Leadership Development in Manufacturing: Training Alone Is No Longer Enough

By Danny Gavin, Communications Coordinator, Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) --

As manufacturers navigate workforce shortages, rapid technological change, and evolving employee expectations, leadership development is emerging as one of the industry's most pressing challenges.

For decades, leadership development followed a familiar formula: identify top performers, promote them into leadership roles, and provide periodic training. While that approach worked reasonably well in the past, today's manufacturing environment is far more complex.

Experienced leaders are retiring, creating gaps in leadership pipelines. At the same time, newer leaders are being asked to take on greater responsibility earlier in their careers. Employees also expect more from their managers, seeking coaching, feedback, career development, and guidance rather than simply direction and oversight.

During a recent AEM Workforce Committee meeting Andy Hillig, practice lead of leadership & coaching at AEM member company LAK Group, discussed why traditional leadership training often falls short, and how manufacturers can better prepare frontline leaders for success.

"The environment leaders are operating in today is really quite a bit different than the one many of us grew up in," said Hillig.

Workforce shortages, AI, automation, and changing customer demands are creating new pressures that require a different approach to leadership development.

A wealth of strategies exist to help attract and retain the workforce of tomorrow, and AEM is here to help bring them to light through its Workforce Development Committee. Learn more.

Why New Leaders Struggle

Many frontline supervisors are promoted because they excel in technical roles. They're ependable problem-solvers, trusted by colleagues, and often the go-to employees when challenges arise. But the skills that make someone a strong individual contributor are not always the same skills required to become an effective leader.

"When leaders face a challenge, they often fall back on what made them successful as individual contributors. That works until it doesn't," said Hillig.

When faced with staffing shortages, performance issues, or conflict within a team, many new leaders instinctively step in and solve the problem themselves. While those actions may seem helpful, they can also create unintended consequences.

"If the leader starts carrying the weight of the team, how effective are they as a leader?" Hillig said.

Over time, leaders who consistently jump in to rescue situations may struggle to develop employee capabilities, increasing burnout, turnover, and engagement challenges.

Leadership Drives Culture

Frontline leaders have a significant impact on workplace culture. Organizations often think about culture in terms of values, mission statements, or employee programs. However, culture is shaped primarily through everyday experiences employees have with their leaders.

"Culture is really much more simple than that. It's the collection of experiences that people have at work every day," said Hillig. "The frontline supervisor plays a large role in creating those experiences."

Employee experiences shape beliefs about the workplace, which then influence behaviors and ultimately determine business outcomes. Questions such as "Does my manager care about my growth?" or "Is it safe to speak up?" are often answered through daily interactions rather than formal company messaging.

"Those outcomes aren't happening by accident. They're the result of a thousand small interactions and experiences," said Hillig.

Learning in the Flow of Work

Traditional leadership development programs often focus too heavily on classroom learning while overlooking the conditions that drive lasting behavior change.

"The challenge isn't identifying the skills leaders need. The challenge is helping leaders develop them in a way that sticks," said Hillig.

The 70-20-10 development model suggests that most professional growth occurs through experience and coaching rather than formal training. Approximately 70% of learning comes through challenging experiences and problem solving. Another 20% comes through mentoring, coaching, and learning from others. Only 10% comes through formal learning activities such as courses, workshops, and conferences.

"Organizations seeing the strongest results aren't the ones providing more content. They're creating systems that connect all three parts of the model and support leaders as they apply learning in the flow of work," said Hillig.

AI Creates Opportunities

Artificial intelligence was another major focus of the discussion, particularly its ability to support leadership development through practice and coaching.

Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human interaction, it should be used as a tool that complements coaching by helping managers rehearse difficult conversations and leadership scenarios before they happen.

"Can leaders practice leadership itself? Not just reflecting on behavior after the fact, but actually building capability through simulation, role plays, and rehearsal in realistic scenarios," said Hillig.

AI-powered role-playing tools can help leaders prepare for feedback conversations, delegation challenges, conflict resolution, and performance management discussions in a safe environment where mistakes become learning opportunities.

The most effective approach combines AI-enabled practice with coaching, mentoring, and real-world application to reinforce learning and build confidence.

Rethinking Leadership Development

As manufacturers continue to navigate workforce transitions, technological disruption, and evolving employee expectations, leadership capability will remain a critical differentiator.

Leadership is not developed through training alone. It is built through experience, strengthened through coaching, and reinforced through everyday opportunities to learn, practice, and grow.

For manufacturers looking to improve retention, increase employee engagement, and strengthen organizational culture, investing in frontline leaders may be one of the most impactful workforce strategies available