How to Train your C-Suite

by Rob Porter

April 8, 2021

Virtual training in the enterprise comes with many challenges. Training managers struggle with engagement. They have the difficult task to demonstrate ROI. They’re tasked with confronting corrosive interpersonal issues in the workplace that society hasn’t been able to fix since civilization first reared its head.

Suffice to say, running an effective virtual training program is hard enough. One can imagine the frustration training managers feel when they struggle with what should be an easy ask: getting the c-level suite to show up for their own sessions. The organization’s top brass should after all lead by example, right? In today’s knowledge economy, shouldn’t continuous learning be a requirement for the entire workforce starting from the very top?

A couple of years ago, a manufacturer catering to the oil and gas industry took a different approach to training its C-suite and other high level executives, which may have fancied itself “above corporate training”. The Luxembourg-based company decided not to bother with the unnecessary fuss of training its VIP execs and instead invited them to a fancy gala. Oh, training was a big part of the program, but instead of it being something executives were told they had to attend, it was something only the best of the best would be invited to attend. You see, by positioning the event as something competitive, it became distinguished. Only those with the clearest career paths were chosen, and when they were, they received glamourous invitations worthy of an Oscars party. Suddenly, for the organization’s executives, getting invited to corporate training was like being accepted by a prestigious business school.

But the organization didn’t stop there. Getting the top execs to attend wasn’t enough. Now they had to be trained. So, the company took a highly personalized approach that forced each and every attended to take a fresh look at the efficacy of their own individual leadership styles. Were objectives being met? If not, why? How could the executive improve his or her leadership style; how could they better arm and motivate their teams; how could they making sure they’re setting the right targets to better support company goals? To ensure individual performances were being examined objectively, the organization invited instructors from Switzerland’s IMD, ranked among the world’s top business schools.

It’s quite a lesson for any training manager who struggles to secure the participation of Cs and VPs who think they’re too VIP to take part in company-wide training. “I already know what I need to know. How do you think I got here,” might be a common refrain. Perhaps here is where training managers need to be less like chasers and more like gatekeepers. Perhaps with a bit of salesmanship, corporate training can be seen not as something executives have to do, but something they want to do.

The question is, or the question they should have on their mind is, will you let them? Contact us to learn how CoSo Cloud can help enhance your virtual training experience!