Don’t expect 100% productivity from a new employee if you are giving them 1% of training.

This applies across the board. I don’t care what position, how “entry level” it is, or how much the responsibilities are “common sense”. If we don’t invest in training, there is no (legitimate) right to expect proficiency–let alone excellence!

If this is true in ALL positions (and it is), then it is 1000% true in positions of leadership! I can’t tell you how many leaders I see that are promoted without ever being empowered to actually lead! It is NOT just the executive level leaders that need leadership training. In fact, I think there is a good argument that they need it LESS than the front-line leaders. After all, it is not the executives that are regularly engaging with the employees or the clients.

If you want your organization to be recessionproof, I HIGHLY recommend that you invest in your front-line and middle-management leaders. They are the ones that will either drive your clients (internal and external) away, or facilitate fantastic Customer satisfaction and employee retention!