Designing effective management-development programs

Designing Effective Management-Development Programs

Colleen Cunningham

© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ert.20362

The rise of globalization, constantly evolv-ing technology, and changing customer

demands have all transformed the way orga-nizations do business. Increasingly, compa-nies have turned to their managers as theirprimary assets in order to stay competitive inthis turbulent business environment.

Several research studies have shown a posi-tive relationship between leadership develop-ment and business results. In a study basedon surveys and interviews with more than300 leadership-development and learning-development managers worldwide, Bersin &Associates found that organizations that priori-tize leadership development saw a 66 percentimprovement in business results and were 84percent more effective at raising quality. Theyalso had a 73 percent increase in employeeretention and a 67 percent increase in leaders’ability to engage and work collaboratively.The study concluded that organizations withhigh-impact leadership-development programsare seven times more effective at deliveringimproved talent and business results than organizations lacking effective leadership-development functions.1 Management-development (MD) programs in particular arebecoming a prevalent way for organizations todevelop this expertise and talent.

COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENTDEVELOPMENT

A management-development program is acomprehensive curriculum designed to

develop the core competencies of managersand supervisors for leadership success. Morethan a one-time training event, an MD pro-gram supports the development of employeesover a period of time. Leadership and MDprograms have helped companies of all sizestransition into high-performing organizations.

Providing workers with the proper train-ing for their roles is an important factor inattracting, retaining, and motivating employ-ees. Trained employees also learn to be moreproductive and efficient in their work, whichhelps companies achieve desired businessresults at faster rates. However, as the econ-omy slowly recovers, many organizations arecautious about allocating resources toemployee development and job training.Whether your company is thriving or hasbeen affected by negative economic condi-tions, it is critical that all staff memberswithin every level of management have aclear pathway to fulfill their leadershippotential.

TRAINING AS A WINNING STRATEGY

Effective management-development pro-grams help organizations create more posi-tive and engaging workplaces. This, in turn,can help increase morale, reduce turnover,and ensure that compliance issues are dealtwith before they become more serious prob-lems. Every organization with managers canbenefit from MD programs. By maximizingthe effectiveness of your leadership pool,

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Employment Relations Today

your entire workforce can reap the benefitsoutlined in the list that follows.

❏ Encourages Team Vision. When leadersare well connected with their teams, theycan better comprehend and communicatethe issues affecting their work group andtheir organization as a whole. A strongteam vision assists in problem solving andkeeps the group from being blindsided byfactors outside their purview. The moreaware leaders are about organizationaland team dynamics, the better they are atcreating and attaining a solid set of action-able, achievable goals.

❏ Builds Employee Morale. Managers andleaders have a tremendous impact on themorale and engagement of the employeesthey manage. Having strong managers andleaders within your organization will havean immediate impact on the workplaceenvironment, resulting in higher produc-tivity and increased employee retention.

❏ Increases Productivity. Effective leadersare able to guide their teams, minimizeobstacles, orchestrate resources to achievework objectives, and obtain the best resultsfrom their employees. This means thatteam members are ultimately empoweredto succeed, resulting in higher productivity.

❏ Stimulates New Ideas. One of the mainbenefits of leadership training is the transferof new ideas among participants. Participantsshare and reflect on effective management

Colleen CunninghamEmployment Relations Today DOI 10.1002/ert

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strategies and techniques they have used,providing participants with new ideas andstrategies they can try in their own workgroups. Often the most effective ideas arethose that have been successfully utilized byother management teams who have partici-pated in business leadership training.

❏ Fosters Effective Communication.Effective communication consists of morethan just talking and listening. In today’sinterconnected business world, and withthe advent of social media and constantlychanging technology, communicationstyles differ widely. Leadership trainingprovides employees of different back-grounds, ages, genders, and work stylesthe tools necessary to understand thecommunication styles of others and thusto more effectively communicate andmanage a diverse workforce.

