Archive for management leadership training
A group of senior executives are finishing up a three-day program at a top management leadership training center. They’ve already filled out evaluations of the courses they took and the instructors. Now they’re grading the facilities and meals. Soon they’ll be heading back home to see what work has piled up while they were gone.
This scene is played out countless times every day, all across the country. It also tells you a lot about the mistakes companies make with leadership training.
Companies spend millions every year to send top managers to multi-day, off-site leadership programs. At the same they spend only about 7 percent of the training budget on first line supervisors.
But it’s those first line supervisors that make most of the difference. Jeff Immelt, current CEO at General Electric, says that when he was a boy, he always knew the name of his father’s supervisor, but rarely knew the name of the CEO. That’s normal.
First line supervisors determine whether workers are engaged or not. They’re the leaders who assure that teams have both high morale and high productivity. Why not spend some training money on them to help them do a better job?
The other thing wrong with spending leadership training money on senior managers is that they’re not likely to change much. A manager who’s been plying the leadership trade for a couple of decades isn’t likely to make a big, effective behavioral change because of a couple of classes.
To make matters worse, most management leadership training uses ineffective methods. Companies spend millions every year on classroom-based training that isn’t much different from what you’d see if you could go back in time to almost any Medieval university.
In both cases there’s one person in front of the room talking to a bunch of other people. Oh sure, today there would be PowerPoint slides and the seats might be more comfortable, but Martin Luther would have no trouble recognizing what’s going on.
In this medieval training model, the instructor lays out some basic principles and then works down to specific applications. That might be great for the teacher, but it’s not the way that most human beings learn best.
Think about any baby you’ve been around. There’s not a general principle in sight. The baby sees things, touches things, runs into things and tastes things and then turns all those experiences into general principles.
That’s how most adults learn, too. The most effective sequence is from specific point or experience to general principle.
What we need is more leadership training that uses methods that are more effective than lecture, or even lecture with PowerPoint and handouts. We need to use more methods that offer opportunities to learn from specific, relevant situations. And we need to use more methods that allow for reflection.
But, just because training is different from our Medieval model doesn’t automatically make it effective. There are a lot of programs out there based on the principle that we have to do something special to make learning fun. Other programs grow from the need for trainers and consultants to sell something “new.”
That’s why you have management leadership training that isn’t training at all, at least not in leadership. Executives can try outdoor adventure training which can be lots of fun or they can learn leadership by cooking, which probably helps the executive be more helpful at parties. But how do either of these make you a better leader? None of these trendy methods seem to do much about helping you learn leadership, but they’re a fun way to spend the training budget.
Here’s another really important thing. A lot of great classroom training never finds its way back to the workplace. It never seems to make any difference in what the leader-trainee does.
That’s because companies spend their time and money on the training and forget about the learning. That’s up to the individual, but companies usually don’t even bother to set learning expectations or check to see whether a trainee is using what he or she was taught. They should.
Marshall Goldsmith reviewed how well 86,000 leadership training participants actually learned from the experience. He found that the people who went home, talked about the learning and worked, deliberately to implement new behaviors learned best. But those who just went back home and did no follow-up showed no improvement at all.
The sad fact is that we know how to do good leadership training; we’re just not doing it. Here are some things your company should consider.
Spend time and money training your first line supervisors and new managers. Help them put together a self-development plan that will help them learn on the job. You’ll get the most bang for your buck that way.
Make sure the leadership training you choose addresses specific skills and uses effective instructional techniques. Set specific learning objectives for everyone you send to training.
Make sure that people who go through management leadership training get help and encouragement when they get back on the job. Follow-up to see that they’re working to implement what they learned.
