How to Build an Effective Leadership Training Programme

An effective leadership training programme is more than a tick-box exercise.

It’s a fundamental building block for the success of an organisation.  

Because whether it’s a time of uncertainty or a looming project deadline, employees look to their managers and leaders for direction.

So, what does it take to build a leadership training programme? The answer will be revealed in this article. We’ll cover:

• What a leadership training programme is, and why it matters  

• How to build a leadership training programme (at scale)

• Some best practices to consider when putting training in place

• Examples of frameworks to consider

• Real world examples of leadership training programmes in action

• How to measure the ROI of your efforts

What is a leadership training programme?

Let’s kick off and set the scene.

Leadership training programmes are a specialised form of development, aimed at developing and improving an employee’s capability to lead others.  

There is a focus on human skills such as communication, strategic thinking, and empathy.

The leadership training could be for employees at a:

• Team level

• Department level

• Company or organisation-wide level.  

What does effective leadership training look like?

It’s also worth noting what effective training for leaders looks like. And at the core, it’s a focus on a what it means to lead in the modern-day workplace.  

There needs to be a shift away from the outdated leadership playbook, that focuses on ‘command and control’, or a ‘one size fits all’ approach for employees.  

Today, leadership training programmes should enable a strong pipeline of leaders, that take an active interest in prevalent workplace dynamics, like wellbeing or diversity.  

Alice Svoboda, Customer Success Manager at GoodHabitz, also echoed this sentiment:

“The role of a manager has changed so much, even in the last few years alone. If we think back to 10 years ago, our managers solely had to worry about the basics, such as admin, process, making sure people are in on time, and getting the work done.”

“But now? People want a leader, a companion, a therapist. They’re the missing piece of the puzzle, when it comes to workplace safety and work happiness.”

Curious to find out more about workplace happiness?  

Tune into this episode of the Moving Forward, where Alice joined alongside guest Matt Phelan, CEO and Co-Founder of The Happiness Index.  

Why does building a leadership training programme matter?

Research from HR Dive has cited that for every $1 spent on leadership training, $7 is gained.  

This reveals something crystal clear:  

Leadership development has a strategic advantage for a business.

And despite this backdrop, there is considerable disparity regarding L&D leaders’ ability to offer effective leadership training programmes.  

For instance, Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace Report revealed that globally, only 44% have received formal management training.

Given this context, it begs the question: why is there such a difference?  

What’s the hurdle that L&D and HR leaders are faced with, when it comes to building leadership training?

The Leadx Leadership Development Report for 2025, revealed that the budget allocated for leadership development initiatives experienced a 70% decrease between 2023 and 2024.

The answer lies in being able to articulate the ‘why’, of investing in leadership development.

With this in mind, here are 4 benefits:

1. Higher retention rate (and low turnover)

Organisations with a strong leadership development programme, create a supportive working environment for employees.  

Leaders who have received the right training, provide the tools for their team to succeed.

This means employees are less likely to leave an organisation – they feel safe and seen, especially when it comes to matters concerning workload or career development.  

And data demonstrates the direct impact that these initiatives have on retention rates within companies.  

For example, information and media company ElectroIQ reported that 59% of organisations have experienced improved retention, as a direct result of investment into leadership training.  

2. Improved profitability

When it comes to getting buy-in regarding any form of training programme, the discussion of time versus investment will inevitably come up.  

Research shows that there is a positive correlation between effective leadership training and the profitability of a company.  

In fact, organisations are likely to be 30% more profitable if they invest in a strong leadership training programme.

The takeaway? It’s vital to prove the ROI of your own L&D initiatives.  

Making sure you include this step into your processes can be hugely beneficial in proving the need for further investment and getting stakeholder buy-in when activities can be clearly linked to business goals and outcomes.  

3. Lower levels of burnout (and improved wellbeing workplace culture)

Individuals who are in management or leadership positions set the tone of voice regarding the workplace culture, and the expectations of employees that come with it.  

This is why effective leadership development is so vital.  

It is a positive step towards ensuring that employee mental health is prioritised in the workplace.  

In partnership with MarktEffect, GoodHabitz conducted research regarding the trends for HR professionals and executives, across Europe, which revealed that effective leadership was one of the top 3 influencing factors on the wellbeing of employees.  

Furthermore, research from Gallup reported that employees are 70% less likely to experience burnout on a regular basis, if they feel supported by their manager.  

And if we take the perspective of different generations in the workplace, the correlation between management training and burnout, becomes even clearer.  

Leanne Elliott, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and host of the Truth, Lies & Work Podcast, shared why in her LinkedIn post below:  

4. High employee engagement and productivity

A strong leadership training initiative creates a positive work culture, which in turn creates an engaged, more productive workforce.  