❏ Teaches Self-Reflection and PersonalAssessment. Management-developmentprograms foster leadership growthbecause they allow managers opportuni-ties to reflect and self-assess. In the bestMD programs, managers examine weak-nesses within themselves, as well as theemployees they manage. Through leader-ship-development training, managersassess their own leadership styles andlearn how to improve. This personalassessment enables managers to under-stand how their skills directly correlatewith the success of other employees.

BEST PRACTICES FOR DESIGNING MD PROGRAMS

A well-designed MD program is more thantraining. It should have buy-in and sustain-ability; it should be measurable, evaluative,


A well-designed MD program is more than train-ing. It should have buy-in and sustainability; itshould be measurable, evaluative, and ongoing;and it should focus on a few prioritized capabil-ities and attitudes.

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and ongoing; and it should focus on a few pri-oritized capabilities and attitudes. However,many MD programs are ineffective, costingorganizations time, money, and effort. Prop-erly designing a management program willallow you to maximize your return on invest-ment. What follows are some critical factorsto consider in designing an effective program.

Align programs with organizationalstrategy. Leadership development involvesfar more than attending a few management-training classes. As leaders move up in theirorganizations, their skills must shift frompeople and project management to strategicbusiness and operations management. Alignleadership-development initiatives to theorganization’s mission, strategy, and goals, solearning connects to real issues and work.Ensure the classes that participants areattending are related to organizational goalsand initiatives.

Define desired leadership competen-cies. In order to evaluate potential leaders inthe organization, a leadership program shouldidentify the expected skills and competenciesleaders need for organizational success.Whether companies develop a competencymodel of their own or use an existing model,they need to define the measurements for suc-cess and build them into their performance-management system. This will assist in settingthe evaluation criteria and the competencestandards from a “must-know and must-demonstrate” perspective. By identifying andagreeing on those leadership competenciesmost important to your business, you will havethe foundation for leadership development, aswell as succession planning, career develop-ment, and other talent-related processes.

Involve senior management. Executivesupport is critical for the success and long-term sustainability of any management- or

leadership-development program. The com-mitment of senior executives means that theprogram will be highly regarded, alignedwith corporate strategy, and focused on theright business issues.

Ensure the content is specific to theaudience and relevant to their situations.To be effective, the curriculum that makes upyour MD program must be as audience-specificas possible. This means that the learning con-tent provided is not only both engaging andrelevant to the workplace, but is also appropri-ate for the knowledge and experience levels ofthe participants. Place participants at the cen-ter of the learning process by giving themresponsibility for shaping the goals and actionsthat will serve as the focus of their learning.

Apply a comprehensive and ongoingapproach. No sound leadership-developmentprogram consists solely of one or two instructor-led training events. Programs should includepre- and postlearning assignments, self-assessments, case studies, and action planningto give leaders a complete experience beyondthe training event. Integrate feedback, devel-opment planning, and assessment tools, sothat the program enables leaders to realizestrengths and areas for development.

Allow for transferability of learning backon the job. A key element of a sound MDprogram is that it is easily transferred back tothe workplace. This is achieved through thetiming of the training, the quality of the con-tent, and the quality and appropriateness ofthe delivery method. Include applied learning

Place participants at the center of the learningprocess by giving them responsibility for shap-ing the goals and actions that will serve as thefocus of their learning.


opportunities and detailed action planningthat link to current work projects or practicalchallenges. Encourage participants to estab-lish reflection as a business practice.

Use adult learning principles. Incorpo-rating adult learning principles in your MDprogram is fundamental to developing a suc-cessful program that engages trainees andfacilitates learning. Too often, training pro-grams are designed without incorporating thefundamentals of how adults learn best.Adults prefer learning situations that arepractical and problem-centered. They should

be able to integrate the training with theirown ideas, knowledge, and experiences.Finally, they should have an opportunity tofirst understand the concepts, and then prac-tice, reinforce, and reflect.

Sample Program

Capital Associated Industries (CAI), a non-profit employers’ association serving the 65central and eastern counties of North Car-olina, has developed a comprehensive MDprogram, coined The Management Advan-tageTM, which creates a sustainable leader-ship-training model aimed at improving man-ager productivity and team performance.Human resources professionals, includingmany from CAI’s member companies, havelent their knowledge to The ManagementAdvantageTM.

