More Than a 'Nice to Have: Demonstrating the Value of your Leadership Programme
In today’s climate of tightened budgets and increased scrutiny, coaching and leadership development programs are too often dismissed as a ‘nice to have’. But we know their potential to drive lasting, meaningful change, not just in individuals, but across entire organisations. The challenge? Evidencing it. In this article, I explore how organisations can move beyond traditional feedback mechanisms to build collaborative, long-term evaluation strategies that demonstrate real impact, for funders, stakeholders, and most importantly, the people they aim to support.
If you’re experiencing a need to justify the spend your coaching or professional development programme, you’re not alone! I’m seeing lots of organisations having their budgets cut, and this kind of ‘soft skills’ development being recast as a ‘nice to have’ rather than an essential. Funders and commissioners want to understand how your programme helps the organisation to achieve its objectives, and how and why your programme makes a difference.
But there’s an issue. Professional development and the associated behavioural shifts that occur over a sustained period of time don’t fit into neat quantitative outcomes. Change can be complex, and influenced by many factors – context, timing, personal circumstances, learning history etc etc. And the ever-changing environment of the workplace further complicates attempts to neatly tie down the changes that are happening.
Perhaps you know intuitively if your program is making a difference. Perhaps you’ve witnessed first-hand the impact made on an individual that was previously struggling. Maybe you’ve noticed communication improving, or you’ve had an inspiring conversation with someone who loved the program and is finally stepping into the next level of leadership. But how are these changes playing out into the longer term, once your leadership development programme is a distant memory, and how do you translate those changes into something tangible, that funders and commissioners can truly get behind?
Do you have the data that supports the claims you want to make about your programme? Perhaps you’ve already collected lots of feedback and evaluation data and are stuck knowing what to do with it. Or maybe you sense that some elements of the program just aren’t working as well as you’d hoped but you can’t quite put your finger on why, and are unsure if you should invest time rethinking your approach. And what blindspots do you currently have about the efficacy of your programme that you're not even aware of?
I’ve been working with some brilliant organisations (and collaborators!) who want to face this challenge head on. By exploring existing feedback mechanisms and touch points within their programme, and having the courage to create an inclusive, longer-term, collaborative evaluation strategy, they’re gaining insights that will demonstrate value to programme funders, AND discovering how and why their program is helping the organisation create a greater impact. All while learning what can be improved as they go.
Providing sufficient evaluation alongside leadership development programmes is something we can do better. Not just to satisfy funders but also so we can better serve the people we’re supporting, as well as identify the people we might be inadvertently overlooking. If you’re commissioning such a program, bringing in independent evaluators to work alongside can feel like a scary step. Many people fear that extra work will be created or something will be uncovered that isn’t favourable and will take time to put right! But done well, a thorough and considered evaluation approach can enhance your professional development efforts immeasurably.
Curious? I’d love to chat about how a collaborative evaluation strategy can help your leadership development programme create even more impact!
Want to explore how your organisation is doing at evaluating leadership development? Try my short quiz which will give you tailored feedback that takes your evaluation approach to the next level!
