Editor's note: This post was originally published in 2014 and has been updated in 2026 to remove references to a specific past event. The core questions and guidance remain as relevant today as when they were first written.
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Over the years, we've fielded a recurring set of questions from clients and HR leaders about how to develop first-level leaders effectively. Below, we share our perspective on the questions that come up most often.
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 virtually, such as through 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.
Our Insights and Analytics offering can help formalize this measurement, pairing simulation-based behavioral data with NPS and skill self-evaluations to show sponsors a clearer picture of leadership impact.
Q: Does this training have to be specific to the first-level leader role to be effective?
A: Our simulations are designed to build leadership skills across the four core domains of first-level leadership, skills that 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 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
