Did you know that managers can impact staff mental health even more than a doctor or therapist, and about as much as their spouse or partner does?
Research from UKG Workforce Institute found robust evidence to support this. That’s a significant responsibility sitting with frontline and senior leaders alike. Given this level of impact, it makes sense to ensure your leaders are set up for success.
Leadership development programs , when done right, can help leaders at all career stages build and refine key skills for success when navigating today’s increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world of work.
In turn, when leaders have the skills and capabilities required to effectively lead, positive flow-on effects tend to take place within their teams, such as enhanced wellbeing, psychological safety, performance, and engagement.
“Leadership development programs help leaders build the skills, confidence, and self-awareness needed to support their teams effectively, while also improving workplace culture, engagement, learning, and overall organisational outcomes,” says David Simich, Senior Organisational Consultant at PeopleSense: Psychology & Wellbeing by Altius.
Many leaders recognise the importance of skills like emotional intelligence, decision-making, and communication. Yet they’re rarely given evidence-based, best-practice training to build their leadership capability.
Not all leadership development programs are equally effective. In many organisations, challenges tend to arise due to poor design and follow-through.
A few patterns tend to show up:
Workplaces that don’t have a strong feedback culture or tend to avoid accountability are less likely to maintain sustainable change through leadership development programs.
These organisations may need to first build a growth mindset culture, where healthy self-reflection and psychologically safe feedback processes are embedded consistently before launching leadership programs.
It is common for organisations to implement generic programs without considering the unique needs of their leaders. For example, leaders in healthcare operate in very different environments compared to those in mining or financial services.
One-off workshops may not lead to sustained behaviour change due to the lack of structured follow-up.
For example, a leader may feel confident after training on difficult conversations but avoid applying it later under pressure without ongoing support.
Even with the right intent, organisations often need to balance competing priorities. Time, budget constraints, and operational pressures can push leadership development down the list.
There’s also the challenge of measuring impact. Evaluation processes can be inconsistent, making it difficult to assess improvements in leadership performance.
For example:
Establishing structured feedback processes when designing leadership development programs can help highlight ROI.
A frequent challenge in workplace leadership training is transfer—taking what’s learned and applying it in day-to-day situations.
Common barriers include:
For instance, a leader might understand active listening but revert to directive communication during high-pressure moments.
This is where leadership coaching programs play an important role.
Combining workshops with individual coaching helps leaders apply and embed what they learn.
Through coaching, leaders can:
"Workshops build leadership knowledge and shared understanding, while coaching helps leaders apply it to real workplace challenges," notes Simich.
At Altius, leadership development programs are designed with practical application in mind.
Key features include:
The focus is on helping leaders build and apply skills that support both performance and workplace wellbeing.
If strengthening leadership capability is a priority, a practical next step is to review how your current approach supports both learning and application. Contact the Altius Organisational Services Team for support.