EDITOR’S PICK

Training Remains Key to Strong Employees and Companies

Think of the very first job you ever had. Were you offered training that was appropriate to your role? Chances are, you were—and it helped you succeed in that position. Now think back to your first managerial position, where you were responsible for a team of people. Were you offered any training on how to lead people? You possibly were not, and that added to the usual stresses of leadership.

And you’re not the only leader who has encountered this. The American Management Association, in its most recent survey, learned that more than a quarter (26%) of organizations were neglecting training. And Jennifer Maxson, in “Why Great Leaders Are the Missing Link in Career Development,” cites a statistic that just 47% of companies are investing in coaching and mentoring.

Darcy Eikenberg, in “How to Fix a Leaky Leadership Pipeline,” says organizations must create better ways of communicating the leadership story, reprioritizing people management, and connecting future leaders together. In “Learning and Development: Every Company’s Quiet Superpower,” Brittany Truszkowski details how intentional learning and development is not just for new staff, but for the long-term health of the business. Carrie Missele, in “The Growth Paradox in Learning and Development,” notes that when development programs aren’t anchored to advancement opportunities, employees may be improving their skills, but they don’t know what that effort is building toward.

AMA-MCE’s research clearly shows that employees want training, and organizations offering it will grow and thrive. At AMA-MCE, the emphasis continues to be on offering leaders and their teams the training and tools they need to improve and grow their careers and companies.