Earlier this fall, my colleague Karen Maxwell Powell and I had the opportunity to share our perspectives on developing first-level leaders during a webinar hosted by the Human Capital Institute. It was an engaging session with thoughtful participation—and more questions and comments than we had time to address live.
In this post, we’re continuing the conversation by responding to some of the key themes and follow-up questions that emerged.
Q: What is the right time in a new leader's tenure to offer this kind of training?
A: First-level leaders need support at multiple points in their development. This training is especially critical during the first 9 to 12 months in the role, as a new leader begins to develop their personal leadership style and navigate the challenges and pitfalls of the position. That said, offering development experiences before placing an employee in a leadership role can accelerate their ramp-up and help them avoid early missteps, particularly when it comes to building and leading their own teams. On the other end of the spectrum, more experienced first-level leaders also find this training valuable, but for different reasons: They’ve already established an initial leadership style and now benefit from experiences and coaching that broaden their perspective and expand their skills beyond their starting point.
Q: How do companies successfully reinforce training like this back on the job?
A: The most effective organizations teach and adopt consistent approaches to problem-solving, coaching, collaboration, and strategic thinking across multiple levels. This ensures that the tools introduced in a simulation or development program are also used regularly in the everyday work environment. A simulation can help establish a new vocabulary and mindset for a first-level leader, but that impact is reinforced when their manager and others in the organization use the same approaches and speak the same language.
Q: Is it necessary to run the simulation in person, or could it be delivered through a format like today’s, such as a webinar or other form of synchronous online learning?
A: These experiences can be delivered in person or virtually, as long as they include direct interaction. While first-level leaders can learn concepts through individual online learning, they build real skills through interactive practice and application. Simulations and other group-based learning experiences help focus attention and allow leaders to learn from—and challenge—each other. It’s a powerful way to move ideas from the conceptual to the actionable.
Q : How do companies measure the impact of training like this on their first level leaders?
A: Business metrics resulting from frontline employee interactions are a strong indicator of first-level leader performance. Measures like Customer Satisfaction, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Employee Engagement can reveal trends over time. At the individual level, companies also collect immediate and follow-up self-reported feedback to assess how valuable the tools and ideas have been in practice.
Q: Does this training have to be specific to the first-level leader role to be effective?
A: The simulations Insight Experience shared during the webinar are designed to build leadership skills across the four core domains of first-level leadership. You can refer to our model of best practices. These skills are universal, whether a first-level leader is managing a call center team, working in a research lab, or leading a logistics team in the field. This training can be paired with technical skill development if needed, but often, first-level leaders already possess strong technical expertise. It’s their leadership capabilities that require focused attention and support.
First-level leaders have a significant impact on business performance. According to Hassan (2011), frontline managers often make up 50% to 60% of a company's management and directly supervise as much as 80% of the workforce. They are the leaders frontline employees trust and often the first decision-makers when customer issues arise. Accelerating a first-level leader’s path to experience is a powerful way to accelerate your path to business results.
Head to our Developing New Leaders page to learn more about our simulation-based offerings for first-level leaders.
References
Hassan, F. (2011, May). The frontline advantage. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-frontline-advantage
