Excuse #7: We’ve Already Done Training

It’s common to hear: “We’ve already done training.”

The Real Challenge This excuse assumes leadership development is a one-time event, but sadly, culture isn’t changed in a workshop, it’s shaped through daily habits, feedback, and reinforcement. Alternatively, we can fall into the trap of believing that if our team has the information, they have everything they need to implement. This assumption opens the door to a host of complexities.  First, we approach team members' performance from a place of judgement and comparison rather than support and development. Next, if we do not have a culture of psychological safety and regular feedback, we as leaders do not have a pulse on how the learning is impacting behaviour. This ignorance can reinforce lack of sharing, lack of vulnerability, silence, minimal engagement and more.

The Consequence When we tick the box on training without measuring self-reported growth and observable behaviour change in the area we are looking to see development in, we ultimately fail to develop our people and increase their capacity to take on more responsibility. This creates a false sense of security in leadership capacity and true competency when it comes to moving team members into leadership roles. McKinsey’s HR Monitor 2025 found that only one-third of critical roles are backed by succession plans (McKinsey, 2025). “Checking the box” with training leaves organizations dangerously exposed when leaders move on, and jaded in their valuing of training initiatives. It is frustrating to spend money on training programs that do not produce the desired change. Without continuous growth, culture stagnates. We need to become more discerning in the type of development we employ.

The Reframe Reframe as: “I’ll view training as an ongoing practice, not a one-time event.”

Leadership & culture development is more like exercise than certification, it requires consistency, feedback loops and reflection on progress and learning.

A Practical Step Establish a rhythm of learning: monthly peer coaching, normalized feedback cycles, or simple reflection prompts in team meetings. Build practice and reflection into the flow of work.

When we approach training from the perspective of a developmental journey rather than an information delivery checklist, our people develop greater mastery in both character and competency. Then, we are able to see measurable results that strengthens our leadership bench throughout the organization.