Wally Bock
http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/why-most-leadership-training-is-a-waste-of-money-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-82050.html
Teaching Rhythmic Gymnastics – A Developmentally Appropriate Approach
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144 pages published: 2003 About the Book Rhythmic gymnastics offers a unique blend of music, movement, and apparatus that challenges students to discover their bodies capabilities. The opportunities for movement are endless as children use their natural creativity and imagination to manipulate ribbons, balls, hoops, ropes, and scarves in fun and spectacular ways. With Teaching Rhythmic Gymnastics, you dont need any specialized training to put together a developmentally appropriate program; this book leads you through the entire process. Its so easy to implement that once youve begun reading youll be able to lead classes through the basics of rhythmic gymnastics from the very first day. This book has everything you need to get going: Practical ideas for making your own hand apparatus from everyday materials Lesson plan ideas and strategies for class management Activities that you can use to develop each of the movement elements: locomotion, jumps, leaps, balances, turns, and pivots Learning challenges for every fundamental movement using each apparatus Tips for selecting music, including basic information about tempo, rhythm, and beat The book takes a developmental approach that places you, the teacher, in the role of facilitator, using themes, guided discovery, and problem solving to encourage students to work at their own ability levels. The students may work individually or in groups, which help them build teamwork, collaboration, and leadership skills. You can easily include special-needs populations by using simple equipment modifications or program adjustments. Plus, the book includes suggestions for tailoring a rhythmic gymnastics unit for older (secondary) students. By providing open-ended movement tasks and challenges, you can use this program to guide children to self-discovery within their individual capabilities. After developing movement and spatial awareness, students get the opportunity to use apparatus and discover the fundamental movements and
Women in Leadership CD-Rom Training Software: Leadership Roles & Styles
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In the simulation at the end of this unit, you will meet with Rebecca Helton, a senior manager in Icon\’s Sales department, to discuss how gender roles in leadership have changed. Rebecca worked her way up through the ranks at Icon and was one of the fist women to attain a senior management position
Managerial Leadership CD-Rom Training Software: Leading Through Change
Posted by: | CommentsAfter several months of discussion, Icon\’s Board of Directors has recently decided to discontinue the best-selling line of Majestic servers. While nothing has been made public, several employees in upper management have heard rumors and are unsure of how their jobs will be affected. You will be
Women in Leadership Training: Becoming a Leader ID 46351
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In Women In Leadership Training: Becoming A Leader, you will learn how to use the basic leadership skills, such as information management. In addition, the training program will teach you the steps you should follow for persuading others to follow your lead, as well as the process for converting
Marshall Goldsmith Effective Leadership DVD
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Buy or rent this leadership training video/DVD featuring executive coach and best-selling author, Marshall Goldsmith, on personal and professional leadership skills. Goldsmith has helped successful leaders achieve positive lasting change in behavior for themselves, their people and their teams and has been featured in a The New Yorker profile, Harvard Business Review interview, Forbes feature story and Business Strategy Review cover story (from the London Business School). He is one of the few consultants who has been asked to work with more than 100 major CEOs and their management teams. Key Concepts: * Behavior change for leaders with expanding roles * Listening Skills and motivation by not \”adding too much value.\” * Asking for Feedback * Avoiding Favoritism * Team Building without time wasting or \”Feedforward\” * Having to win too much * Destructive Comments Program Information: Includes: leader\’s guide. Length: 19:45 minutes. Rental: Video can be rented for 5 days. DVD must be returned within 2 weeks. Discount: 10% discount applies to non-profits,education,government and consultants. Please email Contact Us to find out more about pricing or for general questions about our leadership training DVDs or call (212)721-0910.
UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE – Spanish (2001B)
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(Spanish)(12 min.) Program discusses the different styles of leadership and management principles designed to help the supervisor understand and how to develop their own unique management style.
Easy Trainer: Business & Leadership Skills
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Give Supervisors the Expertise They Need With Easy Trainer PowerPoint? Sessions on CD-ROM Easy Trainer: Business & Leadership Skills Provides instant training for your supervisors on topics such as communication, managing change, team building, turnover, and many others. Why spend hours
The Role of Management in Business Self Study Program
Posted by: | CommentsDuration: 5 hours (includes 1 test) Now Approved for Alabama HVAC Continuing Education Course Prerequisites: Fundamentals of Business (060002) What Students Learn: The Importance of Managers; Organizations in Which Managers Work; The Roles and Skills Required of Managers; Leadership and Style.
Hockey Tough
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224 pages. Published 2003 About the Book No hockey player can reach his full potential without mastering the mental side of the sport. Hockey Tough provides players and coaches proven methods for mastering the mental side of the game. Author Saul Miller shares the psychological training and emotional management techniques he has successfully taught individual hockey players and teams for over 20 years. Throughout the book, NHL stars such as Mark Messier, Pavel Bure, Chris Pronger, and Markus Naslund offer insights and tips on a variety of topics related to achieving a winning mind-set for the sport. These players explain how to focus and score, how to deal with personality conflicts on and off the ice, and how to bounce back with confidence after a subpar performance. Miller, one of North Americas most prolific and sought-after sport psychology consultants in hockey, presents mental exercises and assignments to help players -develop a winning attitude on and off the ice, -stay focused to execute skills and tactics, -maintain the mental stamina required in this physically demanding sport, -overcome emotional fatigue and physical aches and pains to perform at the highest level throughout the season, -manage their anger to avoid costly penalties in crucial game situations, and -develop the discipline and tenacity to force and capitalize on opponents mistakes. Miller presents many other topics of interest, such as the intangibles that coaches and scouts look for in players and what it takes to make it to the top level of competition. Motivation, teamwork, leadership, and poise are essential factors to successful performance. Hockey Tough will strengthen each of these areas and help players achieve a mind-set to excel on the ice. About the Author For the past 25 years Dr. Saul Millers coaching expertise has been helping individual athletes, teams, and coaches perform at the top of their game. Dr. Miller holds a PhD in clinical psychology and is the author of five books