The same research we conducted with MarktEffect, revealed that 85% of HR leaders believed that leaders who inspire their people make a company stronger and more sustainable.  

And to better understand why, let’s take effective feedback training for leaders, as an example in practice.  

Leaders that have engaged in the skills associated with a strong feedback culture, will foster a psychologically safe working environment.  

Employees feel empowered to own and learn from their mistakes, instead of being fearful.  

In fact, Gallup’s research on how effective feedback fuels performance, shows that 80% of employees who receive meaningful feedback are fully engaged at work.  

This subsequently has a positive impact on productivity.  

The data shows that leadership training programmes has a 25 to 40% improvement on employee productivity in the first year.

Frameworks for building leadership training programmes

When building a leadership training programme, remember that it doesn’t need to be an unclear exercise or a matter of guesswork.  

There are widely known frameworks that can help bring further focus and structure to initiatives.  

With that in mind, here are two commonly known leadership training frameworks you can steal for inspiration:

The 5 Cs of leadership development

One of the core areas that leaders need to be trained on, is accountability.  

This goes for both themselves, and whoever they’re managing, whether it be a team level, department level, or even on a companywide level.  

The 5Cs framework can be a good way to achieve this; here is an overview of the five elements:

• Common purpose: the goals are clearly defined and communicated, meaning all employees know what they need to work on, to contribute to those objectives.  

• Clear expectations: leaders need to communicate to ensure that everyone on their team understands their respective roles and responsibilities.

• Communication and alignment: leaders need to be transparent and concise when communicating goals, mission, and vision.  

• Coaching and collaboration: managers who act as coaches can help employees in improving their performance and sense of accountability.

• Consequences and outcomes: individuals in managerial or leadership roles need to be able to provide feedback in a way that feels constructive and tangible. In turn, a strong feedback culture can help their team or employees to better understand how best to improve towards the desired result.

The 5 leadership levels framework

The 5-level leadership framework has been coined by leadership expert, author, and coach John C. Maxwell.

This framework can be a good indicator to see if the training programme that's in place is having the desired effect. Ideally, the answer is yes if your leaders are progressing towards level 5.  

The following elements are framed as steps towards ensuring that individuals in leadership and managerial roles can maximise their influence:

• Level 1: position whereby there is a focus on getting to know the dynamics of the team, how employees like to work, and what sort of leadership style will be most effective.

• Level 2: permission focuses on leaders validating what their mission and vision is for their team or the organisation.  

• Level 3: production is about delivery and results. The leader has gained credibility and is able to articulate the value of their team towards a business’ bottom line.

• Level 4: people development is centred around knowledge sharing. The leader or manager is equipped with the insights to help individual team members or employees develop themselves into potential leaders too.  

• Level 5: pinnacle which is a principle grounded in the level of respect that team members or employees have towards their manager or leader. There is a strong level of trust that has been built.

How to build a leadership training programme (step-by-step)

Step 1: Define the goal(s)

Align a leadership training programme with the wider business objectives – this is an effective way to ensure influence or buy-in doesn’t dwindle.  

Iris Cremers, Chief Human Resources Officer at GoodHabitz, shared her thoughts:

“Make learning contextual, linked to company strategy and initiatives. This way, individuals who are being trained, understand their role in the bigger picture.”  

She added:

“The roles of HR and L&D are shifting from operational enablers to strategic experience designers. We’re now responsible for shaping the employee journey, as well as supporting it.”

Step 2: Conduct a skills gaps analysis

As previously mentioned, effective leadership training programmes will focus on skills based learning.  

But to best prioritise which leadership skills need to be trained on, it’s incredibly useful to conduct a skills gaps analysis.  

David James, Chief Learning Officer at 360 Learning, explained more:

“Skills mapping has both short-term and long-term benefits for your employees. When you’ve completed the skills map, it’s the same data but in a different form that creates career paths.”  

He added that leaders can become “self-directed learners, and better understand, based on their current skillset where they are in the organisation and where they could go.”  

The bottom line?  

Think about the skills your leaders are lacking, that’ll make them more future-ready to lead in the working environment.  

That way, leaders can work towards understanding the skills they are missing, to achieve career growth or progression.

David joined the Moving Forward podcast and discussed this topic in more detail – watch the full interview below.  

Step 3: Define different training methods

One of the crucial steps to take towards building an effective leadership programme, is to consider the preference around training methods. It’s about asking questions like:

• How do learners in this programme like to be trained?  

• Where are the learners being trained?

These considerations are super important to ensure personalisation and relevance in the programme. It’ll help in ensuring core learnings stick and have impactful change for leaders’ development in the process.  

Here are some examples to get you thinking:  

In person, remote, or hybrid?

