For HR and operational leaders responsible for developing managers, the question is not whether training matters. It is what happens after the workshop, when managers return to real work. A team leaves a leadership workshop with useful language, thoughtful notes and a clear intention to do things differently. Back at work, the next deadline arrives, or the need for a difficult conversation resurfaces. There are many reasons why leadership does not stick, and the team returns to familiar ways of working.
This raises a practical question for HR and operational leaders: what support exists between learning an idea and using it when the work gets difficult?
Training introduces a leadership idea. Practice is what happens when a leader uses that idea in a real conversation, decision or handover, then reviews what worked, what did not and what to adjust next time.
A workshop can give people useful language, models and intentions. It cannot do the repetition for them. Leadership practice is the deliberate return to the skill after the workshop, especially when the work is busy, the conversation is difficult or the old habit would be easier. Organizations need to plan for both.
Define the behaviour you want to see
Begin with a workplace situation that needs attention. Perhaps project meetings repeatedly leave people unsure who owns the next step. The development goal should describe what a leader will do in that situation. Telling the leader to “improve accountability” or “improve communication” leaves too much open to interpretation. “Confirm the owner, expected result and next check-in before closing the handover” gives the leader something to practice.
This emphasis is supported by goal-setting research from Edwin Locke and Gary Latham. Across organizational studies, specific goals consistently produced stronger performance than vague instructions such as “do your best,” in part because people could see what was expected and assess whether they had done it.[1] In leadership development, the same principle means translating broad aspirations, such as improving accountability, into a repeatable action in a real work moment: “Confirm the owner, expected result and next check-in before closing the handover.”
Sport makes the distinction clear. A basketball player may attend a session on shooting technique and understand exactly how their form should change. Practice begins when they take the shot repeatedly, in increasingly realistic conditions, receive coaching on what happened and adjust the next attempt. Leadership development works the same way: understanding the behaviour is training; using it consistently in the work is practice.
For your own workplace, choose a behaviour that fits the leader’s authority and working conditions. Set a clear expectation for the outcome you would like to see.
Put practice into work that already happens
Once the behaviour is clear, identify the next realistic opportunity to use it. An existing 1:1 meeting, project review or weekly team huddle are all opportunities to set this up. The point is to make the action part of a recognizable situation, so the leader knows when to try it.
For example, imagine a supervisor who wants to stop taking over every problem brought to them. In a routine, low-risk discussion, they could ask the employee what they have already considered before offering a solution. Afterwards, the supervisor can reflect on whether the question helped the employee think through the issue or whether more direction was needed.
The example is illustrative. Coaching does not mean withholding instructions when an immediate safety concern, urgent decision or unfamiliar task requires clear direction. Good practice includes learning when a particular approach is appropriate.
Make feedback part of the plan
Repetition is more useful when someone helps the leader notice what happened. Ask what the leader tried, how the other person responded and what they would adjust next time. Specific feedback gives the next attempt a clearer purpose.
An athlete does not become more capable simply by attending a session on technique, watching game film or receiving a good explanation from a coach. Improvement comes from a cycle: try the skill, receive feedback on what happened, make an adjustment and try again.
A 2024 study of sport psychology practitioners found that effective goal-setting was not treated as a one-time conversation. Practitioners identified reflection, tracking, monitoring progress and follow-up as important parts of successful goal-setting interventions.[2] The leadership equivalent is to build that same feedback loop into the development plan from the beginning: identify the behaviour to practise, decide what evidence will show progress, and schedule the next coaching conversation before the work moves on.
Give managers the conditions to follow through
Before introducing another development expectation, examine the readiness for the leader to create the space to take this on. Does the leader have a suitable opportunity to practice? Does their team understand the behaviour being developed? Will the leader be supported if an early attempt is at this new approach is met with resistance?
HR can help define a small set of expectations and provide useful prompts. Operational leaders need to make room for those expectations in how work is assigned, reviewed and discussed. Senior leaders should model the same practices they ask others to adopt. If a check-in is repeatedly cancelled, investigate why. The answer may be workload, conflicting priorities or an unclear purpose. Adding reminders alone will not resolve a schedule that makes the expected behaviour impractical. Adjust the working conditions to allow space for follow up and follow through.
Review evidence without turning it into bureaucracy
Keep the review proportionate, it does not have to be a 30-minute conversation. A short exchange on one conversation may be enough to support reflection. Ask whether the agreed behaviour happened and whether the employee experienced greater clarity or more useful feedback. Look for examples across several situations before drawing a conclusion.
Training attendance still has purpose, but attendance records only tell you who participated. Evidence from work helps you examine whether participants are using what they learned. If an operational measure improves, consider other changes in staffing, demand or process before attributing the improvement to leadership development.
Avoid measuring only the number of conversations. A high conversation count can conceal rushed or unhelpful exchanges. Discuss their quality, the context and what the leader learned. The aim is to make development useful enough that people continue it.
Make the next attempt clear
At Vantage Collectiv, this is the thinking behind the SET • COACH • PERFORM Leadership Operating System™. Leadership capability needs clear expectations, coaching within the work and consistent attention to follow-through. Workshops and organizational alignment work can help establish those expectations; everyday practice gives leaders opportunities to apply them.
Before the next workshop ends, ask each participant to name one behaviour, one real work situation where they will use it and one person who will help them reflect. Agree when that review will happen.
Training gives leaders something to understand. Practice gives them repeated chances to do it under real working conditions. The difference is the bridge between the two: a clear behaviour, a real opportunity to use it and feedback that improves the next attempt. Build habits, not events.
Sources
[1] E. A. Locke and G. P. Latham, “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation,” American Psychologist, 2002.
[2] M. D. Bird, D. McEwan, L. C. Healy and P. C. Jackman, “Goal-setting practices in sport psychology: An investigation into practitioner experiences,” Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2024.