The Role of Leaders in Training and Development in Malawi: A Case Study of Private and Public Institutions in Malawi

Background

Training and development are hardly separated. It is assumed that when training happens, development follows. Training is the impartation of skills and knowledge to an individual. If the needs are addressed, this process will lead to change in the personality and attitude of a person towards work. That change will result in overall changes in attitudes towards work and productivity. Different trainings can be carried out to address the requisite skills. They might be on the job training, formal training or informal training. Garner 2012 argues that training can be done to three groups of people. It can be done to new employees through induction when they are introduced to colleagues and get to familiarize with work place. Secondly, it can be done to senior professionals, the key players in the organization, through seminars and conferences. Thirdly, it can be done to those employees who lack some skills. Therefore in the third scenario, training is a form of correction or solution to the training problems an individual could be facing.

Leaders have a significant role to identify the training needs of each individual and ensure, total quality management, mobilization of resources and facilitate training in order to develop both the individual and the organization. There is need to understand the meaning of training, development and the role of leaders in promoting employees and development. The leaders at Pentecostal Life University and Malawi Institute of Management are leading examples in training and development in Malawi. The two institutions believe in training and development and they mastermind such activities to take place in their institutions every year.

Training is an essential part of a successful organization. A leader’s role is very vital for training to be done and for new leaders to be groomed. A great organization is facilitated by a great leader. A leader’s impact goes beyond the organization whilst his/her subordinate’s impact can end in the office. In case of schools, the teachers’ impact end in the classroom but the leader’s impact goes beyond the school.

Leaders should create meaningful changes in the lives of their staff members and learners. This entails a huge responsibility for them to lead well. They need to provide quality professional development which spearheads the leadership capabilities and organizational performance. Leaders need to embark on developing themselves prior to developing others (Walkin, 1992). As stated by Garner 2012 employees need to work where they are developed for personal and professional reasons. Training enables people to keep up with rapid change. Timmys 2013 argues that “there is no stability, no quiet periods… things that stand still calcify, erode, and crumble. Therefore there is need for continuous training in an organization. Training gives employees autonomy. It gives them confidence to make decisions and take risks in an organization.

A leader needs to effectively coach teachers, staff, formulate new policies and initiatives, think strategically, resolve conflicts, assemble and lead teams, mentor and distribute leadership in order to get things done. As leaders of top notch they should always take their leadership to the next level. Leadership development should be a process in order to achieve organizational performance and effectiveness. According to Garner 2012, coaching skills are an essential adds on for managers who want to develop their staff. It is imperative for leaders to be able to identify the potential in others, believe in them and build their strengths and talents at the same time giving suggestions on how they can improve.

Top notch leaders value their employees and make them feel as part of their organization through training and development. Employees develop a sense of belonging to the organization, experience job satisfaction and minimize employee’s mistakes.