Aligning management development to today’s trends

What managers need to do has changed. We live in a new world of work. The challenges are different and so must be our approach. In session SU102 of ASTD2012 a panel of 3 experts in management development shared their views on trends today and what’s coming up in the future…

What are the trends today that are having an impact on management development?

Kevin Eikenberry says that a major issue today is dealing with virtual teams. How do I deal with having a team that spans across continents, time-zones, cultural borders? Working with people who are not my employees, but for whom I take the lead in a project…?

Michael Stallard says that the growing buzz about employee engagement is turning into real development initiatives these days. Making emotional links between employees and companies is of utmost importance if we are to keep the 75-80% of “unengaged I-come-for-the-money” workers actually involved and ready to innovate and go the extra mile…

Alfredo Castro thinks that diversity in the workplace is a huge issue and that it is widely misunderstood. People tend to associate “culture” with countries, but it’s bigger that than: Generation gaps, preference-gaps, political gaps…. these all have an impact.

 

So: What do we have to do to deal with these issues?

Kevin Eikenberry says that highly-strung, busy managers feel these problems, but don’t always understand the root of the problem. We need to educate them. We need to help them to be skilled in coaching, virtual team management, intercultural communication….

Michael Stallard adds that it’s not just education that we need, but also motivation. People have to believe in the skills they have acquired in order to put them to work. Sharing best practices and rewarding efforts will send a clear signal to people that this is what we want. And when they actually do it, they should be rewarded (or at least congratulated).

Alfredo Castro suggests that we have to be open to a little risk-taking if we are going to change. If managers feel that they must always and only work towards short-term results and if they fear to get things wrong, they will never try.

What guidance do the experts give for success in doing those things?

Alfredo Castro says that we will need to brand “intangible things” like coaching and communication so that people see the added-value. (My personal reflection is that learning people will need to be better marketeers).

Following up on this idea Kevin Eikenberry adds that this added-value will have to shown in terms of results in the business. (It needs to be Level 4 in terms of Kirkpatrick).

Michael Stallard says that the learning function will need to better collaborate with people IN the organisation. We won’t be paying to bring people in from outside as much as we used to, so the role of learning people will be to more-and-more help to develop and guide internal people so that they themselves can development their own people.

Some simple ideas. But good stuff. Excellent 1st session at ASTD2012.
(Hope my iPad fingers did justice to the panel!)

Auteur

Dan Steer is freelance trainer bij Kluwer en learning & development consultant. Dan Steer is een Infinite Learning© kampioen, en gedreven door alles wat te maken heeft met SoMe, SoLearn en Enterprise 2.0.

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