Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

It takes a trailblazer to go where no path exists. It takes a leader. In every business, it's leaders who provide direction. Your business couldn't reach its goals without this. But great leaders aren't necessarily born — they're made. Leadership is one of those qualities that people can learn. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) recent report on working millennials, 29% of those surveyed accepted their most recent position for its personal development opportunities and advancement potential. Only 14% chose their position for the benefits package. The bottom line? Millennials are poised to make up 75% of the workforce in just a few years. These workers want to see training opportunities offered, and employers who don't meet this desire risk losing current (and attracting future) talent. The question is: do you opt for traditional classroom-based or online leadership training? And how do you know if online leadership training is right for you or your organization? Classroom-based learning has its place, but online leadership training offers multiple benefits over the classroom — for employees and employers.

Benefits of Online Leadership Training

Whether you want to help employees jumpstart a soaring career trajectory, succeed in a current role, or prepare for a future role, knowing the benefits of this kind of training can help point you to the right type of program. At Eighth Mile Consulting, we pride ourselves on helping organizations grow by improving their people and processes. Our consulting services can help your organization handle change, build resilience, and develop the strategies that cultivate leadership. The right online leadership training program can provide many opportunities for improvement.

Assess your Leadership Effectiveness

To improve upon anything, you need to know where your skills stand currently.

• What are some of your weaknesses?
• How can you strengthen those areas?
• Where do your strengths lie?
• How can you pull from your current skillset to improve your leadership qualities?

Becoming familiar with these answers generates awareness. It offers insights that identify improvement strategies and personal leadership styles. You and your employees can reference, pull from and build upon these skills over the course of a career.

Learn and Practice Vital Leadership Skills

Effective leaders know how to:

• Define direction
• Create teams
• Coach coworkers
• Give constructive criticism
• Offer meaningful advice and feedback
• Generate interpersonal relationships built on trust

The mark of a genuine leader lies in their influence on (and empowerment of) coworkers, subordinates, and bosses. Great leaders can tackle stressful situations and identify whether delegation is necessary or if it would be better to handle the task on their own.

Receive Honest Advice From More Experienced Leaders

This is the greatest benefit of online leadership training: the exposure to others in leadership positions. Leaders in all career stages have experiences they can share, and learning from others is one of the best ways to grow. Freely debating and exchanging ideas is something that can prove invaluable compared to trying to learn how to lead all by yourself.

Who Benefits Most From Online Leadership Training?

You may think the only candidates worthy of leadership training are those who already hold some type of leadership position. Actually, a wide range of positions and career stages can find value. Let's take a look at four types of professionals who typically see the most benefit from online leadership training.

Entry-Level to Mid-Career Employees

These professionals might be experts in their field or company. If this person wants to eventually take on a leadership position but isn't sure of the path to get there, leadership training is the map. Proactive development of the skills a leader needs primes these employees for lift-off when the right position opens.

Employees New to Leadership Roles

Most larger companies have an established hierarchy that determines those next in line for promotions to leadership roles. For example, specific education and relevant experience may be required for consideration. On the other hand, smaller and more agile companies might not have such a formal hierarchy. This is ideal for employees who desire a leadership role but don't have any experience yet. Employees suddenly thrust into leadership positions can especially benefit from leadership training to get acclimated to their new responsibilities.

New Entrepreneurs

A lot of small businesses begin as single self-employed individuals. There are no other employees to schedule, manage or otherwise consider. The moment this entrepreneur's business grows, hiring that first employee can change the game entirely. The entrepreneur isn't just responsible for themselves anymore. Many people can attest that solopreneurial success doesn't always translate to entrepreneurial success. Honing leadership skills is a must for people whose desires lie in the entrepreneurial territory. It helps them learn the skills needed to hire and manage a high-performance team.

Entire Companies

Depending on the business or industry, some companies look outside to hire for open leadership roles. But there are several benefits of promoting someone already familiar with how the business works, such as:

• Reduced costs. There's no expense to recruit, screen, or interview candidates.
• Faster acclimation. Since the employee already knows a lot about the company, there's much less time spent on training.

Offering access to online leadership training can help the newly promoted individual learn more about management and build the skills necessary for success in their new role.

What Problems Can Online Leadership Training Solve?

Online leadership training, compared to traditional classroom-based training, can ease the strain on employees in several respects, such as:

• Employees with children don't need to seek childcare.
• Employees whose families share one vehicle don't need to coordinate transportation.
• Employees can still address other responsibilities outside of work.

Unfortunately, some companies cast aside these benefits in exchange for perceived cost savings because the C-suite mistakenly believes that investing in online leadership training is cost-prohibitive. Did you know: After changing company policy and implementing online leadership training, IBM saved almost $200 million?

Partner with The Eighth Mile

At The Eighth Mile, our mission is to work with good people who are ready to improve their leadership and management skills through critical evaluation and absolute honesty. If that sounds like a challenge you are ready for, we'd love to hear from you. Our consulting and educational programs can help you design your ideal team through our 8-week online leadership course with regular virtual workshops and even one-on-one coaching sessions included with the modules. If you want to learn how to better handle changes in your organization, build greater resilience within your staff, and develop the strategies that cultivate strong leaders, connect with us to learn more.