| How Managers
Develop Sterling Institute views
management development as the process by which managers acquire the competence (knowledge,
skills and experience) to achieve results through others.
Development occurs, however, only when the acquired knowledge
skills, and experience are applied on the job, and then only when they produce the desired
results. Development does not occur when managers acquire knowledge and skills they never
use. Nor does it occur when the knowledge and skills they acquire and use fail to produce
effective results. Management development is a process that assists managers to perform
effectively. Therefore, its value can be measured only by the results achieved on the job.
We have learned that in order for training programs to be
effective they must take into consideration how managers actually develop; that is,
through 1) on-the-job experience, 2) coaching and counseling by supervisors and 3)
observation and experimentation. When designing training programs, we have tried to
recognize the importance of these three factors to the learning process and to build on
them.
Clearly, learning on the job is the best way to develop
managers. We have found in designing training programs that it is important to draw on the
collective experience of the participants. Their experiences on the job provide insight
into real-world problem solving and decision making. Programs that enable participants to
learn from the experiences of their peers stimulate the development process more
effectively than programs that overlook on-the-job experience.
Although there is no substitute for job experience, the risks of relying on experience
alone to teach managers what they need to learn may be great. Letting managers "sink
or swim" on the job often produces needless casualties.
A critical supplement to experience, therefore, is the
ongoing coaching and counseling by the boss. He or she plays a key role in the management
development process. Our research confirms that managers who serve as mentors are more
successful in developing the competence of their people than managers who neglect that
role. In designing training programs it is important, therefore, to gain the support of
the boss and to prepare managers to help their direct reports apply what they have learned
when they return from the classroom.
Learning through observation and experimentation is also an
important element in developing managerial capabilities. Training programs should
therefore be designed to allow participants to test new ideas and to practice newly
acquired skills.
|
Introduction
How
Managers
Develop
Sterling
Institute's
Approach
to Applied
Management
Development
Feature 1:
A Self-Directed
Development
Process
Feature 2:
An Applied
Development
Program
Feature 3:
An Integrated
Training
Experience
Feature 4:
Custom Designed
to Ensure
Relevance
Feature 5:
An Ongoing
Development
and Evaluation
Effort |
