Addressing the training needs of managers should be a continuing effort, one that is responsive to the educational needs of managers over time. Managers cannot learn in one seminar all they need to know to be effective. When they have completed a seminar, they must practice on the job what they have learned. They need to measure their progress in improving and they need to participate in follow-up programs that address subsequent development needs.

A critical element in ensuring that training is applied on the job and leads to improved performance is the development of a program follow-up strategy. An important feature of an integrated multilevel training effort is that it allows client organizations to easily engineer follow-up meetings between managers and their subordinates to ensure that the improvement objectives that have been set are consistent with the priority objectives of the organization and that the plans that have been developed are fully supported by senior management.

After returning to their jobs, participants are encouraged to discuss the action plans they developed during the seminar with their immediate supervisors to gain their support and direction. Participants also need to meet with their subordinates to plan the specific steps they will take to implement their performance improvement plans. Because learning takes place on the job, it is important to emphasize the role managers play in developing the competence and motivation of their direct reports. Their willingness to act as mentors and to supervise the implementation of the action plans facilitates the growth of their people and leads to the achievement of action plan objectives.

In addition to meeting with their supervisors and the people who report to them, participants often need to follow-up with their peers. Alumni groups provide the opportunity for participants to discuss the implications of the training on working relationships within the organization. For example, if the achievement of a program objective depends on the collaboration between departments, then alumni follow-up meetings can help by focusing attention on the impediments to cross functional coordination and teamwork. Alumni groups are particularly helpful if participants are in the position of achieving an objective only when their peers, or members of other departments, carry out their part of the plan. Specific methods of handling shared objectives can also be effectively addressed through these alumni follow-up groups.

Follow-up with individual participants by a human resources professional can also provide the guidance and support participants need to implement their development plans back on the job. This intervention may be particularly helpful if the success of a plan hinges on interaction with the boss and if the participant needs assistance in thinking through relationship issues that are hindering performance.

We work with clients to follow up our training efforts and to measure the progress participants make in implementing their action plans. Program evaluations of this type enable us to identify additional training needs and offer programs to meet them. Where it is appropriate, we can help our clients link their training and development curricula to their succession planning efforts, and their human resource management plans to their strategic and operating goals and objectives.

We believe that our approach to management development, executive education, and sales training makes Sterling Institute uniquely qualified to analyze the development needs of our clients and to design, develop and present training programs that lead to increased managerial effectiveness and improved organizational performance. We provide training programs that show managers how they can make a difference in the performance of their organizations. In the process, we help them gain greater satisfaction from their careers in management.

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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