For example, if the learner is leading a team that’s based in person and online, hybrid leadership is an important angle to consider within the training programme.  

Furthermore, consider how the learnings of the programme are going to be communicated.  

Consider how you’re leveraging the concept of blended learning, through tactics such as:

• Combining online and offline activities

• Self-directed learning  

• Group learning  

• Social learning

Dunamare, the Netherlands-based secondary school group is an example of blended learning (with the use of GoodHabitz’s learning content) in practice.  

They combined in-person and online training in a new learning portal, giving every employee easy access to personal development.  

In case you’re interested, read the full story.

Localisation

Localisation in learning goes beyond a simple translation of your learning programme.  

It’s about rooting examples in cultural context, which becomes super important if you’re building a leadership training programme across borders.

Therese Forsman, Localisation Coordinator at GoodHabitz, offered her two cents:

“True localisation is about putting the learner first. Here at GoodHabitz, this means that we don’t just translate words. We adapt tone, references, humour, and even examples to fit each culture we work with.”  

“When people recognise their own world in what they’re learning, engagement goes up, and so does the impact.”  

Step 4: Define a strategy around implementation

Once you’ve built your leadership training programme out, it’s time to ideate on how best to put it into practice. 

Here are three example tactics that you can use:

1. Learner marketing to promote the training  

A learner marketing strategy around promoting the leadership training programme can be a great way to create hype, get buy-in and encourage participation.  

Think about running events or creating marketing material to ensure the training programme remains top of mind.  

Polly Ivanova, former Manager of People Development and Organisational Learning at Puma, joined the Moving Forward podcast, where she discussed this topic at length.  

She provided the insights on Puma’s ‘Hum, Sing, Shout’ Learner Marketing Strategy.  

You can tune in below.

2. Create moments for habitual learning  

It’s important to remember that a leadership training programme shouldn’t equate to ‘information overload’.  

Think about tangible ways to enable the development or upskilling of leadership skills.  

For instance, habit formation could be a way to help learners schedule regular moments in their day-to-day of the role.  

Amy-Jane Gielen, Political Scientist and Tiny Habits Coach is an advocate for habit-formation in learning. But she also stressed that it is a time investment:  

“Research has been conducted, and based on a highly cited article from UCL, it takes between 18 and 254 days to achieve a habit. It’s about repetitions – you need to programme the new behaviour into your brain.”  

Tune into the full episode below:  

Habit formation can be a positive gateway towards building a culture of self-directed learning.  

There is great potential to build effectiveness through creating a sense of autonomy and putting the leaders and managers in the driving seat of their development, and how they navigate this programme.  

3. Have a dedicated individual to help distribute training  

Effectively building and implementing a leadership training programme doesn’t have to come down to one designated individual.  

Think about ‘advocates’ that can help create an impactful learning culture around the programme.  

At GoodHabitz, we take this in the form of a coach: a designated individual to help implement skills development at all layers of a company:

• The individual level.

• The team level.

• The organisational level.

Step 5: Leverage data for iterations and improvements

How do you know your leadership training programme is working?  

Data, of course!  

Leverage insights to improve the quality of the materials that’re being delivered.  

It’s the best way to arm yourself with empirical evidence on what works and what doesn’t work.  Consider indicators such as:

• Course completion rate

• Feedback scores (weekly or monthly)

• Attendance and participation rates to live or in-person sessions  

These are all examples of shorter-terms metrics that can be used to make targeted adjustments or improvements.  

Best practices for building a leadership training programme

When building your strategy around leadership training programme, focus on levers that will help with quality control.  

And in case you’re in need of some inspiration, here are three best practices you can consider:

Consider the type of leadership development

An effective leadership training programme is rooted in context.  

What sort of leadership style are you looking to focus on in your organisation?  

Understanding this will help you to get the most out of your leaders. And with this in mind, here are some examples that could help you:

Purpose driven leadership

Focusing on purpose driven leadership can be a great vehicle towards organisational performance and employee wellbeing.

Harvard Business School surveyed over 450,000 employees across 429 companies and found that a focus on purpose at work yields a 3.89% higher return on assets, and up to 7.6% annual stock return advantage, versus conventional businesses.  

Inclusive leadership

Inclusive leadership training can help employees who report into the manager or leader, feel respected and valued.  

A practical way you could implement inclusive practices in your training programme, is through focusing on communication.  

Hanan Challouki, Inclusive Strategist and Communication Expert, joined the Moving Forward podcast, to discuss the topic of inclusive leadership development. She shared the following:

“Communication is crucial to consider. How are your leaders communicating with people from all walks of life and different backgrounds?”

In case you’re interested, you can tune into the full interview with Hanan below:

New leaders or managers

Research revealed that 60% of new managers fail within the first 2 years of their role, due to a lack of sufficient support or training.  

