martes, 7 de mayo de 2013

Designing effective management-development programs




Several research studies have shown a positive relationship between leadership development and business results. Organizations with high-impact leadership-development programs are seven times more effective at delivering improved talent and business results than organizations lacking effective leadership development functions. Management development (MD) programs in particular are becoming a prevalent way for organizations to develop this expertise and talent.

Comprehensive management development
A management-development program is a comprehensive curriculum designed to develop the core competencies of managers and supervisors for leadership success. A MD program supports the development of employees over a period of time. Leadership and MD programs have helped companies of all sizes transition into high-performing organizations.

Training as a winning strategy
Effective management-development programs help organizations create more positive and engaging workplaces. Every organization with managers can benefit from MD programs. By maximizing the effectiveness of your leadership pool, your entire workforce can reap the benefits outlined in the list that follows.
Encourages Team Vision. The more aware leaders are about organizational and team dynamics, the better they are at creating and attaining a solid set of actionable, achievable goals.
Builds Employee Morale. Having strong managers and leaders within your organization will have an immediate impact on the workplace environment, resulting in higher productivity and increased employee retention.
Increases Productivity. Effective leaders are able to guide their teams, minimize obstacles, orchestrate resources to achieve work objectives, and obtain the best results from their employees.
Stimulates New Ideas. One of the main benefits of leadership training is the transfer of new ideas among participants, providing participants with new ideas and
strategies they can try in their own work groups.
Fosters Effective Communication. Leadership training provides employees of different backgrounds, ages, genders, and work styles the tools necessary to understand the communication styles of others and thus to more effectively communicate and manage a diverse workforce.
Teaches Self-Reflection and Personal Assessment.  Through leadership- development training, managers assess their own leadership styles and learn how to improve. This personal assessment enables managers to understand how their skills directly correlate with the success of other employees.

Best practices for designing md programs
Designing a management program will allow you to maximize your return on investment. What follows are some critical factors to consider in designing an effective program.
Align programs with organizational strategy. As leaders move up in their organizations, their skills must shift from people and project management to strategic business and operations management. Align leadership-development initiatives to the organization’s mission, strategy, and goals, so learning connects to real issues and work.
Define desired leadership competencies. A leadership program should identify the expected skills and competencies leaders need for organizational success. By identifying and agreeing on those leadership competencies most important to your business, you will have the foundation for leadership development, as well as succession planning, career development, and other talent-related processes.
Involve senior management. The commitment of senior executives means that the program will be highly regarded, aligned with corporate strategy, and focused on the right business issues.
Ensure the content is specific to the audience and relevant to their situations. The learning content provided is not only both engaging and relevant to the workplace, but is also appropriate for the knowledge and experience levels of the participants. Place participants at the center of the learning process by giving them responsibility for shaping the goals and actions that will serve as the focus of their learning.
Apply a comprehensive and ongoing approach. A key element of a sound MD program includes applied learning opportunities and detailed action planning that link to current work projects or practical challenges. Encourage participants to establish reflection as a business practice.
Use adult learning principles. Incorporating adult learning principles in your MD program is fundamental to developing a successful program that engages trainees and facilitates learning.

Sample Program
The Management Advantage is a developed comprehensive MD program; it is a suite of seven programs and series for participants whose responsibilities fall within the roles of individual contributor, team leader, supervisor, manager, and director. The curriculum includes five programs and two series. these courses offer a progression of learning options that provide prospective leaders the tools needed to grow at a pace that aligns with their company’s needs.

Md program implementation
The program should focus on helping participants learn the best ideas and practices about today’s most important leadership topics. Use the following principles to guide its design and delivery.
Include well-developed learning tools. Rich, detailed workbooks and toolkits allow participants to leave with materials that will continue to provide them guidance in their regular job duties.
Use the awareness-practice-application model to guide learning. All activity should be based on a learning model of awareness, practice, and application.
Incorporate learning activities that engage all learning styles. Offer diversity in learning activities so participants of all learning styles will benefit.
Make sure learning is transferable. To help accomplish this, your program should engage participants in role-plays, action plans, and case studies.
Include opportunities for self-evaluation. The most profound and meaningful learning for participants often comes from their own reflections based on personal experiences
Facilitate collaborative learning experiences. Your program will foster behaviors among managers that can help them play a more active role in driving workplace productivity with a strong emphasis on classroom interaction and collaborative learning among peers.
Use pre- and postassessments of manager skills. The results of a postassessment are used to compare with the preassessment, to help verify that behavior changes will actually result from the program.



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