Tips for Finding the Best Leadership Courses Online

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The Advantages of Online Training for Leaders

Woman looking for Online Leadership Courses and leadership development

Being a leader or manager isn’t easy, especially with changing needs. So, how do you find time for leadership skills training classes and professional development programs? You may be in a leadership or management position or aspire to be in one, but how current are your leadership skills and competencies, and how prepared are you to effectively lead for change management in an ever-changing, disruptive world? 

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “The most preferred way of learning for 70% of employees is online/self-paced courses, followed by online/instructor-led training (63%), in-person training with an instructor (63%), and hybrid learning opportunities (62%).”

Young professional male taking online leadership classes.

The best leadership online courses offer a variety of benefits that will fit your busy, demanding lifestyle to become a more successful leader or manager. Some of the benefits include:

  • Flexibility – Plan learning around your schedule
  • Self-paced – Take courses at a speed that’s comfortable for you
  • Course Choices – Access a wide range of resources and expertise
  • Cost-effective – Don’t break the bank on in-person training

Expectations of Aspiring and Successful Leaders

Successful Leader pushing for high performing teams

According to Gallup’s research on leadership and management, they found the following: “Managers are feeling the squeeze. Widespread disruptions, including declines in employee engagement, record turnover and hiring rates, and an unprecedented increase in hybrid work have marred today’s post-pandemic workforce era. 

“Leadership style has shifted from what it once was. Ultimately, the manager’s job is to bring stability to disruption and lead their teams into the future. Skills like, effective leadership, inclusive leadership, project management, change management, conflict management, business strategy, and cultural management have never been more important.”

Closing the Leadership and Management Skills Gap

Closing the skills gap with online leadership classes and leadership certification

According to Forbes, these are some of the top leadership skills and competency gaps that companies and business leaders need to address when hiring new management. Taking online courses can help develop leadership skills to address some of these concerns.

  • Inadequately prepared emerging leaders
  • Disappointing performance from current leaders
  • Bias toward managing instead of leading 
  • Insufficient trust, role clarity, and conflict management
  • Leaders lacking self-awareness and adaptability
  • Leaders doing their teams’ work

Is it Time to Invest in Leadership Training for Yourself?

Someone making a list of how to invest in their professional future

When was the last time you invested in yourself—to learn new leadership skills? —to help you respond to the changing demands in your teams and organization? Let’s think about a few basic questions that will help determine what type of leadership courses would be most effective in becoming the kind of leader you want to be. 

  • Do you see yourself attending a live or online training session?
  • Is self-paced, online training more attractive, because of the flexibility it gives you? 
  • Do you like the idea of doing a training program all on your own, or would it be helpful to have a coach, who can support you and keep you on track?

Choosing the Right Leadership and Management Skills Training 

professional expanding leadership potential by choosing the right online leadership training

When looking into the best leadership training classes online, you’re going to encounter a lot of options. Here are a few of the top sites you may run into during your search.

  • FranklinCovey Academy
  • LinkedIn Learning
  • UDemy

Let’s dive a little deeper to see which leadership courses and management training options could best help you to improve your leadership capabilities. 

About FranklinCovey Academy

FranklinCovey Academy Course Page. Courses featuring leadership essentials, practical strategies, and key skills

FranklinCovey is recognized globally as the most trusted company for leadership, management, and productivity training. Clients have included Fortune 500 companies, Fortune 100 companies, thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, and numerous government and educational institutions. 


FranklinCovey Academy Benefits and Courses

FranklinCovey Academy gives you self-paced courses that will cover various critical skills, including essential leadership skills to lead high-performing teams, productivity, team building, critical thinking, implementation strategies, coaching, business strategy, conflict management, communication skills, inclusive leadership, and execution. These online courses are based on FranklinCovey’s international content and bestselling books. 

Some of the online training courses include:

  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
  • The 5 Choices of Extraordinary Productivity
  • Leading at the Speed of Trust
  • The 4 Essential Roles of Leadership
  • The 4 Disciplines of Execution
  • Unconscious Bias

How will a personal coach help you with your leadership training?