Arising from a need for a multilayered,practical leadership-development program


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that would provide a diverse level of partici-pants with a cadre of critical skills to manageand lead others effectively, The ManagementAdvantage™ meets the needs of North Carolina employers and offers an interactive,appealing approach to adult learning. Theprogram’s architects and facilitators have anaverage of 20 years of experience in learningand development, and they constructed theprogram’s content and application from mod-ern and proven learning principles and prac-tices. Many of these experts also bring theadded value of backgrounds in humanresources, education, business, and market-ing. They know the workplace, and theyunderstand the needs of business. Theirknowledge and experience is reflected in the practical approach of CAI’s enhanced curriculum.

The Management AdvantageTM is a suite ofseven programs and series for participantswhose responsibilities fall within the roles ofindividual contributor, team leader, supervi-sor, manager, and director. The curriculumincludes five programs and two series:

• Stepping Up to Supervision CertificationProgram

• Team Leader Certification Program• Newly Appointed Supervisor Certification

Program• Fundamentals of Management Certifica-

tion Program• Practical Management I Certification

Series (eight programs included)• Practical Management II Certification

Series (eight programs included)• Leadership Essentials Certification

Program

Each program and series advances in con-tent as employees advance in their careers.

Incorporating adult learning principles in yourMD program is fundamental to developing asuccessful program that engages trainees andfacilitates learning.

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Collectively, these courses offer a progressionof learning options that provide prospectiveleaders the tools needed to grow at a pacethat aligns with their company’s needs. Morethan 500 companies annually take advantageof The Management AdvantageTM program.

MD PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

As mentioned previously, the design anddevelopment process for an MD programshould begin with identifying the skills andcompetencies for success at different levels ofmanagement. Once the competencies andskills are identified for each managementlevel, create a comprehensive curriculumwith detailed learning objectives. The pro-gram should focus on helping participantslearn the best ideas and practices abouttoday’s most important leadership topics. Usethe following principles to guide its designand delivery.

❏ Include well-developed learning tools.The core objective of a strong MD pro-gram is to help people enhance their on-the-job performance. Rich, detailed work-books and toolkits allow participants toleave with materials that will continue toprovide them guidance in their regular jobduties. From the group leader who wantsto build his or her leadership and commu-nication skills to the manager who islearning what is involved in building suc-cessful teams, every participant shouldwork with a unique guide booklet thatoutlines the complete training experience.These participant guides should includeclearly articulated learning objectives thatare specific and measurable and make astrong and practical link between theclassroom experience and its real-world

application. For example, at the conclu-sion of a course on successful interview-ing skills, participants should be able todevelop strategies for handling difficultcandidate responses. And participantsenrolled in a course on managing changeshould learn how to manage employees’reaction to change and identify strategiesfor handling resistance to change.

❏ Use the awareness-practice-applicationmodel to guide learning. If the partici-pant guide is the roadmap, the “highway”is the highly interactive classroom envi-ronment. Here, all activity should bebased on a learning model of awareness,practice, and application. Many expertsregard this model as one of the mosteffective ways that adults learn.

The Newly Appointed Supervisor Certi-fication Program in CAI’s The Manage-ment AdvantageTM embodies thisapproach. For example, in the delegatingmodule, a self-assessment of delegationexperience and an instructor-led presenta-tion help participants develop an aware-ness of delegation concepts. A group exer-cise on the benefits of delegation givesparticipants the opportunity to practicedelegation behaviors and skills. At the endof the module, each participant performsa more detailed self-analysis of his or herwork activities and tasks. This analysischallenges participants to apply what theyhave learned about delegation to their job.

Once the competencies and skills are identifiedfor each management level, create a compre-hensive curriculum with detailed learning objec-tives.


