Training doesn’t fix performance. Leadership does.
 

Let me start with a story. A financial services firm called me in with an urgent request. “Margaret, our teams are underperforming. We need training fast! So I asked one question:
“What exactly is the performance gap?” Silence. Eventually, they said, “Well… productivity is low.” So we dug deeper.

• Were targets clear? Not really.
• Were managers giving feedback? Inconsistently.
• Were systems enabling efficiency? Not at all.
• Were consequences for poor performance enforced? Rarely.

But the solution on the table? Training.

Let’s be honest. Training has become the corporate painkiller. It makes organisations feel like they’re solving the problem… without actually addressing it. Here’s the truth many leaders avoid: Most organisations don’t have a training problem. They have a management and systems problem. And no number of workshops will fix:

• unclear expectations
• weak accountability
• broken processes
• inconsistent leadership

“According to ATD’s State of the Industry Report (2024), organisations spend over $1,280 per employee annually on training.” Yet, research consistently shows that a significant portion of that learning is never applied on the job. Because training does not operate in a vacuum, it operates in a system.

So let’s ask the real question: Is it a skills gap… or a leadership gap? Because if:

• people know what to do, but don’t do it → that’s not training
• performance expectations are unclear → that’s not training
• managers are not coaching → that’s not training
• systems make it hard to perform → that’s definitely not training

What high-performing organisations do differently? They don’t start with training. They start with a diagnosis. They ask:

• What is the desired performance?
• What is actually happening?
• What is getting in the way?

And only then do they decide: Is training even required? Because sometimes the solution is:

• clearer KPIs
• better line management
• process redesign
• performance consequences

And yes! Sometimes, it is training. But only when it is truly a skills issue. Let me say this as clearly as possible: If you train people and send them back into a broken system… The system will win - every time.

So here’s the shift leaders need to make: Stop asking: “Who needs training?” Start asking: “What is preventing performance?”

My final thought: training can build capability, but only leadership can unlock performance. So before you approve the next training budget… Pause. Diagnose. And ask the question most organisations avoid: Are we solving the right problem or just funding the wrong solution?

In Africa, we rise by raising the standard of learning and leadership.