Professional Coach teaching business leaders online leadership courses

When you start your courses on FranklinCovey Academy, you will get your own personal coach, who will reach out to you to understand your end in mind for taking the course, your timeline for completing the course, and to explore how to support you best. With your coach, you will get guidance and feedback on your learning and application of your leadership skills. The more you learn and put your skills into practice, the better the learning and skills will stick. Individuals who have taken FranklinCovey courses report that their coach has made all of the difference in their learning and keeping them on track to success—especially in their preparation to earn the certificate. 

Other Benefits of FranklinCovey Academy

This platform offers online leadership training that you can access when and where you want—giving you flexibility and convenience on a user-friendly interface. You will gain access to a library of resources, including video-based lessons, recorded webinars with essential skills, and tools. You will also be able to test your new leadership strategies with assignments, and quizzes. Once you’ve completed your courses, you can show your achievements with a FranklinCovey leadership certification and digital badge to demonstrate your leadership competencies and skills.

To learn more about leadership and management courses at FranklinCovey Academy, follow this link.

About LinkedIn Learning

Become a successful leader with LinkedIn Learning's online leadership classes

LinkedIn Learning is included in a premier subscription on LinkedIn. This option can be purchased for individuals, teams, or an entire organization. LinkedIn Learning is “an American online learning platform. It provides video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. It is a subsidiary of LinkedIn.” 

LinkedinIn Learning Benefits and Courses

All the courses on LinkedIn fall into four categories: Business, Creative, Technology, and Leadership Certification.” For individual users, they will gain access to 21,000, self-paced, expert lead courses. These online courses will be recommended to you based on your LinkedIn profile, including your work history and areas where you have expressed interest. 

Professional male, using Linkedin Learning for online leadership

Some online courses offered include:

  • Goal Setting: Objectives and Key Results
  • Excel Essential Training
  • Cultivating a Growth Mindset
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • How to Make Strategic Thinking a Habit
  • Skills for Inclusive Communication


According to a writer at the University of Chicago, LinkedIn Learning offers many benefits to its users including:

Professional using LinkedIn Learning to improve management techniques, and critical thinking
  • Courses for Your Future – Linkedin Learning offers high-quality courses that are perfect for professional development and aquiring new leadership techniques. These courses target business and leadership skills, as well as training on new platforms, coding languages, multimedia production, and more.
  • Certifications – Once you’ve completed a course, you are awarded a LinkedIn certification that you can add to your profile, email or embed to a portfolio.  
  • Personal Development – Courses aren’t only tailored toward your professional growth, but personal growth as well. Explore training on “work effectively from home,” or “supporting your mental health,” or “avoiding burnout.”
  • Self-paced and Flexible – Learn anywhere and anytime you want. Content is available on or offline, and on a variety of devices.

To learn more about LinkedIn Learning, follow this link.

About UDemy


UDemy defines themselves as an “online learning and teaching marketplace.” With more than 22,000 courses offered in 75 languages, users can find a variety of topics on leadership strategies to meet your needs.

UDemy Benefits and Courses

With UDemy, users are given a self-paced online learning experience. There is an option to subscribe for a monthly fee or pay for specific courses individually. You can also find promotions of the site frequently, discounting many courses. Udemy offers a library of video training on a variety of topics taught by industry experts. Most training through UDemy includes multiple lessons, and practice materials, and is offered in multiple languages. 

Professional taking a leadership development program learning different leadership styles.

Some online courses offered include:

  • How to Use Leadership Styles Effectively
  • The Science of Leadership
  • Facilitation Skills: The Core Skill of Great Team Leaders
  • Conscious Business: Building Positive Relationships

To learn more about UDemy, follow this link.

What are you waiting for?

Invest in yourself by learning basic leadership principles and gaining a leadership certification.

It’s time to invest in yourself and your future. Demonstrate the authentic leadership you’ve always wanted and expand your skills with some of the world’s best online leadership courses.