HR opinion: the shift in management and leadership training
As a cornerstone of any organisation, management and leadership development has received a lot of focus. With leadership development being almost a buzz-phrase in many companies, with massive budgets being allocated to this, I've always found it interesting how budgetary allocations are done. Large amounts are focused on the upper levels where theory and academic approaches are seen as crucial. This meant that the lower tiers of management – the critical mass – has to share the leftover budget. What impact does this have in the business?
All too often, supervisory and middle management development has been marred with leadership and management training taking place for the sake of levy claims. Of late though, I've noticed a difference in this drive and focus, and am thrilled that the scales are tipping as organisations realise the power of properly equipped leaders on first line and middle management level.
I conduct summative assessments on level 4 and 5 management development and am regularly reminded of the importance of practical application. Management and leadership theory is one thing but the practical application is a whole different kettle of fish as very often learners grapple with putting learning into action. For learning to stick, transfer is crucial and there are various ways that candidates can enhance their learning experience.
What ensures success in developing first line and middle management?
Well, for starters, your top management needs to buy into leadership and management development. This is a non-negotiable. It speaks for itself that when the top role-players support the process and understand the value of developing all staff, the pieces will fall into place easily.
Along with that, the role that mentors play is vital. Their involvement streamlines the learning process and assists learners on their discovery journey by putting all the new thinking into perspective and allowing opportunities for learning to cement itself in the practical application. Without this support and enablement, even the best-designed programme can fall flat and not yield results.
Candidate selection is just as important
On occasion, the individuals who could, and would, benefit most from the intervention are star workers and their presence at the workplace is greatly missed. That can result in the second- or third-choice candidate being sent on development as their absence is not felt as strongly back at the workplace.
I'm happy to report that this is shifting. Along with pre-assessments on ability and learning potential, as well as the awareness of personal development plans and great performance management, we are getting the correct candidates on programmes. The buy-in to human assets and training processes is the start to real return on investment and wow - the results are speaking for themselves.
I've seen relationships blossoming between operational management, HR and learning and development, which is hugely positive. HR is taking their rightful place at the management table, and operations is seeing the value in training and development. This is a cycle that repeats itself. All in all, there is a positive movement in management and leadership development, and I'm very happy to be a small part of that.
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Kerryn Gregory has been involved with management and leadership development for 12 years, and has worked with many blue chip clients to design and implement specific training solutions. She is currently the practice leader of the management and leadership department at Maccauvlei Learning Academy. With an emphasis on practical application and action learning, Kerryn has seen sustainable results from various management and supervisory candidates, directly linking growth and development as well as positive returns for the organisations she has worked with. Kerryn has a both a B-Tech HRM and HRD and is a chartered HR professional, assessor and moderator. |
