The best time(s) to train your managers
The best time(s) to train your managers
Have you been thinking about how you develop your managers? You've probably been looking at it one dimensionally. We want to unpack, in this video, the four stages in which you can think about management development, because one size does not fit all.
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So you've heard me talk about, in the past, that people don't leave organisations, they leave managers. And a lot of the times when I was working in-house, I would be asked by my CEO or leadership team to invest in management development programmes. Really expensive,
programmatic, 3/6/12 month programmes. And the question I always threw back to them was, at what stage are those people and what do they need development in?
So before you start investing in expensive programmes, think about the why. Because there are many stages of management and leadership
development. And when we've worked with clients, we've worked in a number of different ways at different stages. So one of the stages you might want to think about is aspiring managers. So where promotion and
progression is not easy in your organisation, people are going to, for money, and also for status, want to become a manager, because that's the only way that they can develop.
Now, you want to really weed out whether they really want to be a manager, because being a manager is really tough. You have to give feedback, you have to communicate, you have to listen, you have to be empathetic, you have to be caring, and you have to do your job. So if you can start to think about that, before someone actually gets promoted, what better way than investing in an aspiring managers programme. Because you can tell them, warts and all, exactly what it means. And
therefore only the people that really want to take on that extra responsibility will apply.
Then when your managers are new, there's a whole new world of
things that they need to know about how to communicate, how to
give feedback, how to have courageous conversations, how to set goals, objectives. So you might want to look at your new manager capability. And as someone grows as a manager and a leader, you might want to look at existing or established managers, or even senior managers, to differentiate between the day-to-day and more of the strategic, proactive
cultural elements of being a manager, rather than just doing the doing. Because you'll have covered that in aspiring and new managers.
But let's not forget the fourth and final group, which is those high potential,
those future leaders, and they will need a very different experience than a bog standard programme. And that might be something more bespoke. So
before you invest, think about the why. Think about elements
that you've already got in your organisation. And think about
where you might be able to buy that expertise in. But also think about the role models that already exist within your organisation.
So don't just look at management and leadership as a blanket term. Think about the personas that exist, and make sure that you design directly for them. I promise you, it'll be worth it. And you'll get managers that are really
embedded and really care and contribute to how you get, keep
and grow brilliant people.
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Hope you enjoyed this video. See you next time.