Dynamic Business

Leadership and Management Development Programs

At some stage or other most business owners or managers will consider undertaking some form of leadership or management development program. The choices are overwhelming. We would suggest there are several factors that are important in considering which program to enrol in:

Does the theory translate into action? There are many courses available which will provide a deep and rich education… yet the key purpose of this has to be the implementation of the learnings. What process does the program use to ensure you receive return-on-investment and that you gain more than just a pretty certificate?

Whether it’s a training program, post-graduate program or a coaching process—what experience does the ‘teacher’ possess in implementing the subjects being ‘taught’? Theories and models can be compelling, but are they proven—and by the ‘teacher’?

Will the content be tailored for your circumstances? Your business, whilst possessing many similarities to businesses in general, will have degrees of uniqueness—any program of development ought to be able to take that into consideration.

Does the content take into consideration the Australian cultural norms? There are subtle yet noteworthy differences between the Aussie and other workplace cultures. In First XI: Winning Organisations in Australia, (by Cocks, Heap, Hubbard and Samuel) it was confirmed that Aussies do NOT respond positively to fanciful Vision and Mission Statements, ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goals’, ‘Breakthrough Ideas’, charismatic and evangelisitc leadership, focus on profits alone or internal competition—all of which are the hallmarks of many overseas origin leadership development programs.

Making an investment in any form of training is always fraught with the question of ‘Will I get a return and how will I measure that?’ And it’s a reasonable question. There are far too many so-called development programs which are little more than ‘events’. In simple terms, the objective of any leadership/development program ought to be increased leadership/management effectiveness and, in turn, increased productivity from employees as a result. Measuring the return on your investment, therefore, can be quite readily achieved by taking a before and after measure. This is generally done through the use of 360-degree assessments and organisational performance benchmarks. The key is to always understand what the ultimate outcome should be of undertaking the development and then discerning how to measure for that outcome.

If engaging a training or coaching organisation, it’s worth asking them to commit to delivering agreed key performance indicators (KPIs) and placing some of their remuneration at risk, based on the achievement of these. As an example, when my organisation worked with the senior executive team and management at Jaguar and Land Rover Australia, our KPIs were measured improvement in employee satisfaction; measured improvements in 13 of 22 ‘critical drivers’ in the ‘culture of leadership’ profile; measured improvement specifically in the ‘teamwork and co-operation’ driver; measured improvement, using our 360-degree tool, in each participant’s leadership effectiveness; and attaining specific ‘project satisfaction’ scores from the senior executive team. (Specific scores were required to be achieved for each KPI, not shown here).

So, can leadership or management development be conducted internally? Sometimes. The fact is, these subjects are deep and complex, and not everybody can master the art of assessment, training and coaching. We work with a number of larger organisations where an HR person who has the capacity to deliver some of the content required is utilised. In our experience though, SMEs don’t have the resources to dedicate to such an enormous task and will inevitably need to engage some sort of external resource to assist—even if it is to ‘write’ a leadership program to be implemented internally.

In their myth-shattering report, ‘Retaining Talent: A Benchmarking Study’, Development Dimensions International’s Bernthal and Wellins identified that a staggering 78 percent of respondents had left their last employer as a result of a ‘disconnection’ with their immediate supervisor! In today’s ‘skills-short’ environment, stepping up and becoming a more effective leader and manager has never been as important.

James Michael is founding director of training company Leadersp in Action (www.leadershipinaction.net.au)