❏ Incorporate learning activities thatengage all learning styles. Offer diver-sity in learning activities so participants of all learning styles will benefit. Self-assessments, selected readings, classroomlecture, experiential exercises, group discussion, role-plays, real-life case stud-ies, homework, and continued self-studyshould all be incorporated into the pro-gram. In this format, you will be moreprepared to address all the senses and themultitude of learning styles that partici-pants require for effective learning.

❏ Make sure learning is transferable.Combining instruction with a real busi-ness setting helps people gain crucialskills and allows your organization toattack relevant, crucial, real-time issues.Your program should focus on providingpeople opportunities to learn from theirwork, rather than taking them away fromtheir work to learn. To help accomplishthis, your program should engage partici-pants in role-plays, action plans, and casestudies.

For example, in a session that focuseson communicating performance, partici-pants could work through a role-play toexplore how to manage a worker whosejob performance compromises production.Participants could define the problem andits impact, develop solutions, communi-cate action plans, engage the employee,and agree on a date to review progress.


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Every participant should take a turn playingthe role of the worker and practicing ashis or her manager. This way, they canreceive immediate feedback on their per-formance from the instructor and fellowclassmates, helping them further refinetheir skills.

❏ Include opportunities for self-evalua-tion. While participants learn about theo-ries, methods, and tools that can help them,their biggest “Aha” moments will comefrom breakthroughs in their own thinking,or from the consequences of their actions.The most profound and meaningful learn-ing for participants often comes from theirown reflections based on personal experi-ences, so be sure to include opportunitiesfor self-evaluation and reflection within thestructure of your MD program.

❏ Facilitate collaborative learning expe-riences. All learning activities in your program should facilitate collaborativelearning from peers, an important aspectof adult learning theory. With a strongemphasis on classroom interaction and collaborative learning among peers, yourprogram will foster behaviors amongmanagers that can help them play a moreactive role in driving workplace produc-tivity. Away from his or her workplaceand in the classroom, the participantoften discovers that he or she has a workexperience to share for the benefit of oth-ers. Sometimes it is a new best practicethat will have value in another learner’sworkplace. Other times, the participantextracts just as much value in discoveringhe or she already shares common workpractices or manages a similar workplacechallenge.

The most profound and meaningful learning forparticipants often comes from their own reflectionsbased on personal experiences, so be sure toinclude opportunities for self-evaluation and reflec-tion within the structure of your MD program.

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❏ Use pre- and postassessments of man-ager skills. As with any program, it isimportant to be able to objectively measureprogress. For example, The ManagementAdvantageTM uses current skills assess-ments to provide a baseline for later com-parison. Personality and characteristicassessments, such as StrengthsFinder, DISC,or Myers-Briggs, are also used, as these canbe enlightening to participants who need tofirst better understand who they are beforethey can successfully develop further. Afterthe core curriculum is concluded, theresults of a postassessment are used to com-pare with the preassessment, to help verifythat behavior changes will actually resultfrom the program. After all, a developmentprogram is only as useful as the behaviorchanges it produces.

MD FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE

Management-development programs are acritical aspect of attaining peak performance


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levels from employees and require the imple-mentation of many best practices. The bene-fits of a well-designed program are multifoldand include having a pipeline of engagedleadership talent that is aligned to your keyorganizational goals. A well-designed MDprogram should have buy-in and sustainabil-ity; it should be measurable, evaluative, andongoing; and it should focus on a few priori-tized capabilities and attitudes. Follow bestpractices in adult learning when developingyour own MD program. Once the competen-cies and skills are identified for each manage-ment level, create a comprehensive curricu-lum with detailed learning objectives.

NOTE

1. Bersin & Associates. (2009). High-impact leadership devel-opment 2009: Best practices, industry solutions, and ven-dor profiles. Oakland, CA: Author.

Colleen Cunningham, RCC, is director of CAI Learning Services at CAI, a trustedresource for HR, compliance, and people development. She has expertise in trainingdesign and delivery, training measurement, management assessments, coaching, succes-sion planning, and career progression. She is also a Registered Corporate Coach with theWorldwide Association of Business Coaches. For more information, contact her [email protected].

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Designing effective management-development programs