How to Improve Your Leadership Style With Cohort-Based Leadership Training Cohort-based leadership development integrates training with interactive learning experiences. It is a well-organized program in which a group of leaders or emerging leaders undergo training together over a specified period of time, yielding notable results.

By Sam Rockwell Edited by Micah Zimmerman

Key Takeaways

  • Cohort-based leadership development marks a significant departure from traditional leadership training methods.
  • This model can yield the cumulative benefits that come with peer learning, real-time application and structured follow-through.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Traditional leadership development programs often fail to help leaders navigate emergent business challenges. Enter cohort-based leadership development, which combines training with interaction.

Cohort-based leadership development is a structured program where a group of leaders or emerging leaders undergo training together over a specific period of time. This model embraces collective learning, peer review and timely or even real-time application.

Unlike traditional leadership development programs, which often focus on individual learning through workshops and online courses, cohort-based programs create a learning community where participants learn from each other's experiences and insights. Putting the learning process in this context of relationship moves it beyond mere cognitive learning to a more integrated experiential form combining knowledge with practice.

For example, I combine research with practical tools in my leadership development cohorts to help leaders navigate their strategic organizational changes effectively.

Related: 4 Reasons Leadership Training Programs Fail and How to Ensure Yours Succeeds

What makes cohort-based learning effective

Cohort-based learning is rooted in Albert Bandura's social learning theory. Social interaction improves learning because humans are social creatures by nature. Hence, we enjoy learning more from interactive, multimedia methods than passive ones that lack feedback or immediate results.

Perspective-taking and mentalizing in cohorts promote empathy and communication skills, while emotional resonance and dialogue deepen understanding for all involved.

The accountability that forms in groups encourages commitment and performance. Community-based learning, feedback, emotional support and real-world application ignite individual and collective learning.

Key features of cohort-based leadership development

Participants in the program benefit from peer learning and support, where they can exchange experiences and solutions, enhancing their understanding and retention of leadership concepts.

The structured curriculum is designed to cover various aspects of leadership, building upon previous sessions to provide a comprehensive learning journey. Practical tools, measurements and models are provided to apply directly to the work environment.

Real-time feedback and consulting during group sessions help participants tackle specific workplace challenges, allowing for continuous learning, application and feedback to support their development.

Additionally, members gain access to community and networking opportunities, fostering a sense of identity and a lasting support network for ongoing personal and professional growth.

Related: 8 Steps to Creating an Effective Leadership Development Program

Five benefits of cohort-based leadership development

Cohort-based leadership development has a design and mechanism that offers several advantages over traditional models:

1. Improved engagement and motivation: Social interaction, collective learning and opportunities for the timely application of relevant knowledge and skills promote leaders' learning.

2. Deeper learning and retention: The neuroscience of learning that occurs within social settings, given the inherent dialogue, modeling and collaboration that occurs in such settings, aids learners in grasping and retaining complex content. Discussions and exchanges with other students also spark empathy, enhancing understanding and memory.

4. More immediate application and real-world relevance: Cohort-based programs focus on teaching leadership skills participants need right now. Learners can gain new insights and experiment with new skills within a low-risk environment before bringing them back to the workplace. Cohorts allow new strategies to be tried, assessed and revised before real-world implementation.

5. Stronger development of leadership skills. Due to the real-world focus and reliance on social learning, cohort-based programs help participants rapidly develop their skills. The cohort model helps test the learner's ideas within a community of leaders. This roots skills, strategies and practices in reality and clarifies their functionality and accessibility for implementation.

Related: Want to Boost Your Company's Growth? Upskill Your Workforce. Here's How.

Creating cohort-based leadership development

Try the following tactics to create powerful, cohort-based leadership development programs within your organization:

1. Curate diverse cohorts: Diversity within a cohort is critical for enriching the learning experience. Different points of view, educational backgrounds, ages, gender perspectives, and more enhance learning.

2. Arrange skilled facilitation: The facilitator is critical to maintaining group morale and ensuring productive interaction within the cohort. Facilitators must have skills in managing group dynamics, making participants feel comfortable discussing their feelings and ideas (fostering psychological safety), and guiding conversation so everyone's voice is heard.

3. Offer continuous support and resources: Support should be available outside of cohort hours in the form of additional resources, coaching and opportunities for one-on-one consultation. These features help people consolidate their learning and tackle specific problems as they arise.

4. Assess and adjust: Regularly evaluate the program's effectiveness by collecting participant feedback and gauging participants' progress against measurable outcomes. Use this data to make needed revisions to the curriculum, facilitation and support to optimize learner outcomes.

Sam Rockwell

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor

CEO at Rockwell&Co

Sam Rockwell is a consultant, coach, and author specializing in helping medium to large businesses across sectors, industries, and the globe dramatically scale their results and profits by using the lens of identity to optimize their strategies, leadership development, and team performance.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Devices

Business Owners are Grabbing as Many of These MacBooks as They Can

The Touch Bar is uniquely suited to the multitaskers, and it's only $399.99

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Elon Musk's DOGE Is Hiring People Eager to 'Work Long Hours' to Eliminate 'Waste, Fraud and Abuse' in the Government. Here's How to Apply.

The Department of Government Efficiency is hiring U.S. citizens to help cut spending and headcounts in the federal government.

Business News

Uber's CEO Says Drivers Have About 10 Years Left Before They Will Be Replaced

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the jobs of human drivers are safe for the next decade, but after that, another type of driver will take over.

Business News

'Everyone Can Profit From It': What Is DeepSeek? China's 'Cheap' to Make AI Chatbot Climbs to the Top of Apple, Google U.S. App Stores

DeepSeek researchers claim it was developed for less than $6 million, a contrast to the $100 million it takes U.S. tech startups to create AI.

Business News

'I Love Doing Product Reviews': Bill Gates Stepped Down from Microsoft in 2020, But Admits He Still Spends 15% of His Time Working at the Company

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates also said he is still close with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella.