

So it is up to us to create specific windows where leaders can focus, and stack them full of value so they and their teams want to be there. We do this using “WoW Leadership Labs” to help the big moments of insight happen.

What Really Does Work?

Learning takes place best when leaders connect with their teams and with each other. When the leader spends a few days away on a course and then returns full of bright ideas, they have to try and sell these concepts to the team (who might experience a change jolt as a result). The team can be suspicious of what went on whilst their leader was away and so can be (neuroscientifically speaking at least) resistant to the new ideas. We want to avoid that. This requires strong communication skills and emotional intelligence.

These same leaders have full days of other work and can struggle to integrate this new way of working into team operations if left unsupported. Both of these factors can discourage the leader and their great intentions can fizzle out, making change management incredibly difficult.

Instead constructing a shared wisdom environment for leadership development is highly effective. Discussing your specific context with the people you work with daily helps you all learn together – after all, most employees are now leaders of something – projects, tasks, initiatives. As a leader, you are not responsible for having all the ideas. The way our Labs run is to uncover great ideas in and with your team. This encourages them to speak up and gives you a great way to connect with the incredible talent present in the room. It also takes a heap of pressure off you because you start to see what others are capable of.

You can also gain amazing shared wisdom from people in a similar position but in different industries to you. We provide leaders a WoW Mastermind community to connect with other leaders across the globe where they can share ideas about what worked for them and what didn’t, based on their team’s progress. Our participants tell us it is the community connection and having that support available when they need it from the community which changes the game for them. We have seen post-covid protocols and operational best practices being shared amongst countless other instances. This is particularly valuable in the era of remote work.

We specifically designed Ways of Working to have elements of self-paced learning, team discussion, and ideation, and then moments of personal reflection and integration to help embed learning and new habits. If we reflect on why something worked, we embed the neural patterns more effectively than just observing it worked. We also offer leaders continued support when needed to introduce the new ways of working ideas and frameworks to their teams in a positive way so they get more traction, even when they are trialling it alone – imagine a recipe card for a great team discussion.

Finally, having coaching support from a team that has worked with thousands of leaders and knowing the patterns of where people struggle is key. Sometimes teams can become blocked or stuck because of their context. A good mentor can help you see the problem from another angle, improving decision making and overall management training. We provide the space, time and frameworks to ensure the experience uncovers real results for the team. It is this way that we create stronger interpersonal connections and build trust.

So when you are considering your next investment in leadership development, look more widely than an app or e-learning platform. Consider the real-life application and integration elements of learning into your team.

Whether you are focused on executive education, exploring different leadership styles, or refining your approach to virtual leadership, the core principles remain the same. True leadership development requires more than just passive consumption; it demands active engagement, coaching, and real-world application to drive meaningful results.