Lead People, Lead Teams, and Lead the Business with Spark Development

In our last blog post, we explored how Spark Development, our learning and development platform, empowers individuals through e-learning with five leadership development course catalogs.

We started by looking at the first two catalogs, Lead Self and Lead the Work, helping learners develop personal effectiveness and prioritize what truly matters.

If you missed that post, you can check it out here.

Now, we’re diving into the next three essential leadership areas: Lead People, Lead Teams, and Lead the Business.

Lead People

Leading people is an essential aspect of leadership development, helping each individual be successful and grow their skills.

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It's about taking care of those in your charge." - Simon Sinek

Having the best people on our teams is an important element of success. Our people serve our customers, create incredible products, come up with new ideas to move our organizations forward, and so much more. In short, nothing happens without our people.

In this catalog of courses, you can expect to gain practical insights and techniques to: 

• Inspire and guide the individuals on your team

• Tackle challenges 

• Create a positive work environment 

Featured e-learning: One foundational skill in leading people is the process of selecting the most qualified candidate for each role. The key to this is effective interviewing, which involves preparing thoroughly, asking the right questions, assessing responses accurately, and creating an environment where interviewees can showcase their best skills.

The e-learning course Interviewing 101 helps you build a strong foundation for effective interviewing by equipping you with the tools to select the most qualified candidates for any role.

Through the course, you will:

• Learn key steps to prepare yourself and candidates for interviews.

• Understand how to ask questions to learn what you need to know about each candidate.

• Know the questions you can NOT ask in an interview.

• Explore what to listen for and how to assess candidate responses fairly and effectively.

Watch the course below!

In addition to leading people, when leaders ask about professional development, they often think of what it means to lead their teams and the business - to lead a team of uniquely talented individuals to work effectively together and then connect that work to business priorities to deliver results. Let’s look at both of those now!

Lead Teams

Effective leaders inspire their teams, creating a collaborative environment where everyone feels valued and motivated. When teams work together well, they achieve a greater impact than we can alone.

In this catalog, you can expect courses that will give you the essential skills to:

• Foster collaboration

• Leverage diverse experiences and talents to achieve results

• Drive innovation and creativity

Featured e-learning: An ancient Greek philosopher once said,

“The only constant in life is change,”

and this statement remains true thousands of years later. We understand that change presents an opportunity for growth, and as a leader, you have the power to guide your team through it with confidence and resilience.

One of the courses, Leading Change, is designed to equip you to inspire your team to work through the challenges of change to realize the possibilities it creates. The course illuminates the emotional cycle of change and provides the tools to support your team at every stage.

Through the course, you will:

• Understand how emotions impact our ability to move through change to realize the possibilities that change creates.

• Explore your impact as a leader on the success of a change.

• Learn practical strategies for leading your team and yourself through change.

Watch the course demo below!

Lead the Business

Leading the business is about connecting business goals and strategies to the work people do every day. Whether you’re leading a department, a small business, or an entire organization, success depends on making this connection! In this catalog, you’ll learn strategies for setting a clear vision, making informed decisions, and fostering a culture of innovation and accountability.

To do this, you'll learn to:

• Connect strategies and behaviors to business outcomes

• Inspire your team to achieve organizational goals

• Drive continuous improvement and innovation

One challenge leaders face in leading the business is making the connection between key business drivers and performance, specifically how their decisions as a leader can drive growth, strengthen their team, and contribute to long-term success.

Featured e-learning: The lessons in the course Business Acumen for Leaders are designed to help you understand how companies make smart choices, grow wisely, and stay competitive. Have no fear, you don’t need to be a finance expert! The course breaks things down in a clear, simple way and connects them all to real-world situations you might face in your role so that you can understand the essential elements of business acumen.

The goals of the course are to:

• Learn to interpret financial statements and identify key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Enhance decision-making skills focused on profitability, efficiency, and long-term growth.

• Develop the ability to link daily decisions to organizational strategy and performance.

Watch the course demo below!

Leadership in Action

Leadership is a journey - one that evolves with experience and intentional growth. Whether you’re guiding individuals, leading a team, or driving an organization forward, Spark is here to guide and support you to boost your strengths or build new skills. To learn more, visit our Spark Development landing page. If you’d like a Spark demo, we’d love to connect with you! Schedule time with us!