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Traditional leadership development programs often fail to help leaders navigate emergent business challenges. Enter cohort-based leadership development, which combines training with interaction.
Cohort-based leadership development is a structured program where a group of leaders or emerging leaders undergo training together over a specific period of time. This model embraces collective learning, peer review and timely or even real-time application.
Unlike traditional leadership development programs, which often focus on individual learning through workshops and online courses, cohort-based programs create a learning community where participants learn from each other’s experiences and insights. Putting the learning process in this context of relationship moves it beyond mere cognitive learning to a more integrated experiential form combining knowledge with practice.
For example, I combine research with practical tools in my leadership development cohorts to help leaders navigate their strategic organizational changes effectively.
Related: 4 Reasons Leadership Training Programs Fail and How to Ensure Yours Succeeds
What makes cohort-based learning effective
Cohort-based learning is rooted in Albert Bandura’s social learning theory. Social interaction improves learning because humans are social creatures by nature. Hence, we enjoy learning more from interactive, multimedia methods than passive ones that lack feedback or immediate results.
Perspective-taking and mentalizing in cohorts promote empathy and communication skills, while emotional resonance and dialogue deepen understanding for all involved.
The accountability that forms in groups encourages commitment and performance. Community-based learning, feedback, emotional support and real-world application ignite individual and collective learning.
Key features of cohort-based leadership development
Participants in the program benefit from peer learning and support, where they can exchange experiences and solutions, enhancing their understanding and retention of leadership concepts.
The structured curriculum is designed to cover various aspects of leadership, building upon previous sessions to provide a comprehensive learning journey. Practical tools, measurements and models are provided to apply directly to the work environment.
Real-time feedback and consulting during group sessions help participants tackle specific workplace challenges, allowing for continuous learning, application and feedback to support their development.
Additionally, members gain access to community and networking opportunities, fostering a sense of identity and a lasting support network for ongoing personal and professional growth.
Related: 8 Steps to Creating an Effective Leadership Development Program
Five benefits of cohort-based leadership development
Cohort-based leadership development has a design and mechanism that offers several advantages over traditional models:
1. Improved engagement and motivation: Social interaction, collective learning and opportunities for the timely application of relevant knowledge and skills promote leaders’ learning.
2. Deeper learning and retention: The neuroscience of learning that occurs within social settings, given the inherent dialogue, modeling and collaboration that occurs in such settings, aids learners in grasping and retaining complex content. Discussions and exchanges with other students also spark empathy, enhancing understanding and memory.
4. More immediate application and real-world relevance: Cohort-based programs currently teach participants the necessary leadership skills. Learners can gain new insights and experiment with new skills within a low-risk environment before bringing them back to the workplace. Cohorts allow new strategies to be tried, assessed and revised before real-world implementation.
5. Stronger development of leadership skills. Due to the real-world focus and reliance on social learning, cohort-based programs help participants rapidly develop their skills. The cohort model helps test the learner’s ideas within a community of leaders. This roots skills, strategies and practices in reality and clarifies their functionality and accessibility for implementation.
Related: Want to Boost Your Company’s Growth? Upskill Your Workforce. Here’s How.
Creating cohort-based leadership development
Try the following tactics to create powerful, cohort-based leadership development programs within your organization:
1. Curate diverse cohorts: Diversity within a cohort is critical for enriching the learning experience. Different points of view, educational backgrounds, ages, gender perspectives, and more enhance learning.
2. Arrange skilled facilitation: The facilitator is critical to maintaining group morale and ensuring productive interaction within the cohort. Facilitators must have skills in managing group dynamics, making participants feel comfortable discussing their feelings and ideas (fostering psychological safety), and guiding conversation so everyone’s voice is heard.
3. Offer continuous support and resources: Support should be available outside of cohort hours in the form of additional resources, coaching and opportunities for one-on-one consultation. These features help people consolidate their learning and tackle specific problems as they arise.
4. Assess and adjust: Regularly evaluate the program’s effectiveness by collecting participant feedback and gauging participants’ progress against measurable outcomes. Use this data to make needed revisions to the curriculum, facilitation and support to optimize learner outcomes.