The shift into management positions isn’t an easy one; for example, the prevalence of imposter syndrome could be an important consideration when onboarding new managers.  

Iris offered her two cents into this topic:

“I remember sitting in one of my first business meetings, thinking ‘am I really the right person for this?’ It wasn’t about doubting my professional skills or knowledge, it was about internalising uncertainty around my leadership in a new environment.”  

“That’s where ongoing learning comes in – both formal and informal. We talk a lot about growth mindset, and I’ve found that framing imposter feelings as signals for development helps me move through them rather than get stuck.”

Consider all layers of leadership

A leadership training programme shouldn’t just be something accessible to managers or leaders at a particular level of an organisation.  

Ensure that initiatives are available across the entire company.

The pressures of leading are going to be prevalent whether it’s a CEO or a team lead, so democratising the learning is vital.  

For example, Harvard Business Review recently published some findings that revealed how middle managers feel the least level of psychological safety at work.  

1160 managers across industries were surveyed, and middle managers scored 68.0 out of 100 on psychological safety, compared with 72.7 for C-suite executives.  

The key takeaway?  

Employees in your organisation that are in some form of leadership position need to feel supported. And an effective leadership training programme can be the catalyst for it.  

Real-world examples of leadership training programmes

Unilever: ‘Future Leaders Programme’

What they do: Unilever’s Future Leaders Programme is a three-year long, structured graduate programme designed to develop future leaders within Unilever. It gives young professionals the chance to learn leadership skills through formal training and more on-the-job training.  

How it works in practice: the programme typically focuses on empowering graduates to build core leadership skills, with an exposure to 400 various brands, business and sustainability efforts. Each participant is assigned a designated career sponsor, who acts as a guide or mentor for the duration of the programme.

Why it helps: this leadership training programme directly has an impact on future-proofing workforces. Younger professionals are being taught the necessary skills to lead, which can be beneficial for developing a strong leadership pipeline within the organisation.  

Oxford University: ‘Executive Leadership Programme’

What they do: Oxford University’s Executive Leadership Programme gives company-suite and executive leadership the chance to develop themselves and improve in their leadership roles.

How it works in practice: every leader who enrols in the programme is guaranteed a personal instructor. This programme focuses on making wise leadership choices, overcoming challenges, and building a high-performance team.  

Why it helps: this leadership training programme is a great example of developing and upskilling purpose driven leaders. It provides current leaders an opportunity to learn skills that help to guide their teams, departments, or companies in times of uncertainty or change.  

How to measure the ROI of a leadership training programme

The time, effort, and investment of a leadership training programme is palpable.  

So, how do you best prove the return on investment (ROI) of efforts, to ensure that the programme continues to dominate L&D and HR priorities, on a strategic level?  

It starts with scoping the right and relevant KPIs to start with; think about metrics such as:

• Productivity and performance: for instance, do you see parallels between managers who’ve had effective training, and the relative output of their team?  

• Employee satisfaction: look at metrics such as retention, turnover or the completion rates of your training programmes by those who are in leadership positions.

• Company revenue and growth goals: tie a story together that demonstrates how improved leadership skills will directly impact revenue. For instance, better communication or delegation skills results in the lower ramp time on a project, that directly contributes to the company’s goal.  

Conclusion

• A leadership training programme will focus on enabling current and new leaders and managers with the skills (especially human skills) required to lead in the modern-day workplace.
• Examples of some of the human skills that are worth training for employees in leadership positions today, include:
  • Strategic thinking
  • Communication
  • Empathy
• An effective leadership training programme will consider the dynamics of the modern-day workplace, such as the importance of stress management, diversity, and hybrid versus remote working environments.
• The benefits of building an effective leadership training initiative include:
  
  • Higher retention
  • Improved profitability
  • Increased employee engagement and higher productivity
  • Lower levels of burnout
• Leverage models such as the 5Cs or the 5 Levels of Leadership Development frameworks to help structure and provide indicators for progress.
• Follow the following 4 steps to build a leadership training programme:
  
  • Step 1: Define the goal(s) to measure success.
  • Step 2: Conduct a skills gaps analysis to best understand the support your leaders and managers need, regarding development.
  • Step 3: Define different training methods to ensure the training caters to the preferences of all learners.
  • Step 4: Scope a strategy around implementation and distribution of learning content in the training programme.
  • Step 5: Leverage shorter term data and insights to proactively iterate and improve the output of the leadership training programme.

We’ve touched on the importance of soft skills, to successfully develop leaders.  

Want to see how GoodHabitz can help?

Click here to discover our leadership training catalogue. From our course ‘The Art of Feedback’ to our lesson on psychological safety, walk through how we can help support your leaders.

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